Novalima Afro

• Words: Derek Beres
• Label: Quang
• XLR8R Rating: /10

Using slave songs and the cajon-a wooden box drum originally made from shipping crates-as a foundation for this eloquent, minimal-electronic project, four producers explore the antique folk sounds of Peru. Connecting Africa and South America sonically and socially, this outfit catalogs bits of local lore, adding synthesizers, congas, and excellent vocal sections. Swinging between the vivid (the jazzy, downtempo "Chinchivi") and the club-ready (the trucking "Candela"), and extending the community work of singers like Susana Baca into futuristic forays, Afro is at once artifact and testament and, more poignantly, a simply beautiful record.