What does dance music sound like in a world where dancefloors remain shut? Daniel Valle-Riestra, a Lima-based producer operating under the moniker Qoqeqa, provided one possible answer with his debut album Axuxa. Released on Peruvian label Kebrada, the record is as melancholic as tripped-out, combining rhythms, field recordings, and synth melodies. The LP is in sync with releases from Qoqeqa’s peers – a growing scene of adventurous Latinx producers like fellow Peruvian Duo Dengue Dengue Dengue and US-based artists like Debit and DJ Python. This music is increasingly unconcerned with the dramaturgic confinements and requirements of a club night; instead they prefer explorating the realms of inner experience, drawing from the esoteric, the spiritual, and the emotional. To sketch out a possible landscape of such dance music, Qoqeqa sent us a selection of 10 tracks. All of them have been produced in 2020 and 2021 in the midst of a new environment beyond the places in which these songs would normally have been played.
Sputnik One – Warm Body
“A track that enhances brain activity – traditional dubstep mixed with jungle but with a very atmospheric approach.”
Loris – Rastros (EP)
“Such a great percussion language throughout the tracks, like a spinal cord in between all the synth ideas. Great drum patch selection.”
Siete Catorce – Desesperacion
“Broken rhythms, glitched textures, and squelching frequencies – Siete Catorce is doing his thing; you don’t know exactly where he is going to take you.”
Omaar – Ritmo
“The whole album is an interesting percussive trip with an emphasis on tribal elements.”
Sidirum – Future Nature
“A wonderful ambient piece.”
Dengue Dengue Dengue & Mikongo – La Peineta
“A flamenco-infused dark dream with pitched down voices and wooden elements – Dengue Dengue Dengue can really put you in the mood.“
Codigo Jondo – Tránsito
“As the aforementioned ‘La Peineta,’ this track is part of the compilation Codex Futura Vol.2: Very emotive voices and strings.”
Lila Tirando a Violeta – Flores & El Mar
“I love the vocal textures, wind instruments, and water. I would love to hear a longer version of this one, as it only lasts two minutes. I have it on repeat!”
Qoqeqa – Toroidal
“Spiced-up patterns in a 3/4 rhythm.”
RAQ – Qechua
“Nostalgic Andean pan flutes with raw percussion elements – brilliant!”
