Novalima — NPR Tiny Desk, Washington, 2012

Live concert filmed at NPR’s office in Washington for the Tiny Desk series in April 2012, this set features the Peruvian collective Novalima, spearhead of the Afro-Peruvian music revival. Around the cajon and traditional percussion, the group revives the lando and festejo — dance rhythms with West African roots inherited from the history of slavery in Peru — and blends them with electronic and dub textures. This live session, an intimate format that has become a cult favorite, foregrounds call-and-response singing, handclaps and the hypnotic groove of a band that carried Afro-Peruvian music onto the international stage. Published by the group from its archives, the NPR capture conveys the warmth of a performance played live, understated and infectious. This filmed live concert is an ideal gateway to world music and the Afro-descendant heritage of Latin America. A multi-song live capture that combines memory, trance and modernity, to be discovered for the richness of its percussion.