Groove Obscura presents: Pitch Black Album Listening

Recorded in Lima in 1971 by Enrique Delgado, guitarist, innovator, and the self-styled father of Peruvian cumbia, Constelación is the sound of a genre finding its outer limits. Los Destellos built cumbia peruana by stripping out the horns and accordion and replacing them with electric guitar, fusing Colombian cumbia rhythms with Andean melody, surf rock, psychedelia, and a restless experimentalism that pointed directly toward chicha. Constelación is where that vision peaks. Original pressings are among the most sought-after South American records in existence. We’ll be listening to one of those. If you love Los Mirlos, Juaneco y Su Combo, or the scorched guitar psychedelia of Mdou Moctar, this one’s for you. — Arjun Shah