Ecuatoriana - El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga 1969-1981

New Analog Africa release Ecuatoriana - El Universo Paralelo de Polibio Mayorga 1969-1981 is highlighting one of the Andean Cumbia pioneers - daring and visionary, with an intrepid vigorous style almost impossible to imitate. Polibio Mayorga established a unique place for himself at the vanguard of tropical music by flirting with avant-garde sounds, a hybrid of cumbia rhythms and traditional tunes, bringing music into the space age in an elaborated sonic flourish with electronic instruments.

On 12 February 1949, an angry mob stormed into the centre of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, burning the offices of the city's main newspaper and its oldest radio station to the ground. On that tragic day, Radio Quito had just broadcast a local adaptation of HG Wells's "The War of the Worlds". The novel, first published in 1898 and famously adapted into a radio series by Orson Welles, is one of the earliest stories to depict a conflict between mankind and a hostile race of extraterrestrials. The large audience, not understanding that it was pure fiction, believed that intergalactic intelligence had invaded the country as chaos broke out. People blamed the broadcaster for the tragedy, forming a dense crowd and storming Radio Quito, setting it ablaze. Several musicians, who were there performing, were killed.

In the decades after the second world war, outer space was on everyone's mind. The 'space race' of the 1950s and 60s not only produced groundbreaking efforts in space exploration but also had a huge impact on the music industry. Musicians took advantage of the world's fascination with space voyages to create instruments capable of mimicking imaginary interstellar sounds. These synthesised space effects captivated the imagination of a whole generation of young Ecuadoreans. Artists from the provinces flocked to major cities like Quito and Guayaquil, bringing with them a rich tapestry of rhythms. This led to the explosion of what would be known as "Andean Cumbia" - a fusion of tropical electronics with Andean melodies.

One of these musicians is Polibio Mayorga, who modernized his region's ancestral rhythms using the latest electronic instruments. After years with Los Locos del Ritmo, he joined Fadisa in 1973 as a solo musician and songwriter. Teaming up with saxophonist Olmedo Torres, they composed hits that revived Ecuador's music industry. With hits like "Ponchito de Colores" and his famous album "La Farra Está Aquí", Polibio's novel use of Moog synthesizer brought him immense success. This surge of interest in Andean cumbia turned him into Ecuador's most influential musician. Polibio Mayorga may not consider his music to be "tropical psychedelia", but he is undoubtedly a daring and visionary musician at the vanguard of tropical music.