Afro-Andean Funk in Chicago

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Latin Grammy Nominated Afro-Andean Funk is a Peruvian-American project formed in 2021 that breaks cultural barriers creating a powerful sound fusing roots music of the Andes and Afro-Peruvian scene with funk, rock and West African rhythms. As one of the most prominent voices of the new generation of Peruvian singers, two-time Latin Grammy nominated vocalist Araceli Poma is the lead singer of Afro-Andean Funk. American bassist Matt Geraghty writes, arranges and produces the music for Afro-Andean Fun.

Geraghty met Poma in a recording studio in Lima, Peru in 2019 while filming a documentary series featuring a talented group of women singers from the Afro-Peruvian and Criolla scene. Poma was selected as a featured singer on the album and subsequent documentary The Warrior Women of Afro-Peruvian Music, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in Best Long Form Music Video category. The band has released two albums and have received a Latin Grammy Nomination for The Sacred Leaf in Best Alternative Music Album competing against Rosalia and Bomba Estereo. Based in New York City they’ve been invited to play prestigious concerts at Lincoln Center and Bryant Park for thousands of fans.

Part of Geraghty’s travel music series Just Play, and released alongside an album of the same name, The Warrior Women of Afro-Peruvian Music highlights the important contributions women have made to Afro-Peruvian and Indigenous music in a field dominated by men. The documentary features the powerful voices of vocalists, Araceli Poma, Rosa Guzmán, Charo Goyoneche, Sofía Buitrón, Maricarmen Padilla, Milagros Guerrero, Victoria Villalobos, and percussionists Catalina Robles and Gisella Giurfa. The instrumentation on “The Warrior Women of Afro-Peruvian Music” includes the sounds of Afro-Peruvian percussion like cajón, cajita (“little box”), quijada (donkey jaw bone) and checo (gourd). In the mix are also electric and acoustic bass (Matt Geraghty), Rhodes and Steinway pianos (Misha Tsiganov), and nylon-string and electric guitars (Coco Vega, Neal Alger, Ernesto Hermoza), and Angelique Kidjo drummer Yayo Serka.