{{Short description|American musical band}} '''Chicha Libre''' is a [[Brooklyn]]-based six-member band founded by [[Olivier Conan]]. Its name is a reference to ''[[chicha]]'', a corn-based liquor that has been produced in South America since the time of the [[Inca]]s. It is also the name of a Peruvian musical genre (also known as [[Peruvian cumbia]]) on which the band's music is based.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2012/05/08/152268313/chicha-libre-sonic-predators-rock-peruvian-grooves | title=Chicha Libre: Sonic Predators Rock Peruvian Grooves | work=NPR | date=8 May 2012 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Eyre, Banning}}</ref>
==History== Conan was first introduced to ''chicha'' music on a trip to Peru in 2005.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/sonido-amazonico%21-mw0000497411 | title=Sonido Amazonico! Review | work=AllMusic | accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref> Their first album, ''¡Sonido Amazonico!'', was released in 2008 on [[Barbes Records]],<ref name=allmusic/> a label which Conan runs from his home in Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2008/0926/p13s01-almp.html | title=Spreading the Chicha gospel | work=Christian Science Monitor | date=26 September 2008 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Shaer, Matthew}}</ref> They released their second album, ''Canibalismo'', in 2012,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/chicha-libre-canibalismo-barbescrammed/ | title=Canibalismo Review | work=Spin | date=7 May 2012 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Gehr, Richard}}</ref> and an EP, ''Cuatro Tigres'', in 2013, both digitally and on vinyl.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://barbesrecords.com/CuatroTigres.html | title=Chicha Libre | work=Barbes Records | accessdate=21 December 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111215039/http://barbesrecords.com/CuatroTigres.html | archivedate=11 January 2015 }}</ref>
The band's original members were Olivier Conan (lead vocalist, cuatro), Josh Camp (DuoVox, keyboards, background vocals), Vincent Douglas (guitar), Greg Burrows (percussion, background vocals, timbales, bongos, guiro, reco-reco), Timothy Quigley (percussion, bongo, shakers, conga) and Nick Cudahy (bass guitar). Additional members are Neil Ochoa (congas) and Karina Colis (timbales). Featured guest artists have included Jose Carballo (a former member of the seminal Peruvian ''chicha'' band, Los Hijos del Sol).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/chicha-libre-and-the-brooklyn-peru-connection-6389240 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321082635/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/chicha-libre-and-the-brooklyn-peru-connection-6389240 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 21, 2017 |title=Chicha Libre and the Brooklyn-Peru Connection |last=Gehr |first=Richard |website=Village Voice |publication-date=25 March 2008}}</ref>
==Style== The band's music is based on ''chicha'', a fusion of [[rock and roll]] and cumbia produced by the native population of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon. This music was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s in northern Peru.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11398-sonido-amazonico/ | title=¡Sonido Amazonico! Review | work=Pitchfork Media | date=1 May 2008 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Tangari, Joe}}</ref> Conan has described his band's music as "free-form Chicha" and has said they take many liberties with ''chicha'' music.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91479044 | title=Olivier Conan Brings Chicha Music to Brooklyn | work=NPR | date=16 June 2008 | accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref>
==Reception== ''Sonido Amazonico'' received a favorable review from Brendon Griffin in ''[[PopMatters]]''. Griffin wrote that "...like the best music of any genre it leaves you wondering about the mystery of it all" and gave the album a rating of 9 out of 10.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/chicha-libre-sonido-amazonico/ | title=Chicha Libre: ¡Sonido Amazonico! | work=PopMatters | date=26 March 2008 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Griffin, Brendon}}</ref> Jon Lusk wrote on the BBC's website that the album's music was "too self-conscious and contrived to match the fevered originals".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/6gvr | title=Sonido Amazonica Review | work=BBC Music| date=2008 | accessdate=22 December 2014 | author=Lusk, Jon}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] awarded ''Cuatro Tigres'' an A− and wrote that the band "acknowledge[s] their true roots" on the EP.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=7066&name=Chicha+Libre | title=Consumer Guide: Chicha Libre | date=2013 | accessdate=21 December 2014 | author=Christgau, Robert}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== ====Sonido Amazonico! (2008)==== # Sonido Amazonico # Primavera en la Selva # Mi Plato de Barro # Tres Pasajeros # The Hungry song # El Borrachito # Pavane # Six Pieds Sous Terre # Un Shipibo en España # Indian Summer # La Cumbia del Zapatero # Popcorn Andino # Yo No Fui # Gnosienne No. 1
====Canibalismo (2012)==== # La Plata (En Mi Carrito De Lata) # Danza Del Millonario # El Carnicero De Chicago # Muchachita Del Oriente # Depresion Tropical # Juaneco En El Cielo # Intermission # L'Âge d'Or # Papageno Eléctrico # Number 17 # Lupita En La Selva Y El Doctor # The [[Ride of the Valkyries|Ride Of The Valkyries]] (Composed By – Richard Wagner) # La Danza De Don Lucho # Once Tejones
* Engineers: Jason LaFarge, Joshua Camp, Olivier Conan * Mastered by: Scott Hull (2) * Mixed by: Bryce Goggin * Producers: Joshua Camp, Olivier Conan
===EP=== ====Cuatro tigres==== # [[The Guns of Brixton]] (Strummer, Jones, Headon, Simonon) # Rica Chicha (Jaime Moreyra) # Alone Again Or (Brian Maclean) # La Danza de los Simpsons ([[Danny Elfman]])
* Producer: Olivier Conan and Joshua Camp * Mixed by: [[Bryce Goggin]] at Trout Recording * Cover: Elliot Tupac
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.chicha-libre.com/}}
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[[Category:American musical sextets]] [[Category:Musical groups from Brooklyn]] [[Category:Cumbia musical groups]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 2005]]