Pictured: Los Belkings.
The ’60s and ’70s were influential decades in the formation of modern day Peru. The country saw General Juan Velasco Alvarado and the military overthrow then-president Fernando Belaúnde and install a dictatorship. Naturally, the country’s arts and culture scenes reacted in kind.
One of those scenes was the emergence of funk, soul, and psychedelic rock music in Peru. Bands such as Traffic Sound, Los Holys, Los Belkings, Telegraph Avenue, and Los Destellos brought garage, surf, soul, and psych music to the country’s underground music scene. The heads at Tiger’s Milk Records put a number of these artists together in their latest compilation, Peru Bravo, featuring the work of artists who struggled against the man from 1968 – 1974.
Check out four songs from the compilation below, including a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” by Jeriko.