Since their formation over a decade ago, Bareto, comprised of Joaquín Mariátegui, Rolo Gallardo, Jorge Giraldo, Sergio Sarria, Jorge Olazo, Mauricio Mesones and Miguel Pinocchio, Peruvian septet Bareto have over the course of five full-length albums developed a reputation for relentless experimentation that has pushed the sonic boundaries of what cumbia can and should sound like, and as a result, the septet is largely considered one of the most critically and commercially successful acts of their generation. And interestingly enough, the band’s fifth and latest full-length album Impredecible which saw it stateside release today has the band expanding upon their sound as the material reportedly possesses elements of tropicalia, electronica, cumbia and Afro-Peruvian music, joining a growing list of “bandas tropicales. Adding to the band’s long-established reputation for experimentation, the album finds the band collaborating with Susana Baca, one of Peru’s most beloved vocalists and Novalima‘s Cotito playing cajon.
Impredecible‘s slow-burning yet buoyant new single “El impredecible,” possesses a languorous and looping rhythm, intricate and dexterous guitar lines familiar to Peruvian cumbia; however, the song manages to be simultaneously angular, as the looping rhythms are paired with complex polyrhythms and beats, ethereal electronics, warm blasts of horns coming out of the ether and earnest vocals to craft a sound that feels and sounds simultaneously traditional and futuristic.