Tiger’s Milk Records stems from a passion to discover and celebrate the breadth of music made in Peru from punk to funk, chicha to cumbia and folk to electronica, past and present.
In 2013, Martin Morales and Duncan Ballantyne set up the record label and took their first furtive steps by releasing a 7” vinyl that went down a dream with collectors and music fans alike, featuring two cuts by alternative Latin, funk and chicha groups Juaneco and Paco Zambrano.
They have since released 3 compilations on CD, beautiful gatefold vinyl and digital download and the first international release called ‘Quema Quema Quema’ by Peruvian act Kanaku y El Tigre.
Music Room, Andina Restaurant, London
Tiger’s Milk Records is part of Ceviche , a company led by Peruvian Martin Morales dedicated to Peruvian food, music and creativity. It includes three restaurants in London, an award-winning cookbook translated into 8 languages, food and drinks products and events. All have a 100% Peruvian focus.
Boom! Belt up and prepare for ascent. This bass heavy and potent collection features the key Peruvian producers and DJs that have helped build Lima’s reputation as ‘jewel in the crown’ of South America’s rave & party scenes.
Tropical bass artists like Dengue Dengue Dengue, Chakruna, Animal Chuki and Deltatron have long been guided by the roots of chicha and Peruvian cumbia. This sees them reshape and digitally render the original sounds fashioning new cuts inspired by dubstep, techno, trap, grime, house and electronica all aimed squarely at the dancefloor.
Peru Boom celebrates one of the most vibrant contemporary club scenes in the world.
Full album stream and feature on VICE.
“It’s a fine primer of music that bleeds vibrancy and vitality” The Quietus
“One of the most charming collections of new dance music we’ve heard in 2015” Boomkat
1 Animal Chuki | Luto
2 Deltatron | Ego Trip
3 Dengue Dengue Dengue | Como Bailar Cumbia
4 Piraña Sound System | Naranja Limones
5 Chakruna | Cumbia Achorada
6 Rolovo | Outropical (Version B)
7 Tribilin Sound | El Carmen
8 Qechuaboi | Iseecumbiapeopleagain
9 Pe Garcia | Subete a la Noche
10 Tribilin Sound | Underground Cumbia
11 Deltatron | El Que Abandona No Tiene Premio
12 Chakruna | Sonido Chichero (ft. Chapilitta)
13 Elegante & La Imperial | Tardes
14 Tribilin Sound | Negroide
15 Los Chapillacs | Marcha del Chullachaqui (Deltatron Remix)
16 Tribilin Sound | Eduardo y Hank
Detroit has techno, Chicago has house, and Peru’s DJs and producers consider Lima as the home of Tropical Bass. A global and amorphous style of music that has producers, DJs and flag-bearers from various corners of the world from South Africa and Angola’s Kudoro scenes to the favela and Baile Funk parties of Brazil. International DJs like Diplo, Switch and labels like Mad Decent have long been absorbing and redefining the sound.
Electronic music made in Peru is often influenced by the national music style ‘cumbia’, a slow and syncopated style of music full of complex rhythms. Lima is the central meeting point for all of Peru’s Andean, African and European cultures and this is reflected by the music blaring out from speakers around the city. With an admirable respect for labels like Infopesa, the most influential label in ‘60s & ‘70s Peru for chicha and Peruvian Cumbia, the artists of today often use old rhythms and melodies, splicing and cutting up original tracks and adding in new electronic textures and programmed beats.
Martin Morales, founder of Tiger’s Milk Records says, “It was a life-changing night 3 years ago that led to the beginning of Peru Boom. I was invited by my friends in a band called Dengue Dengue Dengue to one of their parties. DJs were mixing chicha rhythms with serious basslines and halfway through the night, chicha bands from the 70s would play on stage. Kids would go nuts at both the tropical bass and the traditional sounds. This was like a modern rave Peruvian style the like I’d never seen before. Peru Boom tries to capture that sound. Since we started Tiger’s Milk, Duncan and I have tried to capture moments in time of Peru’s history. Early 70s political funk (Peru Bravo), late ‘60s jazz and latin (Peru Maravilloso) and todays’ brightest underground scene (Peru Boom).
Peru Boom shows that those in Peru at the forefront of today’s music are carrying the flag for the country’s musical heritage, bringing traditional and once popular sounds bang up to date, creating a new history influenced by the fast paced and modern city of Lima.
The album cover is a commissioned work by top Peruvian artist Ruta Mare.
Compiled by Chakruna, Duncan Ballantyne & Martin Morales
tells the whirlwind story of a culture in flux when, during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Lima boasted dozens of young bands full of ideas, spontaneous and unfazed by the instability in Peru. Featuring alternative heroes Traffic Sound and Laghonia alongside a selection of unheralded short-lived groups, Peru Bravo is a funk-fuelled ride through a radical decade.
It would however, only be a matter of years before this movement disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived as a new, uncompromising military dictatorship, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, took hold.
It features 15 tracks and unearths the full spectrum of incendiary underground funk, soul and psych sounds between 1968 & 1974.
The CD version comes with a pull out poster by street artist Samuel Gutierrez.
“The Latin rock of locals such as Laghonia and Traffic Sound suggests a Peruvian Santana could have emerged and conquered” The Guardian
“Santana influenced so many, this ia a great, great compilation” NPR
“ A brilliant collection of tracks, so, so good” Lauren Laverne BBC
1 Laghonia – Bahia
2 Traffic Sound –La Camita
3 Jean Paul “El Troglodita” – Everything’s Gonna Change
4 Cacique – Cacique
5 Los Holy’s – Cissy Strut
6 Thee Image – Outasite
7 Black Sugar –Checan
8 Los Belking’s – Sabata
9 Telegraph Avenue –Sungaligali
10 Los Texao –Sookie Sookie
11 Jeriko – Hey Joe
12 Los Destellos – Onsta La Yerbita
13 Los Nuevos Shains – Pancito Caliente
14 The Mad’s –Aouh Aouh
15 Los Comandos – El Sermón
The burgeoning domestic scene of the late ‘60s fed off the loudest beat, garage and rock ‘n’ roll records arriving from the States & UK, both imported or licensed into Peru, and powered forward, under-pinned by a strong revolutionary spirit. Students and teenage bands swelled in numbers and spotty-faced guitarists across the city fretted and licked with gusto. As the ‘60s turned into the ‘70s and as American funk, soul and West coast became growing influences, the underground music scene in Peru diversified rapidly.
The appetite in Peru for surf and garage made way for louder, more raucous sounds as some domestic bands tuned in to the splintered reverberations of the counter-culture and anti-war movements in the US. There was a newfound desire for a fluid sound and fresh fusions. Bands like Black Sugar, Los Belking’s and Thee Image looked north to Tower of Power, The Meters and early Chicago – groups who were mixing R n B, soul and funk into their repertoire.
Concerts, however, became less commonplace. Either they were shut down by the military junta or promoters felt obliged to cancel shows, all fuelling fear in the young. Watching a friend’s band could lead to prison or worse. In 1971, Santana was scheduled to play concerts in Peru but the tour was abruptly cancelled with no official explanation – a significant and damaging moment for the scene.
By the mid ‘70s, alternative guitar music had all but disappeared. Tropical sounds and cumbia ruled the airwaves and bands like Los Destellos were leading the pack. Some see the demise of the underground as a direct outcome of the dark cloud created by the fear ramped up by Peru’s military government. In truth, it was probably a mix of coercion, young bands running out of steam and a natural popular sway towards the more localised sounds of the country.
In Peru, “bravo” has a double meaning. It can refer to something that is edgy or dangerous but can also be celebratory, as in English. The choice of the title of this collection reflects both as we highlight a wonderfully brave and creative period during particularly tough times.
Peru Bravo was compiled by Andrés Tapia del Rio, Duncan Ballantyne & Martin Morales
…is the result of many years obsessively collecting Peruvian music – it’s in our blood. With a focus on ‘60s and ‘70s Latin and Tropical music, we have gone through our cherished vinyl collection and created a hand-picked selection full of unknown treasures from one of Peru’s most exciting musical eras.
The painstaking process of putting together Peru Maravilloso was undertaken with the premise of rooting and unearthing tracks that take the listener by surprise. Whilst recognising the music of cumbia, guaracha and the electric sound of chicha, Peru Maravilloso owes as much to soul-jazz, Latin-jazz, rock and psychedelic as it does to the traditional styles of Andean, Peruvian criollo and Latin.
The CD version comes with a pull out poster detailing the history of the artists on the compilation.
“A pretty stunning inauguration” Mojo
“Susana Baca has already opened the world’s ears to Peruvian heritage. This set goes even further” The Sunday Times
“A fabulous collection” PRI The World
In the 1960s, Peru’s musical trajectory took a radical switch from the traditional whilst the country underwent political reform. As international popular music became global in its reach and collective artistic responses to the political realities in Peru became prevalent, western psychedelic and rock became commonplace in local band’s repertoire. It was the dogged work of labels like Dinsa, Infopesa Iempsa, Sono Radio and FTA who tirelessly promoted and produced the bands featured on this compilation. Demand for the western electric guitar oriented sound of The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix had a major impact on recordings of the leading studios and smaller imprints. Many of the bandleaders of Peruvian groups were guitarists so their Latin compositions often took on a psychedelic twist with simple hypnotic rhythms and repetitive bass-lines but always stamped with a unique mix of Peruvian, Andean, Spanish and African influence.
This record does not attempt to showcase a singular strand or genre. Its beauty lies in its raw diversity. Nor does it offer a window into the Peruvian rock or garage scenes but It’s clear that there was not only mutual appreciation of different styles by Latin and rock composers but a healthy desire to combine ideas and experiment.
‘Toro Mata’, one of the most famous Afro–Peruvian folk songs is re-arranged as an orchestral-jazz instrumental by Pocho Purizaga, a drummer who worked with singer Lucia de la Cruz. Lucho Neves also offers an alternative but authoritative Peruvian stamp with his piano-jazz and huayño version of ‘Mambo De Machaguay’.
Cuban and Caribbean influences permeate the whole record with dance based tracks like ‘La Gallina’ (The Chicken!) by Félix Martinez y sus Chavales and ‘Piraña’ by Pedro Miguel y sus Maracaibos who incorporate son montuno with cumbia performed at a mesmerizing speed. Amazonian kings of the jungle, Juaneco y su Combo make an appearance with a very special slice of psychedelic and wah-wah infected chicha recorded in 1979.
As such Peru Maravilloso offers a first-of-a-kind snapshot of Peru in a bygone era, highlighting its many Latin expressions and identities, a country with a remarkable musical history that never ceases to surprise.
Compiled by Duncan Ballantyne, Martin Morales and Andres Tapia.
Shot when keyboardist in Los Nuevos Shains
Dinsa & Infopesa label founder and prolific producer
CEVICHE. That’s us and that’s our dish. Everything you need to know about Peruvian food is in it. We’ve travelled the length of Peru to find the best recipes and all over Britain to find the freshest fish – name a beach or a port and we’ve been there. We’re obsessive about how long we marinate it for, the kind of lime we use, the kick from the chilli, when we add the salt and how it’s ground… It all matters to us. A lot.
Address: 17 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4RG – MAP
Restaurant Reservations: welcome@cevicheuk.com or Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 2040
Andina is a casual dining Peruvian restaurant serving food and drinks from breakfast through to dinner on weekdays, and brunch through to dinner at the weekend. We have a juice bar serving freshly made smoothies, coffee and hot drinks which are all available for takeout. We’ve also created a ‘Music Room’ that is available for private dining. Our Peruvian soul food menu is hearty but healthy and uses many superfoods such as such quinoa, maca and lucuma to name a few.
Andina’s decor and menu are inspired by family-run ‘picanterias’ found in the Peruvian Andes. These are popular community restaurants run by Andean women who are lovingly referred to as ‘Andinas’.
“London’s top Peruvian restaurant” “FOUR STARS Time Out
“Explosively good..exhilarating…inventive” The Sunday Telegraph
“Andina is hot” Evening Standard
Address: 1 Redchurch St, London, E2 – MAP
Restaurant Reservations: welcome@andinalondon.com or Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 6499