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<\/p>\nIt was five years ago when the four Colombia-born members of Combo Chimbita released their debut EP, El Corredor del Jaguar<\/i>. At the time \u2014 and for a couple of years to follow \u2014 the group made a point of defining its music as \u201ctropical futurism.\u201d They explained that to mean that the group made music influenced by Latin American cumbia and the otherworldly, Afrocentric and polyrhythmic jazz of Sun Ra. As bassist and keyboardist Prince of Queens told me in 2018, \u201cit\u2019s a way of re-imagining what we are and where we\u2019re going based more on our ancestors than on sci-fi.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when Combo Chimbita first ventured beyond its home base of Brooklyn, the musicians who backed vocalist Carolina Oliveros wore masks and adopted pseudonyms. Part of the idea was to differentiate their Combo Chimbita personas from the work each did in other bands, where they play metal and other styles. That approach also encouraged listeners to focus more on the music, and less on the individuals who made it.<\/p>\n
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Much of the group\u2019s character comes from its cultural roots, but crate-digging in record stores has influenced Combo Chimbita as well. Prince of Queens points out that New York City\u2019s immigrant culture means that there is a world of variety to be found in used record racks. \u201cA lot of music from immigrant cultures found markets here in New York,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can find really amazing Haitian records, African records, Latin records. And through that, we found interesting connections [between] music from Colombia and music from Africa and parts of the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combo Chimbita released its first full-length, Abya Yala<\/i>, in 2017. The album\u2019s title is an indigenous name for the homeland of the group\u2019s members, a region located at the border of Colombia and Panama. And the oral and cultural traditions of that region inform the group\u2019s music as well. \u201cWe just tell stories that we feel,\u201d says vocalist Carolina Oliveros. \u201cWe don\u2019t think, \u2018Will people understand the words or not?\u2019 That\u2019s not the intention.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Abya Yala<\/i>, Oliveros sings in Spanish, so while the music\u2019s heady, psychedelic qualities are obvious, the mystical, occult nature of its lyrics are unintelligible to those who only understand English. But the music still connects with listeners. \u201cIt’s easier when you can understand the lyrics,\u201d concedes Oliveros. \u201cBut you can’t stop the music. It’s more than lyrics, and it’s more than language. When you feel the vibrations you can connect, no matter what language you speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliveros says that for her, the most important consideration when she\u2019s writing \u2014 and when the group is jamming, creating \u2014 is \u201ctrying to think about what the people are going to feel when they hear it.\u201d The specific meaning of the words is important, but less so, perhaps, than the music. \u201cYou can go and translate if you want,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cBut I hear a lot of sounds that even I<\/i> don’t understand exactly what they [mean]!\u201d<\/p>\n
When the members of Combo Chimbita embarked on their first national tour in early 2018, they discovered that their unusual music resonated with listeners, even in smaller markets where cumbia and other Latinx musical styles were all but unknown. Oliveros thinks that it\u2019s that beat that attracts listeners. \u201cAlthough it\u2019s very strange music for some people, they always feel the beat,\u201d she says. \u201cThey always find something to connect it to: \u2018Oh, it sounds like this,\u2019 or \u2018It reminds me of that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Guitarist Ni\u00f1o Lento Es Fuego thinks that the rock and psychedelic elements of Combo Chimbita\u2019s music provide an access point as well. \u201cWe have lots of heavy synthesizers and drums,\u201d he points out. \u201cWe have instrumentation that is very common for people who listen to rock or reggae.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2019 release of the group\u2019s second album, Ahomale <\/i>signaled some changes. Oliveros still sings in Spanish, but these days, the masks are gone, and the members\u2019 given names occasionally slip out in interviews. Perhaps more significantly, Combo Chimbita no longer embraces the label once used to introduce them to a wider audience. \u201cWe\u2019re not tropical futurists anymore,\u201d says Ni\u00f1o Lento. Their identity is now tied to the name of that first album: \u201cWe are Abyayalistas.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Ahomale<\/i>, Combo Chimbita digs deeper into Colombian folklore and tradition. But as before, unpacking that for English speakers requires some explanation. \u201cAhomale is a Yoruba word,\u201d Oliveros says. \u201cIt\u2019s a force, a [combination] man and woman spirit.\u201d And the new album is a conversation between the components of that spirit.<\/p>\n
Musically and lyrically, then, Combo Chimbita\u2019s second full-length is less a departure, more a realignment and continuation of its original direction. \u201cAhomale<\/i> is a complement to Abya Yala<\/i>,\u201d Oliveros suggests. \u201cWhen we write music, one album is a continuation from the [previous one]. We\u2019re trying to write music that\u2019s like a saga.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the saga continues. In early September Combo Chimbita released a haunting new single, \u201cMemor\u00eda.\u201d It follows two earlier singles, the howling, kinetic \u201cMujer Jaguar\u201d and the dreamy, trip-hop-flavored \u201cTodos Santos.\u201d The three tracks are previews of the group\u2019s third album, scheduled for release in January. Those lucky enough to see the group at a live date on this tour may also hear other as-yet-unreleased songs from the new record.<\/p>\n
For a group that places so much emphasis on singing in Spanish and exploring the folkloric traditions of South America and Africa, Combo Chimbita is largely dismissive of the idea that the group is about communicating its cultural identity to listeners. \u201cTo be honest, we’re just being ourselves,\u201d says Ni\u00f1o Lento. \u201cWe’re not thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to show them this or that.\u2019 We\u2019re just expressing what we feel and creating music. And who we are is coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the music is about connecting, even for those listeners who miss out on Combo Chimbita\u2019s lyrical content. At a concert, \u201cWe want people to be happy, to have a good time, to connect with the people around them, and to have a spiritual experience,\u201d says Ni\u00f1o Lento.<\/p>\n
Oliveros agrees. \u201cThat\u2019s important,\u201d she says. \u201cThat spiritual experience, that\u2019s the music. It\u2019s a ritual, yet it\u2019s natural.\u201d And it doesn\u2019t require a lot from the listener beyond opening themselves to the music. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to make<\/i> anything,\u201d Oliveros says. \u201cJust share your vibrations.\u201d<\/p>\n