credit: Moe Niel Ally & Oscar Moreno
Combo Cósmico at Hotel Vegas Patio
is a cumbia quintet from San Antonio, Texas
who take an out-of-this-world twist
on one of the most popular forms of Latin
American music. They take traditional
cumbia to new heights by incorporating
cosmic psychedelic influences to fully
immerse audiences and listeners.
Cumbia, an Afro-Latin musical genre
known for its steadfast rhythms and
improvisational shifts has won over
audiences across the America’s.
The driving beats and familiar riffs
helped the genre gain popularity
in dance halls from Colombia to
the United States.
Combo Cosmico’s debut album, Cumbia Ovnidera, Out of This World Cumbia, is an absolute trippy
mood-maker that would be on repeat in the most beautiful desert landscapes.
Tracks like “Cumbia del Faraón,” Pharaoh's Cumbia, open with satellite sounding beeps and fuzz, then rips
through the void with a spaghetti-western surf guitar lead and finally touches firm ground with a booming
cumbia grove. The track balances the infectious energy of a jamband, but keeps it tight and potent thanks
to Combo’s restraint.
The song, “Hijo de Lobo,” opens with a desolate ambiance that sounds part chant
and one-way extraterrestrial communications.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.