Peru-sing the Sono Radio Sound

Mario Cavagnaro Y Su Sonora Sensacion : Salchicha Con Heuvo
and Soul Sacrifice/Ha Llegado/La Distancia
taken from the album “Cocktail De Exitos Volumen 5” on Sono Radio (197?)

Enrique Lynch Y Su Conjunto : Pantaloncitos Calientes
and Bailando Con Dolores
taken from the album “Sexympacto!” on Sono Radio (197?)

Apparently, in the late 60’s and early 70’s Peru was a happening place to be. An inquisitive friend might wonder how I am able to write this with no real knowledge of the country’s history. Perhaps they would be so bold as to doubt my voracity with a comment on the contrary. Never having been to Peru, talked with a Peruvian (as far as I know at least), or read even a single passage about Peruvian culture or politics, it may seem preposterous for someone as ignorant as myself to make such an audacious statement. Well, these tunes pretty much say it all.

Is it possible to mix fuzz guitar, conga, cracking snare, cowbell and wah-wah without a heavy dose of psychedelic grooviness in the air? Methinks not. My only qualm with these records is that EVERY song is a medley. I’ve done a bit of re-editing here because the “medleys” themselves are often poorly chopped together and don’t necessarily even sound good back to back. What’s the deal with this mysterious recording style? Maybe it was more aluring to the Peruvian record buying public to see 24 song titles rather than 12? So I’ve plucked out a few of the nuggets, and even made my own 3-song “medley” out of some of Mario’s tunes.

The fact that Enrique and Mario collaborated on at least one instance, leads me to belive that this was no coincidental similarity of sounds- there was clearly a scene going on. Next step, I think I should probably start doing a bit of reading. This music is a portal, but if I want to find out who these cats hung out with, where they developed their sound from (aside from listening to Santana [“Soul Sacrifice”] and Jimmy Sabater [“Salcicha Con Huevo”]), and what the parties were like when they played, it’s going to take a bit more work than merely dropping a needle on a record.