Chucu chucu advance
In 2007, Mauricio Alvárez travelled the Colombian countryside between the Magdalena river and the Atlantic Ocean on an initiatory journey to the core of Caribbean folklore.
He soon reinvented himself as Cero39 in tribute to a classic track of the same name by vallenato artist Alejo Durán.
His music is a spicy blend of electronic sounds that he describes as “chucu chucu advance” – which it would be a shamefully reductive to describe a simple mix of electro and folkloric sounds.
Cero39 explores a phenomenal range of sounds: Colombian, for the most part, along with Caribbean and an impressively eclectic dose of electronic.
Currently based in Bogotá with Polen Records, he talks about his love of folklore and his interest in the most esoteric aspects of world music, such as the traditional Thai tunes and Russian electro that he unearths online.
His visuals are as psychedelic as the music he produces, with pineapples and cows wiggling to the beat against a backdrop of impressively vivid colours; a real melting pot of Caribbean culture.
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