“Rio Arriba” is the sophomore album from ZZK artist Chancha Via Circuito who molds local South American rhythms into global artistry.
Rio Arriba bubbles up from the Andes like percussive lava, seething as it is soothing. Layers of drums play out like water and earth battling heat – heat brought by Chancha Via Circuito, the Pig on the Circular Train.
Chancha has forged a path from his town outside the urban sprawl of Buenos Aires in the east of Argentina up across the border with Bolivia and into the Northern hemisphere where he’s bringing new fans to native drum traditions. In his first release, Rodante, Chancha took cumbia into uncharted territory retrofitting the Latin rhythm for a worldly audience. With Rio Arriba, South American folklore takes the reins and, under Chancha’s steady hand, obscure backwoods rhythms take on a top shelf lifestyle as folklore hits the club.
Obscure backwoods rhythms take on a top shelf lifestyle, mixed and chopped by Chancha. Chancha developed his singular craft playing for crowds at Zizek Club in Buenos Aires and on tour DJing across the US, Canada and Mexico. Fans from Chile to St. Petersburg to Coachella have found love for his music; Chancha’s production was requested by National Geographic TV for a New Zealand band and won a remix contest of Angolan kuduro put on by Mad Decent. He imports raw material to metro landscapes, reminding listeners of the mysteries of nature lurking beyond urban gates. A sentry on stage, Chancha tracks lead listeners up ancestral mountain paths to leap streams and strut summits, on dance floors from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to Montreal.
Cumbia made Chancha’s first album Rodante a stand out, Rio Arriba takes his sound primal, rooted in rhythm, but worldwide in scope. With recent remixes of The Ruby Suns (Sub Pop) and Gotan Project (Ya Basta/XL Recordings), Chancha proves his production can cross continents and pollinate. Rio Arriba annihilates the obvious – it’s a fresh breeze from the city of good air flooding the urban habitat, sending you dancing upstream.
TOUR DATES
Fri 4/8 – Unsound Festival @ NYC, NY
Sat 4/9 – Tormenta Tropical @ SF, CA
Sun 4/10 – @ Atwater Crossing Courtyard, LA, CA
Fri 4/15 – @ Peligrosa, Austin, TX
Sun 4/17 @ Communikey Festival, Boulder, CO
Tue 4/19 @ Team Tuesdays, Santa Fe, NM
Fri 4/22 @ Mundial de Musica (MdM) Festival, Chicago, IL
Sat 4/30 @ Round Corner Cantina, Pittsburgh, PA
