by Allie Silver
How does a British born producer become a pioneer of psychedelic cumbia?
It all began when Richard Blair took a small trip to Colombia in 1992, where he went to produce music with Colombian legends Toto la Momposina and Los Aterciopelados.
Inspired by the rich culture and music of Colombia, Blair decided to form his own project, Sidestepper, taking influences from British electronic genres like dub and drum and bass, and fusing them with Afro-Colombian and salsa rhythms. This unique combination has pushed Sidestepper to international stardom, paving the way for a new generation of Colombian groups to evolve the connections between traditional Colombian rhythms with modern electronic music.
Two of these groups, Bomba Estéreo and Systema Solar, will join Sidestepper in a 3 part series of Colombian concerts at Niceto Club in Buenos Aires. Sidestepper will kick off the series on Tuesday March 22nd at Niceto Club at 21:00hrs, followed by Bomba on the 31st and Systema Solar on the 23rd of April. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketek, in the Niceto Club box office or at Spell Café in Puerto Madero.
WUBA is also raffling out tickets to all three shows. For more information to enter the raffle, click here.
