Super Sonido

Well, it’s been a long time coming. Joe’s been trying to get me to contribute to Super Sonido for a while and I finally got it together to drop a little some’n some’n.

My pick is a track by a little known singer named Pepito Quechua. On this track he is backed up by the amazing Grupo Celeste some of whom went on to back up the immortal Chacalon in his band “Chacalon y La Nueva Crema“, an amazing Chicha band that is widely considered the “official” sound of Chicha.

Anyways, the reason I love this tune is not only for it’s great guitar solo and the soulful yearning in Pepito’s voice but because it’s the only Guaracha I have heard with lyrics in Quechua. One of the few things I was taught by my dad & uncles from Peru was how to count in Quechua, and when I first heard Pepito’s count down to kick off the jam “huk…iskay…quimsa!…”, which is “1,2,3” in Quechua, I thought “damn Pepito’s got it goin on!!!” In Peru there is a lot of pride in being Cholo/Indio, but there’s also a lot of discrimination. I see this song as one of the few genuine mestizo tunes, taking the coastal Guaracha with the heavy guitar riffs and the great rolling bass & tropical percussion and mixing it with the Spanish and the native tongue and rhythms, all executed with style and pride. The little else I can translate is something about “urpicha = my dove” and “yananyawi = dark eyes” and the chorus in the end of the song has the word “misky” which translates to “tight wad, or penny pincher” which would make sense considering the title of the song is “Por Que No Me Das?” (Why do you not give?)

Anyways, I thought I’d also post the rebajada version, considering that it is the way I prefer to play a lot of my 45’s. This subject will take a bit longer to get into, and I plan on droppin a rebajada mix here very soon, but for the peeps that don’t know, rebajadas are slowed down tracks that change the song entirely and give it a different more laid back rhythm and makes the vocals sound like they’re sippin on syrup, if you know what I mean. Anyways, there’s a lot of theories as to who, how, and why did rebajadas start, but I chalk it up to the fact that super fast Descargas & Guarachas from Peru & Colombia actually sound a hell of a lot more like Cumbia when the 45 is played at 33 RPM. Theories about record players with dying batteries are good stories, but I think people just dig the doped out style. Forgive the skip at the end, Enjoy!

-DJ LENGUA

P.S. I’m not sure if this is the same man 40 years later, but something tells me it is. Pepito rockin the Huayno comedy, “Teta Chueca!!” pretty damn funny, oh man…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLmgBSUYqoc&feature=related

Thanks DJ Lengua for the amazing post and Quechua lessons. You can catch visual artist, musician, and my number one homeboy Dj Lengua spinning records @ Mas Exitos  a biweekly event every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays @ the Verdugo in Los Angeles. And when he’s not being artistic you can find him driving his truck around L.A. with his wife Gina and their dog Pepino. Keep posted for future Lengua mixes and other joint posts on Super Sonido. Just to elaborate, rebajada is a popular dj style in Mexico. I wanted to point out that some dj’s take super fast gaitas and slow them down to a more danceable beat. Lengua and I will collaborate on a post sometime in the future.

-Sonido Franko

1. Pepito Quechua: Por Que No Me Das

2. Pepito Quechua: Por Que No Me Das (Estilo Rebejada)