POLIBIO MAYORGA - Ecuatoriana – El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga 1969-1981

Let's take things in order. We find ourselves in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, in the early 1960s. The city is under siege from two directions: from the rest of the world, feverish with the space race, come the gently futuristic fantasies of space age music; from the surrounding towns, meanwhile, flock young people in search of work, eager to carve out a place in the metropolis of their dreams. The cultural clash that follows could only spill over into the city's nascent music scene: if rhythms brought in by immigrants forge a variant of cumbia dubbed "Andean cumbia," the electronic interference parachuted in from Western satellites turns those tropical dances into alien novelty songs. With one crucial distinction: while the lounge music flooding bourgeois living rooms indulges in naive optimism, these bizarre little tunes don't hesitate to shine a spotlight on the hard lives of exploited workers, yet determined to endure. Success was immediate and overwhelming.

To grasp how seriously the people of Quito take extraterrestrial life, one must also cite another, grotesque backstory: on February 12, 1949, a local epigone of Orson Welles decided to replicate the infamous radio experiment of eleven years earlier, broadcasting an improbable equatorial adaptation of "The War of the Worlds." While American families merely sank into panic, the more pragmatic Ecuadorians staged a genuine riot, setting Radio Quito ablaze and killing many of the musicians present at the station (all true). Space-themed inspirations are thus more than a flight of fancy: they are an exorcism of a tragic event that left its mark on the collective imagination.

If there is one figure who perfectly embodied the spirit of those days, it can only be Polibio Mayorga. Having cut his teeth in the celebrated ensemble Los Locos del Ritmo, he settled at the Fadisa label, eventually becoming its artistic director. Forming a steady partnership with saxophonist Olmedo Torres, Mayorga soon distinguished himself as a songwriter, arranger, session player and talent scout, establishing himself as the most respected musical mind in the country. Credit also goes to the Moog he always carried under his arm, played with the visionary flair of a Joe Meek or an Esquivel. Suspended like a hammock between the tinkling of cocktail glasses and the resonance of drums, his is 24-carat easy listening, as delightful as the finest nostalgia for lost futures.

The merit of this anthology lies in compiling a varied selection across the countless incarnations and collaborations of this multifaceted artist, rescuing him from the oblivion into which he risked sinking. One of the finest gifts from the worthy Analog Africa on this ever more thrilling South American journey.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

22/12/2023