ABOUT CUMBIASOUND
Cumbiasound is a Nu-Cumbia project. Highly original and organic. Original compositions with strong roots in classic colombian Cumbia and Peruvian Chicha mixed with Reggae, Balkan, Afrobeat, Funk, Soul, Jazz and Proggressive music played on real instruments by real people- it’s Real Music!
”2010 I heard Cumbia the first time. While standing outside a supermarket in a small town in Colombia eating ice cream. It was blazing hot and all of a sudden this music came out of the speakers. ”What’s that?” I asked my wife- and the rest is history. A true love affair.” -Daniel Fridell
This Swedish band led by Daniel Fridell is part of a community of artists that include Frente Cumbiero, Malphino y Sonido Gallo Negro, who are known for exploring the outmost frontiers to which cumbia can arrive without losing its analogue roots sound. ​
In 2011 Cumbiasound became a cult classic within the Latin Alternative scene with the EP “CALZONES LARGOS” for Caballito Netlabel. And after spending some years dormant, in 2020 the band returned to the spotlight with their first two official EPs: the instrumental ”VOL1. -INSTRUMENTALES” and “COSAS DEL UNIVERSO”, a very successful EP where the sound of the band got a new life by relying heavily on the vocal performances of Boogie Castillo and Lis Flores Varela from Chile, as well as Congolese José Pèreelanga. Daniel also received instrumental help from long time friend Erik Axelsson on trombone for these releases. These Eps are digging deeper into different types of Cumbia with a fresh squeeze of 70’s Palenque rythms.
Thanks to this work, the band managed to debut themselves on streaming platforms with more than 50k monthly listeners, over 2M streams and to become a recurrent feature at playlists of global Latin sounds such as Vibra Tropical or Folk Fabrique, among others. Also french Radio Nova plays their songs resulting in a feature on their compilation ”Nova Tunes 4:2”
​In 2021, Cumbiasound released “LA MAQUINA”, 5 songs that took us from the vibrant traditional Colombian cumbia and the colorful Palenque to the charming, pithed-down sound of cumbia rebajada, and there it connected with a stronger african sound which also featured lyrics in Lingala (Congo). Vocalists Lis Flores Varela, Boogie Castillo and José Pèreelanga told us stories about love, witchcraft and revolution, leaving us with a sense of liberation, a well needed musical vacation during the pandemic.
In 2023 Cumbiasound took on a new trip with their single ”LUCHO MUCHO”.A song built entirely on the traditional Afro-Colombian rhythm Bullerengue featuring the classic trio of drums: Tambor Alegre, Llamador and Tambora played by Daniel, who always is on a quest for learning new music and techniques. This together with a deep Hip Hop energy sat a new standard in the Euro-Cumbia evolution as well as in the international Tropicanibalismo movement.
-"The daily struggle is a universal law, which we wanted to make into a song. It is something sincere with a street atmosphere but still with a traditional flavor. The daily fight for love and for our rights. Cada loco con su lucha! Bullerengue de la calle!" -Lis Flores Varela
In 2024 it was time for another instrumental release: AMAZONAS. On which Daniel discovers a more modern and ambient sound which goes well with the magical experience he had in the Amazon jungle.
Parallell with all these releases on Jonas Music, Cumbiasound has released music on Prisma Music that has a more chill/lofi/mood profile. As well as music for the computer game Cartel Tycoon.
-"Cumbiasound is in constant evolution, discovering both the latin and African music. Every time we work in the studio, we discover the similarities between our different traditional music. The roots of Cumbia is so obviously African. There is a deep connection between the Colombian and the Congolese music" - Boogie Castillo
