From making inmates at The Brixton Prison hoop to making the clubbers of Peru’s Lima go crazy..
So a new album out, ‘Coba Coba’ tell us about it, what influenced this piece of Afro-Peruvian rhythms…?
Carlos: “Since our first production, we tried to position the Afro Peruvian style among many other world styles, not just to include it, but to fusion
it with the rest, as we felt it was not very well known in the rest of the world. It was achieved with our Afro Peruvian friends and musicians.
When we were recording it, the music got a life of itself and developed into something we did not even plan, something like a natural
evolution. The production was done in our studios, where we recorded separately using different instruments. This was because the four of us were living in four different continent’s at that time – but it also benefitted the music we produced since our influences covered a very wide musical scope. Our third production, which is ‘Coba Coba’, is a combination of classic Afroperuvian songs, and our own compositions, however they all have a lot in common since they carry the live sound of our now 9-member band. Since we moved backed to Lima, all of us have been able to rehearse every week, and therefore developed a unique live sound that can be heard in the ‘Coba Coba’ songs.”
So you are now back in Peru, what is the music scene like there, what is the club scene like in Lima?
Ramon: “Music has always arrived to Lima with at least a three year delay. That was the reason Grimaldo and myself set up a music bar and nightclub during the nineties, in order to culturize a city which was living in the past, (and still is) and also make a penny or two!. The club scene in Lima is mainly Latin oriented, mainstream and 80´s pop – that´s what most of the people listen to in this city. Still, we ocasionally have DJ’s such as Tiesto, Digweed, Van Buren, Junkie XL, etc. who attract 1500-2000 people per party, only massive Dj´s are known down here. We have quite good local DJ’s too who spin minimal house to tech and deep house, some of them even getting gigs around the world. Nowadays, there are few places where you can listen to good music, usually bars, medium sized clubs and private parties. We have recently formed the “Coba Soundsystem” where Grimaldo, Rafael and myself DJ as a 3 piece for the underground and artistic scene with a very wide set of music warming up from eclectic all the way up to tribal house, still on the mission of getting people to listen beyond the mainstream, comercial and pop music and getting them to listen to music they´ve never listened to before.”
People back in the UK still remember your La Prison Soundsystem nights, crazy! A squat in front of Briston Prison, attended by Brazilian waiters, Mexican taxi drivers, Jamaican dealers, Australians, Peruvians, Argentineans all grooving to dub effects built by Reggae soundmen (from your visits to Mikey Dread, Jah Shaka, and Aba Shanti soundsystems) – vintage analogue tape echoes, second hand speakers and equipment… and of course loads of music from South America – what are your memories from those days and who were the best people spinning the music alongside you…?
Rafael: “Mate it was madness, it started around Friday night at 1am and would go on till Sunday. Music was so loud you didn’t need to give instructions to find the place, get off the bus near the prison and follow the music! You could see the inmates cheering from their cells when a good tune dropped, they were having their own party inside! No big name DJs, the philosophy was anything went, so if a Mexican cab driver asked for the decks and drop a Mexican Cumbian tune, he was welcome!”
What do you miss most about living in London?
Rafael:
“1. Warm Ale – London Pride mind you!
2. The Notting Hill Carnival. Spending all Sunday dancing at Sancho Panza, Good Times and Aba Shanti, then moving onto Monday to Channel One and Gaz Rocking Blues!
3. Sundays brunches at my favourite North London pubs: The Junction, The Lord Stanley & The Lord Palmerston
4. Sunday Afternoons at the Lock Tavern or Brick Lane markets
5. Finding Dub Reggae gems at Dub Vendor or Camden Lock
6. Weeknights at the Washington Pub and Sir Richard Steele in Camden
7. A good Curry!”
What is the best and worst thing about living in Lima?
Rafael: “The best, we are in front of the beach, summer is fantastic, The food is like nothing else you will ever try!. The worst, the grey winter months, although its easy to escape to the countryside where even in the winter, it’s sunny and 20c.”
What are the best 10 tunes you are all playing at the moment?
Rafael:
“Novalima – Tumbala (Oreja remix)
Copyright – Warrior Dance
Cerrone & Louie Vega – Love & Dance Ritual (roots mix)
Frisina, Gerardo – Donke_De’
River Ocean – Yemaya Y Ochun feat India
Novalima – Tumbala (Da Lata remix)
Dub Judah – Babylon is a Trap
Batata – Macaco (novalima remix)
Fabulosos Cadillacs – Padre Nuestro (Cumbia mix)
Hector Lavoe – Mi gente ( MAW mix)
Pimps of Joytime – The Street Sound (Nickodemus remix)”
Tell us about getting evicted from the squat, something happened to the walls too we hear?
Rafael: “Ha ha! Soundsystem style my friend! The old Victorian flat walls cracked! I could not resist the earth shattering sound of Mighty Jah Lightning and Thunder!”
Best record ever made – by someone dead or alive?
Rafael:
“Imposible question! Depends which style! But…
Dub Reggae – King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown, Yabby You – Beware of your Enemies.
Soul: Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life, Michael Jackson Off The Wall.
Funk: James Brown – The Payback.
Hard Rock: AC/DC – High Voltage ; Black Sabbath – Master of Reality.
Punk: The Clash – London Calling.
Classic Rock : Jimi Hendrix – Axis (Bold as Love), Led Zeppelin – Physical.
Graphity , Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here, Beatles – White Album
Electronic Downtempo: Kruder & Dorfsmaister Sessions
House: The best producers for us are Louie Vega, Dennis Ferrer, Kerri Chandler, Ben Watt and currently feeling Buzzin Fly` 5 year anniversary (been non stop on my car player for weeks now!)”
Talk us through ‘Novalima the Story’ – it felt like you were making a statement about the African slaves and how they were chained to boats and taken from their homes to European Colonies ? Must have been a hard, emotional record to make knowing all the suffering?
Carlos: “Rather than hard, it has been encouraging for us to find out some many untold stories that would have certainly made a difference in the perception that Peruvians have about the Afro community and their origins in this country. We firmly believe that the only way to assure a better future is to know well our past, specially our mistakes, so we make sure they do not happen again. The stories we tell happened here some hundreds of years ago, but they still depict some of today’s reality, not only in Peru, but in many other countries in the ‘new world’.”
‘Novalima – the Project’ guest artists on that long player came from Lima, Rio De Janeiro, London, Valencia, Barcelona, Rome and Hong Kong covering all sorts of Latin styles (Son, Guajira, Cumbia, Samba and Bossa) – how did you hook up with these dudes?
Carlos: “During those inital recordings, we used to travel to a lot to different places in Europa and Latin America because of our jobs, and just by chance we met many interested musicians. For example, in Brazil, it was my Portuguese teacher who introduced me a Samba vocalist; in the UK with Rafael we went to Cargo and found an interesting singer/tabla player playing in a Hindu band, we asked him if he would like to record with us and the next day he was in our apartment recording all his percussions in some of our songs. And that’s the way we connected with most of the guest musicians in that first record.”
What’s next for Novalima
Carlos: “The future looks very bright and our music recognition so far has been immensely rewarding. There is still a lot of musical treasures hidden in
this country and we will certainly explore them in future productions, but one thing is for sure, we will follow no rules to make our music.”
And finally, what are the girls like in Lima?
Carlos: “Hotter than Hell!”
