In Zona Sur, Argentina, outside the capital city Buenos Aires, resides one of the men responsible for helping the new wave of cumbia spread like wildfire, through vinyl and the internet, beyond the Americas and into soundsystems from LA to London.
Pedro Canale, better known as Chancha Vía Circuito, has become one of the best-known artists to emerge from the thriving Buenos Aires music scene, centered around the Zizek nightclub. His elegant, well-crafted and bass-friendly compositions have found their way onto pounding cumbia mixtapes worldwide, including two of the most influential to date: Diplo/Mad Decent’s “Soy Cumbia” mix, and Vampiros Dee Jay’s “La Sonidera Colombiana” (his track “Damas Gratis Dub” opens both mixes).
Pedro is friendly and unassuming, apparently unfazed by the critical success of his album “Rodante,” and he continues to lead a seemingly quiet lifestyle a fair train ride outside of Buenos Aires city.
I spoke with him from my home in Japan, where he enjoys underground fame among the surprising number of Japanese cumbieros.
Chief Magazine: When did you start writing your own music, and what kinds of music have you made?
Pedro Canale: I started when I was 12. I used to make songs on the acoustic guitar (the guitarra criolla) and since then I’ve passed through various different styles: rock, reggae, heavy, electronic, to name a few.
I read that when you were young you used to play percussion in the murgas. How did that influence your musical development?
When I was a kid I played the bass drum in a folkloric group at school, but I never played in a murga, maybe that was a mistake somewhere. But recently I got involved with the murgas, 4 years ago, when I was invited to join the jury for the Buenos Aires carnival.
In any case, it has had an important role for me because the percussion characteristic of the murgas—the bass with the cymbal—opened my ears to a palate of timbre I wasn’t familiar with.
What is the rhythm of the murgas like?
Well, as far as the Argentinean murgas it’s pretty simple: 4/4 with the bass drum on whole notes.
The little I have seen of murgas on YouTube has been incredible. How would you explain murga to people unfamiliar with it?
It’s not easy to explain, but to summarize you could say it’s an artistic expression of social protest that began with the slaves brought on ships from Africa, and it acquired different styles and characteristic touches in different countries… It’s an art that combines music, dance, song and fantasy. And yes, I agree with you, they’re incredible.
Before the weekly Zizek parties started what were you doing, and where would you go to play or hear music?
I was working as Universildo—a more electronic, introverted project—and also playing guitar and making music for friends’ short films. I didn’t play much, and when I went out it was usually to go to parties where some DJ or producer that I liked was playing.
In those days were you already playing around with cumbia and other tropical rhythms?
Yes, because I was making the music for a one person theater show, where I had to play with different rhythms and styles, and one of the songs was a cumbia.
How was Zizek established, and what was your role at the start?
Zizek started when Nim, Villa Diamante and El G decided to open a club where you could dance to mestizo, hybrid music genres. I started out helping with the lists at the door, then I was in charge of the CD stand at the shows, and gradually I started to perform my first shows as Chancha Vía Circuito.
How did Chancha Vía Circuito begin?
It started when I composed my first two cumbias, and so I needed a new name. Once I was up to 5 tracks I talked to the guys about performing, and it just kind of kept going.
How was the atmosphere in those days?
Really fun! There were lots of us who were tired of the same music all over the place, so Zizek became the best party where you could go and dance, and enjoy a fresher sound.
Why do you think that cumbia, in particular, ended up becoming the music that has stood out the most?
Because it makes you dance, it has a good energy.
What other types of music do you hear at Zizek?
They’re mostly hybrids—genres always get mixed: cumbia, hip hop, dubstep, crunk, folkloric, kuduro, electronic, mashups, etc.
What does cumbia have that’s allowed it to be reinterpreted by so many people, in so many countries, during so many eras?
It has feeling, soul, sensuality, cadence, and when you dance it, it takes you to a unique place.
What elements have been added to Argentinean cumbia to make it particularly Argentinean?
With cumbia villera, it was the lyrics, which talk about a cruder, more violent reality, which people experience in the villas. Also, the decision to use the keyboard. With other types [of Argentinean cumbia] I don’t think there’s anything particularly Argentinean. Though what digital cumbia has is the element of reinterpretation, which is pretty Argentinean, I guess you could say.
You’ve said that you like Argentinean cumbia because it’s “dirty” and because of the authentic sound of its keyboards. Could you elaborate a little?
Well, about it being dirty, I was talking specifically about the sound of the grater (la guacharaca), because in Argentina we usually use metal ones. And the thing about the keyboards is that they have a sound that’s different from the cumbias of other countries. You have to hear it to see what I’m talking about.
Could you recommend a song?
Any song by Damas Gratis or Los Pibes Chorros.
What inspires you to make a new song?
Hearing music that I like, trips on the train, the day to day.
Are you still living outside of Buenos Aires? How is the trip by train from there to the city? Since I live in Japan, where trains are a huge part of the culture, I’d be curious to hear a little about the trains in Argentina.
Yes, I’m still living outside of the capital. The scenery is nice for the most part. Halfway along the trip there is an open site full of abandoned trains and dandelions; also abandoned factories, and stations that still have their old, original facades; and the Riachuelo, a river famous for its pollution as well as its poverty.
The rail is really important here too, but there are some lines that don’t run so well, with trains in poor condition and times of day where taking the train is truly awful, with people literally riding on top of the locomotive. It’s dangerous, and people die constantly.
How were you inspired to create “Rodante”?
It just happened on its own, I never planned to make an album. The idea that all the songs I was working on might turn into an album came from Villa Diamante, and I decided to go with it.
In terms of recording, how much was instrumentation and how much was electronic?
It was half and half, because for the most part the method of composition was electronic, and the majority of the sounds were acoustic, not synthesized.
Various artists collaborated on “Rodante”—which was the most interesting or fun experience?
They were all equally interesting, but I think the most fun was the version of Axel Krygier’s “Zorzal” that happened spontaneously when I was at home with my girlfriend, the singer Sol de Oliveira, and she started humming it over the track while I finished mixing it.
Has the success of ZZK and of “Rodante”—and all the attention Buenos Aires has received—been surprising?
Yes, it has, and it’s made me really happy that it’s been like this.
People all over the world are into digital cumbia, but how has the reaction been in Argentina and Latin America?
In Argentina and in other Latin countries the reaction’s been good, people have been really open to it.
What other Latin American cities’ cultural and music scenes are you interested in at the moment?
Each country has its own thing. Brazil, Bolivia, Perú, Chile, México…
How has the music scene in Buenos Aires changed over the past few years?
It’s gotten a lot richer. Stereotypes have been broken down and new and interesting roads have opened up.
What kinds of stereotypes? And how has the general perception with regard to cumbia changed?
The stereotype of the guy who listens to electronic music, of the hip hop guys, the reggaeton guy, rockers, cumbieros… people from groups that are generally more insulated, who mainly went to genre-specific parties, who [came to Zizek] and—finding themselves in a different situation—had the opportunity to relax a little, to listen or dance to different music.
As for cumbia, little by little lots of people who looked down on it realized that it wasn’t as awful as they thought, that it was just another genre, and little by little some of them started to discover what it is that’s good about it.
Aside from Zizek, what are some other parties or things going on in Buenos Aires that you’re into?
Friends’ parties, especially when they’re outside.
How has the Zizek party evolved, and how did it go at the first party since it reopened?
The party has become increasingly fashionable without losing its spirit of continual change. The reopening party was a success, not necessarily in terms of how many people turned up, but because it needed a breather, and a new location.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at a Zizek party, and your best memory?
The craziest thing I saw was The Peronist’s first show, it was really fun. Lots of chaos of ideas and sounds that made for a really interesting party. And my best memory was the first time I played Zizek, when some of my brothers, my mother and a bunch of my friends all came out.
Too bad you’re not on the current North American tour. Do you have plans to play abroad anytime soon?
Yes, this year I am planning to go on tour, but I am not sure how soon.
Where have you played, where was the most fun, and where would you like to go?
Last year we toured the US, Canada and Mexico, and I enjoyed Mexico the most. I would love to visit Europe, and playing in Japan would be amazing!
Who are your favorite artists right now in Argentina, and outside of Argentina?
There are lots of artists I like here: Ismael Pinkler, Wenceslada, Jerónimo Escajal, Marcelo Fabián, Tremor, Fauna, Diosque, Los Reyes del Falsete are a few.
What is your favorite classic cumbia song?
“La Barca.” I am not sure who originally wrote it, but I love the version by Jambao.
What are you working on these days?
I’m working on a new Chancha EP that will be put out on vinyl by the German label Man Recordings, and also producing tracks for Wenceslada, my girlfriend. And we also have an acoustic project where I play guitar and sing, called Sol de Otoño.
Why, or how, do you think that so much music like digital cumbia, baile funk and kuduro has been able to become internationally popular in the past several years?
Because they’re authentic, very danceable, and because each one has its own particular sound and style.
Interview by Andres Zuleta-David
Translated into English by Andres Zuleta-David
Photos courtesy of Pedro Quintans of Chancha Vía Circuito
Chancha Vía Circuito on MySpace
Chancha Vía Circuito’s Mixtape at ZZK Records
Tags: argentina, Chief Magazine, cumbia, Issue 17, zzk