Cumbia Goes Psychedelic: Gio Chamba's New Album
Tropidelicos Due Out Oct 22
Gio Chamba is proud to announce their upcoming album, Tropidelicos. The new album is an evolution of the band’s earlier works as they lean into transcontinental, intergenerational conversation in rhythm anchored in the psychedelic Cumbia sounds of 1970s Peru. The album both reveres and reinvents, while pushing through modern digital soundscapes. Tropidelicos is due out October 22nd with Mixto Records.
Gio Chamba is comprised of Houston natives Gio Alejandro and Coffee Guzman, who are known for their Psychedelic-Electronic Cumbia that emanates from the cultural melting pot of Houston. The new project kicked off in 2020, in the wake of the pandemic’s stillness. Gio began recording demos, dreaming of a guitar-forward Chicha side project. But a small series of events occurred when his son, learning to walk, fell. At the time, Gio was near but with his computer in hand, which he tossed aside to aid his son, and ended up dislodging a hard drive and erasing the project’s early files. Instead of letting the loss silence the vision, Gio found support in Svani Quintanilla (also known as Principe Q, nephew to the late Tejano icon Selena and album’s co-producer), and a new chapter opened. The album became a three-city collaboration with Gio writing and arranging in Colorado Springs, Svani co-producing, adding organ and his signature electronic sounds in San Antonio and Coffee tracking his congas in Houston.
Reflecting back on Tropidelicos, Gio Chamba recalls, “we wanted to combine our signature Electronic Cumbia sound with original psychedelic guitar melodies. We wanted it to sound classic and new at the same time, so our approach was to bridge the gap between live instrumentation and electronic elements.”
The new album is 8 songs deep and includes the lead single, “La Danza de Los Mirlos,” a cover of a classic, but with Gio Chamba’s own electronic cumbia spin. “¡Chicha Tu Madre!” is a high-energy fusion of vintage cumbia and modern edge. “Solecito” evokes the feeling of a golden-hour dancefloor somewhere between the beach and the barrio – a DJ-friendly gem ready to heat up playlists worldwide! “Turbo Cumbia” is a bold fusion of folkloric roots and club-ready production – it is cumbia full throttle, unapologetic, intense, and irresistibly fun. The title track “Psychedelicacy” is a sonic daydream pulsing with a hypnotic rhythm and playfully bends genre lines as it presents a kaleidoscopic journey through warped textures and psychedelic flair.
Gio describes the album as a full-circle journey. “I wrote these songs at the happiest time in my life,” he recalls, “Those melodies I made came from a pure place, alone in my studio. They were heartfelt and it took a few years for me to realize that until I went through the toughest time in my life these past two years. I had to get back to myself and heal, and finishing up this project has been a part of that. Hearing the melodies I made when I was so happy reminded me that I could get back to that place within my heart, and THAT helped me heal.”
He adds, “I also think that Tropidelicos shows an evolution from our early work and solidifies the guitar as one of my voices and carriers of a message, which is of love and peace.”
As for what’s next, a tour is in the works. Fans can expect a live show that channels the album’s core: raw, energetic, and deeply human. And if the album is any indication, Tropidelicos will not only move bodies, it will stir something far deeper.
Tracklisting:
- “¡Chicha Tu Madre!”
- “Solecito”
- “Psychedelicacy”
- “La Danza de Los Mirlos”
- “Guayaba Sunset”
- “Turbo Cumbia”
- “Mezcal Mami”
- “Viper”
Connect with Gio Chamba:
Spotify | Apple Music | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter/X | YouTube | Facebook
About Gio Chamba:
Gio Chamba is the wild duo of Gio Alejandro and Coffee Guzman. Their infectious musical blend and raucous performances give them an edge that is hard to find in many bands. Fresh and exciting, yet there’s a celebratory sense of familiarity and warmth in their performances.
In the nine years of making music together, they have shared the stage with acts such as, AB Quintanilla & Los Kumbia Allstarz, Ozomatli, Natalia LaFourcade, Caravan Palace, Las Cafeteras, Chicano Batman, Sonido Gallo Negro, Dengue Dengue Dengue, Baby Bash, and Los Lonely Boys, to name a few. They have also performed in several festivals and notable stages such as: Free Press Summer Fest & SuperBowl Live in Houston, Texas, Fortress Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, Villapalooza and Mole de Mayo in Chicago, CMJ Showcase in New York City, MXLAN in McAllen, Texas, & The Aztec Theatre in San Antoni,o Texas.
Gio Chamba’s sound emanates from the cultural melting pot that is Houston. Their music is dotted with vicious raps, tropical vocal melodies, and psychedelic guitar solos from Gio, but the driving force of their performances comes from their bass heavy, danceable, electronic beats rooted in the wide-spread genre, Cumbia. All the while, Coffee smashes the congas like a punk rocker, but keeps the beat going in perfect time, serving up an infectious pulse for the crowd to feed on. It’s a potent combination and the grooves hit so hard that you can’t help but dance.
Most recently, Gio Chamba’s Psychedelic-Electronic Cumbia has gained popularity with fans online. Now with over 56K followers on TikTok and 48K followers on Instagram, they are steadily gaining more listeners on all music platforms and showing the musical potential for breaking into markets throughout all the Americas and even other parts of the world.
