Champeta Criolla (Creole) is a hybrid style made up of the local rhythms from the Caribbean coast of Colombia combined with the sounds of records that sailors brought back from Africa during the 1960’s. Throughout the 70’s, everywhere in the ghettoes of Cartagena and Barranquilla, DJs and sound systems created music combining soka, calypso, cumbia, salsa, afrobeat, highlife and Congoless rhumba and gave birth to Champeta, a music style that is still being played and danced these days.
Soundway records now brings up an amazing compilation called “Champeta Criolla & Afro Roots in Colombia 1975-91” which includes twenty one tracks from the northern coasts of Colombia. It is a tribute paid to a style of music, its artists and record labels like Palenque records and Disco Fuentes which have been supporting Champeta music for years. You can really grasp the evolution undergone by this music over the years and enjoy artists such as Abelardo Carbano, Son Palenque, Wganda Kenya, Lisandro Meza, as well as covers of Fela Kuti’s songs. The Afrobeat influence on most of the tracks featuring on this compilation shows how much Champeta is a crossover of African and Caribbean music.
This album is a unique and fascinating opportunity to understand and appreciate how the local sound-systems in Cartagena and Barranquilla played such an important role in shaping the sound of this music style from Colombia.
Album available on Soundway Records
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- Wganda Kenya Pim Pom
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