20-track compilation of new music from Peru, showcasing the diverse music being made in the country, ranging from the digital cumbia of Elegante Y La Imperial and Dengue Dengue Dengue! to the indie-pop of Las Amigas de Nadie and Kanaku Y El Tigre, and from the huayno harp playing of Los Cholos to the gorgeous bolero of La Lá. These are the sounds that are currently gaining Peru a reputation as a hotbed of new and innovative music.

This compilation was made to accompany Sounds and Colours Peru, a 200-page book and 2-hour DVD focused on Peruvian music and culture. Find out more about the book at soundsandcolours.com/issues/sounds-and-colours-peru/.

Find out more about the artists on the compilation below:

1. Moldes “11:11”
Creating experimental but accessible rock music is not easy, but it’s something Lima’s Moldes have done with ease, even managing to better their 2010 debut with 2014’s glorious Aguas de Marte, from which this track is taken.

2. Plug Plug “Living In Holidays”
One of the best examples of the thriving hardcore scene in Lima, Plug Plug have been around since 2007. This track is taken from their self-titled 2014 EP and shows the group moving towards a more instrumental math-rock sound.

3. Chico Unicornio feat. I Am Genko “Luxor”
Two of Peru’s most interesting musicians unite for this layered pop masterclass full of jangling guitars, driving electronica and whimsical whistling, which makes you wonder why they don’t collaborate more often.

4. Elegante & La Imperial “Puro Comer”
Starting off in the worlds of techno and IDM, Daniel Martinetti soon starting exploring the sounds of digital chicha with Elegante and has since expanded the group with vocals and instruments for a tropical live band. “Puro Comer” is a taste of his original cumbia vision.

5. Los Chapillacs “Soldados de la Noche (Demo)” Previously Unreleased
The raw spirit of classic cumbia groups like Juaneco Y Su Combo is present in the music of this raucous 8-piece from Arequipa, whose Odisea Cumbia 3000 is a modern classic of the genre.

6. Animal Chuki “Capicua”
Currently signed to ZZK Records, Animal Chuki are one of the most visible exponents of the new digital chicha craze in Lima, to be heard in hip clubs alongside dubstep and tropical bass.

7. Bareto “La Voz del Sinchi”
Bareto seem to get better album after album as these limeños refine their approach. The fact that drummer Jorge Olazo wrote our introduction to Peruvian music shows the research these guys are willing to put in. This track will feature on their latest album (due out in 2015).

8. Chintatá “Libera”
It’s clear that the Andes are in clear view on this raw Peruvian garage tune. Though Chintatá are yet to release anything, this young Cuzco-based group are already showing that their fusion of rock with Andean melodies and instrumentation is a potent mix.

9. Pigmalião “En El Camino de Zaña” Previously Unreleased
Pigmalião is the alias of Brazilian producer Daniel Lucas. Here, he remixes samples taken from Vincent Moon’s Sonidos del Perú series, showing a different “pan-Latin American” take on Peruvian music and tradition.

10. Victor Hugo “Lima Es Nuestra”
Though sharing your name with a famous French poet may not make you an easy artist to pin down on the Internet, Victor Hugo still managed to grab plenty of people’s attentions with his 2013 debut El Primer Disco de Víctor Hugo that featured gloriously poetic laments
to Lima such as this one.

11. Los Cholos “Tusuy”
We take a step into more traditional terrain with this gorgeous tune from the well-respected folk trio Los Cholos. “Tusuy” uses harp and violin to reimagine a series of Ayacuchan huaynos.

12. Las Amigas de Nadie “Judas”
With their latest release, Human Dress, Las Amigas have leaned heavily towards their love of pop, resulting in atmospheric, brooding gems such as this, carrying just the faintest hint of Air.

13. Kanaku Y El Tigre “Bubucelas”
taken from the album ‘Quema Quema Quema’ (Licensed Courtesy of !K7 Records)
Through a myriad of pop and folk soundscapes that show the multiculturality of Lima as well as the diversity of their record collection, this duo have delivered one of the albums of 2015 in Quema Quema Quema, a shimmering folktronica treat.

14. La Mecánica Popular “El Ratero (Live)” Previously Unreleased
We travel to Peru via New York for this track by La Mecánica Popular, a psychedelic salsa band led by the enigmatic Efraín Rozas, who played in many bands in Peru before relocating to The Big Apple.

15. Dengue Dengue Dengue! “Don Marcial”
If Lima can be accused of stealing the digital cumbia crown off Buenos Aires, then it’s DDD! who are manning the getaway car. Their debut La Alianza Profana was a hypnotic affair full of IDM beats, shamanic samples and quavering bass lines, that rightly elevated them to the global stage.

16. Alqo Sub Bass (ALQSBS) “Los Guardianes”
Sometimes you accidentally bump into a song and artist you know nothing about. So was the case with Cuzco’s Alqo Sub Bass - aka Anthony Paucarmayta - and this downtempo tribal cumbia we heard on a mixtape, offering a different chicha spin to their Lima contemporaries.

17. Lobo Gris “V.E.T.”
Mixing rock, noise, folk and classical there are few artists as invigorating than Lobo Gris. Taken from his latest (Bipolar) album, “V.E.T.” is the perfect example of his unclassifiable aural aesthetic.

18. Fifteen Years Old “Ancho Mar : Seda”
On her two EPs to date, Solange Jacobs has teased us with her dreamy pop, as otherworldly as it is personal, bringing to mind iconic groups like The Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.

19. Manuel Vera Tudela Wither “Flor Amarilla”
Also a member of Chintatá, Manuel Vera is a Limeño in Cuzco, clearly revelling in the city’s connection to nature and the spiritual world. Brimming with positivity and musical ideas “Flor Amarilla” is one of the highlights of his 2012 album Cusco.

20. La Lá “Mango”
There are few things as beautiful as the sound of Giovanna Nuñez’s voice. Lima is currently awash with female singer/songwriters, but Nuñez’s work as La Lá rises to the top, with “Mango”, a transfixing bolero, proof of her gift.