Ondatrópica – Punkero Sonidero

Every household should own the Soundway catalogue. It should be housed in a 12″ glass case, mounted on the living room wall, and engraved with the words, “In the unlikely event of summer, break here for soundtrack.”

The London-based label has spent the last ten years unearthing and reissuing lost classics from Ghana, Colombia, Nigeria and beyond, helping in the process to reintroduce the UK to afrobeat, kuduro and more. To celebrate the start of their second decade the label began releasing the work of contemporary artists, starting with Angolan artist Batida - to whose excellent recent single ‘Yumabala’ you can listen over here.

Soundway’s next project is the debut album from Colombian supergroup Ondatrópica. Consisting of a revolving cast of musicians steered by Quantic and Colombian musician Mario Galeano, Ondatrópica’s sound is a burbling, scrunched-up take on traditional cumbia tropes. ‘Punkero Sonidero’, their debut single, sounds very much like a drunken trip around a Bogotá funfair, with crunchy horns and spring-reverb guitar lurching over themselves half in jest and half in anger. The perfect accompaniment to this welcome burst of heat.

‘Punkero Sonidero’ is out on 7″ on 25 June. The LP follows on 16 July. The band play the Hackney Empire on 20 July.