POSITIVE MESSAGE
La Chamba’s Peruvian-inspired music aims to bring people together
Jason Zepeda believes that New Mexico is an enchanting area.
This is part of the reason he’s looking forward to returning for two shows — one in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque.
“I love New Mexico,” he says during a recent interview. “I used to tour with another band. This will be the first time I’m here with La Chamba.”
La Chamba translates into “work” — and the band definitely does that.
It’s been nine years since the band started, and there have been numerous lineup changes. Zepeda says the band continues to grow.
The band is rounded out by Alejandro Araujo, Diego Herrera, Jimmy Cisneros and Kyle Armstrong.
The band is known for fusing ’60s psychedelic-inspired surf pop from Peru with Afro-Latin rhythms.
The band’s roots are in East and South Central Los Angeles.
Zepeda says the band’s sound pays homage to the melodies of Peruvian chicha music, which is popular among the working-class people of Lima and the Amazon.
“It’s a music that is played by migrant folks, and they bring a lot of indigenous melodies to the sound,” he says. “We fell in love with the sound, and it’s fun to see people get up and dance.
The band’s first album was a cover album that paid homage to Chicha classics.
“We learned those songs and added arrangements,” he says. “Then we also added more harmonies to make it our own.”
For the band’s original compositions, Zepeda writes the lyrics.
“It’s a lot about my life experiences,” he says. “I try and to read and look into my life, and a lot of what I’ve experienced is universal to others. Right now, I’m writing about love and understanding. It’s about letting go and moving on. These are things that I’ve never really tackled.”
The band used to be more political, and Zepeda says the music still has a message.
He says the goal of the band’s music now is to bring people together.
“There’s so much division in the world, it’s nice to see people of all walks of life come together,” he says. “Once we dance together, it becomes personal. We want everyone to get up and have a good time.”