Allpa Puruma - Abya Yala

10 Jan

When it comes to the rising talent, you usually see an emulation of an idol before they show a distinct musical voice. Allpa Puruma has ditched convention, jumping headfirst into a signature sound that speaks more to his cultural inspiration. The music is an expert fusing two opposite ends of the techno scale with tribal-inspired cosmic jams. The Argentinian maestro, Allpa Puruma, layers locked grooves and polyrhythms to create a subtly syncopated march. He interlaces actual jungle samples between hypnotic ayahuasca-induced trips within his tribal techno tools. His latest EP, Abya Yala (2023), released on Fixed Rhythms, is for the true junglists.

Abya Yala sounds sinister yet voyeuristic, especially in the title track. Allpa Puruma combines far-away chanting and rising tension through the distant horns. Layers build, creating this uneasy feeling of both watching and being hunted. Take, for example, ‘Yunkayku’. The organ stabs sound dissonant, even out of place, but layered between visiting percussion and a rolling baseline. The stabs fit like a glove, embodying the old jazz saying, “There are no wrong notes.” The hypnotising synths add a layer of confusion and delirium of being deep in the Amazon. Closing out the EP are two tracks sure to be favourites with the old-school heads, ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Siete Cuerpos Celestes’, which reimagine Detroit-era techno. They’re both celestial and pulse-pounding, injecting energy into the dance floor. The former is thick with echoing keys that ping-pong endlessly, only giving way to layered vocals infusing rhythm and texture. The latter is a deeper affair. Rumbles keep up the pace while sparse melodies glimmer sporadically, and a little bit of that dissonant charm is sprinkled in. The hypnotic synths and percussive low-end sound like the South American Robert Hood released on Jeff Mill’s Axis Records.

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