Chancha Via Circuito

Pedro Canale (aka Chancha Via Circuito) entered the stage and greeted the crowd in Spanish, French and English, indicative of the cultural mash-up his music is known for. He was joined by fellow Argentinean Sol Del Rio, who provided the visuals for the performance. Architectural wireframes of antique buildings filled the three screens that surrounded the stage and were also projected onto the MUTEK cube sculpture behind them. Chancha Via Circuito plays a form of digital cumbia, the Colombian folk music with a heavy African influence that has now spread throughout Latin America. The set started off slow with great vocal samples and a subtle techno beat underlying the seductive and complex polyrhythms of the cumbia style. Canale assumed the role of MC, standing behind his laptop, clapping, dancing, whistling into the mic and generally pumping up the crowd. The balance of electronics, folky cumbia samples, and the heavy, tribal beats had the crowd moving in an unusual halftime sway. As the set progressed, the sound got deeper and skirted dancehall territory before lightening up and returning to the sunnier cumbia sound.