As two as the leading forces pushing forward the experimental meets traditional sounds of Peru and South America, Eck Echo and Matraca come together to take a step beyond on the Andean inspired sounds. This is not the average folktronica downtempo mixture, you are driven on a search for higher highs and deeper landscapes of the music from the largest mountain range of the world.

The first track to debut from this collection, “TierraKollavina” by Ira Zema, adds a hardcore trip-hop beat to a seminal piece of Puno identity by composer Castor Vera Solano. The Peruvian breakthrough producer is none other than the grand-daughter of the folkloric producer, and also, one of the curators behind this beautifully crafted artisanal project.

Ira Zema - TierraKollavina (EstiloAymara)

“Gwandena” is one of the headiest moments from TIMPANA's upcoming new album, a sure shot of exhilaration, as Talina (the album's protagonist, a young girl in search of herself) gets swept up by a torrent of Afro-Andean-Amazonian rhythms. With instruments including the charango, the toyo (Andean flute), djembé and Afro-Bolivian percussion, and with lyrics that pass between Spanish and Quechua, it’s a song that reveals a lot about Bolivian culture. Far from the “Andean panpipe” image that is often conveyed, Bolivia is a multicultural society where African and Amazonian cultures are equally present, and where the natural world is never taken for granted.

For far too long Bolivian music has sat in the corner, watching the world go by. TIMPANA is one of a number of Bolivian artists intent on showing that the country has a lot to offer, injecting folktronica and tropical bass with her own inimitable stamp, and laying out a narrative and worldview which sees her add to a conversation begun by artists like Luzmila Carpio. “Gwandena” is just the beginning.

“Gwandena” will be released by Sounds and Colours on 6th August

TIMPANA "Gwandena"

On “Pájaro”, we find ourselves at an arete, a sacred Guaraní fiesta, celebrating the fact that our protagonist, Talina, has been taught how to heal using plants, and is now able to heal her beloved guide, a hummingbird named Jovi. The song begins with a healing mantra, Jovi himself beginning the process of restoration. Then, it bursts into life, charango strums, Bolivian wind instruments like the toyo, quena and quenacho all coming to the fore, and the party really begins.

As with the rest of Gwandena, the song is notable for its use of Afro-Andean-Amazonian rhythms and percussion, and especially for Alejandra Lanza’s mellifluous voice, stretching from a piercing falsetto to a fearsome roar, that guides the song’s emotions and it’s many voices and stories, whether in Guaraní or Spanish.

“Pájaro” is the second single from Gwandena, following the title track. The album was produced by Lanza, along with fellow Bolivian Chuntu, and features contributions from Bolivia's best musicians such as Luciel Izumi, Cucó Pachá Kutí and Amado Espinoza, as well as like-minded souls from across Latin America and Europe. It’s an album that draws from Bolivia’s myriad traditions and belief systems, inspired by Lanza’s own experiences and research, and is sure to shine a light on a Bolivian music scene that deserves far more attention.
lyrics
Guira Tüpa ete che (Pájaro eterno verdadero soy)
Cheti Korepoti peño (Sólo con mi pico de plata)
Anoe va ko che (Que saca soy)
Röisa (Calma)

Pájaro eterno soy
Pico de plata y la gran ave eterna
Del cielo soy
Grandes alas tan abiertas

Gira Vuela al brillar
El frío de las alas calma

Calma el cielo al bailar
Baila el cielo al cantar

Esa esa! alegría alegría!
El Pico de Plata
Pájaro soy!

Te habías volado bien bonito
Estoy bailando en circulares
De auroras auroras boreales (2)

De plata… Ayayyyy
Yo soy…. Ayayyy
Siempre brilla… Ayayyy
Ave yo soy

Del medio cielo soy
Viene Pico de Plata ave eterna
Sin miedo voy
Encienden grandes alas tan abiertas
Calma todas las cosas

Gira vuela al brillar
Calma el cielo al bailar
Baila el cielo al cantar

Cheti Korepoti
O vera vera va che
O vera vera va che
O vera vera va che
credits
from Gwandena, track released September 2, 2022
Ale Lanza: vocals, percussion and samplers
Chuntu: keyboards, synths and samplers
Luciel Izumi: charango
Cucó Pachá Kutí: toyos, quenas, quenachos and other wind instruments, and percussion

Post Production by IntiChe
Mixed by Javier Hernández
Mastered by Emiliano Dubsalon

Lyrics by TIMPANA (Alejandra Lanza)
Music by Chuntu (Simón Peña) & TIMPANA (Alejandra Lanza)

Produced by Chuntu (Simón Peña) & TIMPANA (Alejandra Lanza)

Released by Sounds and Colours

Gwandena

TIMPANA "Pájaro"

“Jovi” is the song of a hummingbird that will guide our protagonist, Talina, through the many fates she will encounter in Gwandena, a narrative album informed by Ale Lanza’s research into Afro-Andean-Amazonian rhythms and Bolivia’s indigenous traditions and singing, especially the songs and stories of her grandparents. “I learned about the world-view of the Guaraní culture”, says Lanza, “especially from two important texts where I found that the mystical and the mysterious are combined in such a way that the characters of Gwandena are born and are found among dreams, rituals, the sacred and the profane.”

“When singing their languages, they take me to another time, to the nostalgia of the beginning of all things”, she adds about her signing in both Guaraní and Quechua, along with Spanish, throughout the album. Adding to this connection with an ancestral Bolivia, “Jovi” also features traditional Andean instruments such as the ronroco guitar, toyo, quena and quenacho flutes, and wankara and caja percussion, by the Bolivian musician and arranger Cucó Pachá Kutí.

with Bolivian producer Chuntu adding keyboards, synths and samplers, deftly finding a meeting-point between the modern and sacred.

“Jovi” is the third single from TIMPANA’s second album, Gwandena, which will be released by Sounds and Colours on September 30th. Gwandena is produced by Chuntu and TIMPANA, and is indicative of a hugely-creative independent music scene in Bolivia, one that is multi-lingual, multi-cultural and brimming with inventiveness.

TIMPANA "Jovi"

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