With its loping, reggae-like beat, Colombian cumbia has become a staple sound of summer, booming out from festival sound systems, while a new generation has cross-pollinated the music with hip-hop and electro-trickery. This compilation mixes a clutch of antique cuts from the 1960s with recent material from the cumbia diaspora. Peru’s taste for twanging surf guitar is one reason for the “psychedelic” tag, along with some Santana-like fretboard flurries – there’s even (via Brooklyn) a cover of Love’s hippy anthem Alone Again Or. California’s Sonido de Frontera bring urgent beats, the UK’s Mad Professor drops a dub mix, Argentine’s La Yegros chats in a hip-hop style, and Colombia’s MAKU Sound System shimmer on the sultry Canto Negra. A wild ride.
