Carlos Vives Releases Indigenous Roots-Inspired Album “Cumbiana”

Carlos Vives is going back to his roots…

The 58-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter has released his latest album, Cumbiana, a search for the indigenous roots of Colombian music. 

Carlos Vives

The album has been described as “exuberant, soulful, beautiful and important without ever sounding overbearing,” by Billboard.

The album features duets with Jessie ReyezRuben Blades and Alejandro Sanz,and ittreads that line between what’s commercial and what’s artistic.

“I discovered a lost world. That’s the truth,” Vives simply states, speaking from his home in Bogota, where he’s been in lockdown for the past two months.

“We’ve always spoken about our African heritage in music,” he adds. “We’ve always thought that the most uplifting elements of our music came from Africa or from European rhythms like polka. But it turns out it comes from Andean, or indigenous music. This album highlights the joy of the fusion of African, European and indigenous music.”

Marrying Colombia’s past with the future, Cumbianahas already delivered a chart hit with “No Te Vayas.” Edgier still is current single “For Sale,” a mix of traditional beats with reggaeton, a touch of rap and Sanz’s flamenco strains. Of course, Vives wrote the rulebook for Colombian fusion.

His 1994 album, La Tierra Del Olvido, where he marries Colombia’s most traditional folk beats — vallenato, cumbiaporro— with rock guitars and drums and pop sensibility, is the original blueprint of the sound that would later define the work of acts like JuanesFonseca and even Shakira at times.

But Cumbiana expands its realm. So much so that this is the first of a three-album project.

Fanny Lu Returns with the Brand New Single “El Perfume”

Fanny Lu is making a sweet-smelling return to the music world…

Following a three-year hiatus from recording new material, the 42-year-old Colombian singer has released a brand new single via Sony Music.

Fanny Lu

Written by Carlos Vives with his longtime producer and co-writer Andrés Castro, “El Perfume” marks a return to Fanny Lu’s original vallenato/pop sound, with prominent accordion riffs, a danceable beat and a catchy chorus.

“Colombia is my country, my heart and my inspiration, and this new single and album reflect that,” said Fanny Lu, who served as a coach on La Voz Colombia, her country’s version of the NBC singing competition The Voice.

With a mix of pop, vallenato accordion and a husky voice, Fanny Lu found success in 2006 with her catchy single “No te pido que me mandes flores” from her debut album Lágrimas Cálidas. Two subsequent singles, “Y si te digo” and “Tu no eres para mi” (with a video featuring Wilmer Vaderrama), reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay charts.

Fanny Lu was most recently a coach on La Voz Kids Colombia and also collaborated with Vives in his new version of “La tierra del olvido.”