Los Wembler's de Iquitos

Los Wembler's de Iquitos' name is synonymous with cumbia Amazonica, or chicha, the electric guitar-driven, psychedelic subgenre of Peruvian cumbia. Their early hit singles, including the oft-cited "Sonido Amazonico" and " La danza del Petrolero," have influenced generations of musicians from across the globe. Founded by shoemaker Salvador Sanchez with his five sons (Isaías, Jair, Alberto, Jairo, and Misael), they were unwittingly pioneers: They were among the first regional acts to deliver popular local rhythms via electric guitars, basses, and organs. Before 1980, they kept a frantic pace, releasing two to three albums a year, including the now-classic Al Ritmo De Los Wembler's in 1971 and Carapira in 1976. After their father's death, the brothers went on an informal hiatus for more than 25 years; they stopped recording and touring internationally but played local parties and festivals. Their early recordings have been featured prominently on several compilations, and in more recent years they have resumed recording and toured the major cities of Europe, South America, and the U.S.

Iquitos, the capital of the Peruvian Amazon, is the largest isolated city in the world. Its population hovers around half a million, yet its closest road is six days away -- by boat. The rubber boom of the early 20th century and the oil boom of the early 1960s ensured its economic growth and survival. In 1968, the strict evangelical shoemaker Solomon Sanchez formed a band with his five sons. Their sound was rooted in the music they heard from powerful AM radio broadcasts that would play music from Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and America. Those sounds -- Colombian cumbia; waltzes of Tahuampa, Pandillas, and Criollo; Brazilian carimbo; Venezuelan joropos; Cuban son; and, of course, psychedelic and surf rock -- made their way into Los Wembler's music, which actively incorporated Andean melodies and Afro-Cuban percussion, with whammy bar-equipped electric guitars, and Farfisa organ. Alongside the recordings of other Amazonian bands such as Juaneco y Su Combo and Los Demonios del Mantaro, Los Wembler's music became popular and spread throughout the region; it eventually changed the face of Amazonian music. By the mid-'80s, when it began to lose its dominance, chicha was the most pervasively listened to and performed urban music in Peru.

Demos and recordings of early shows at parties reached the offices of Odeon del Peru thanks to Salvador's dogged persistence. The label signed them to its Decibel imprint and issued their debut long-player, Al Ritmo De Los Wembler's, featuring the single "Cumbia Amazonica." The track quickly ran up the charts and drove sales of the album and the popularity of the new sound to the farthest reaches of the Amazon and beyond. Over the next decade, Los Wembler's issued a constant flow of singles, EPs, and albums. Since they toured almost constantly, the vast majority became hits, with some -- including 1975's La Danza Del Petrolero (led by its title track single and "Sonido Amazonica"), 1976's Carapira, and 1978's Bailando Hasta El Amanecer (after a label move to Sono Records) -- scoring inside the Top Five on Peru's charts. Salvador passed away in 1979 and, after issuing Estos Son...Los Famosos Wembler's de Iquitos in his memory, the band stopped recording yet kept touring until 1985.

In 2010, Barbes Records issued The Roots of Chicha 2, which included a pair of tunes by Los Wembler's, whose snaky, psychedelic sound resonated with fans of the first volume in the series and also inspired bands ranging from Colombia's Meridian Brothers to Brooklyn's Chicha Libre and Austin's Grupo Fantasma. The brothers reformed as a touring unit in 2011 and over most of the last decade have purveyed their chicha sound across the globe. In 2015, their song "Bola Bola En El Trres" appeared on the Rough Guide to Psychedelic Cumbia, and two years later Los Wembler's signed to Barbes, issuing the four-song Ikaro del Amor EP -- two of its tracks were later remixed by the Meridian Brothers and released as a single. In September 2019, with the Sanchez brothers all in their seventies and still touring the U.S., France, Germany, England, and most of South America, Los Wembler's released Vision del Ayahuasca, their first studio album in more than 35 years. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi