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Empanadas Ilegales
Creepy Mambo
(independent) - 2022
Michael Panontin
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Well, who'da thunk it? Canada now has its very own psychedelic chicha band.
Empanadas Ilegales are Vancouver-based, and Creepy Mambo is their second full-length collection of psych-infused cumbia - or chicha, as it is also known - with some salsa and latin jazz mixed in for good measure. The six members trace their roots all across the Latin world - from Spain, Argentina and Brazil to Colombia, Ecuador and of course Peru, once the epicentre of the blistering chicha sound.
Creepy Mambo is by the band's own admission a product of the pandemic. It was recorded in 2021 when COVID lockdowns were in full force, which might explain the two curious snippets that bookend the record: an opening descarga that recalls Los Amigos Invisibles in their early days and a sax solo that skronks its way to a more sombre closing.
Otherwise, Creepy Mambo delivers the goods - what the band dub an "infectious instrumental journey to the living memory of the tropics" - in spades. 'Luna Modular', the liveliest and catchiest track, channels the steamy rhythms of Cuba and is clearly the right choice for the single. But the most interesting tunes are definitely the cumbias. The languorous 'Batidora 3 in 1', for example, is an eight-minute-plus musical journey that features an inventive interplay of treated guitar - the hallmark of chicha music - and sultry saxophone. Even better is 'Lamento de un Galax', the group's woozy take on a little-known 1976 single by Peruvian chicha pioneers Los Galax.
In their press release, Empanadas Ilegales write that Creepy Mambo is "designed for listeners to express freely, experiment and let loose on the dancefloor". So if you get the chance to hear this music live, disfrutala.
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