Money Chicha is the KUTX Artist of the Month for October 2021. Greg Gonzalez (second from left) and Beto Martinez (second from right) are the guest DJs.
Austin’s Money Chicha is part of a worldwide scene that’s bringing chicha music to new generations and audiences. Born in Peru in the ’60s and ’70s, chicha originally combined Peruvian folk rhythms and melodies with Colombian cumbia and psychedelic rock. In Money Chicha’s hands, the musicians–featuring members of Grupo Fantasma and Brownout–tease out chicha’s psychedelic strangeness while still rooting it to the dancefloor thanks to that incessant, driving cumbia rhythm.
Chicha Summit, Money Chicha’s new album, is named for the day party the band has thrown at SXSW the past few years, featuring some of the band’s favorite current practitioners of the sound. On the album, the Austin group even teams up with Peruvian guitarist Jose Carballo, who helped kick start the chicha revolution in the early ’70s.
Money Chicha celebrates the release of Chicha Summit with a handful of dates in Austin and across Texas this fall. The band plays October 23 at Radio Coffee & Beer, October 24 at the Circuit of the Americas (prior to the F1 race), October 27 at the Far Out Lounge, Jaime’s Place in San Antonio on October 29, and more. And this week on My KUTX, bassist Greg Gonzalez and guitarist Beto Martinez return as our guest DJs. Their mix includes the wide-ranging influences on Money Chicha, from Colombian cumbia masters, Turkish psych-rock, a cumbia-styled Rod Stewart cover, and more. Hear Money Chicha’s My KUTX on Saturday, October 23 at 6 p.m. or listen anytime in the player above.
–Art Levy // producer, My KUTX
Playlist:
1. Andres Landero – “Cuando Lo Negro Sea Bello”
2. Combo Chimbita – “Memoria”
3. La Cumbia Moderna De Soledad – “¿Crees Que Soy Sexy?”
4. Los Mirlos – “Fiesta Brava”
5. El Michels Affair – “Murkit Gem” (feat. Piya Malik)
6. Altin Gün – “Anlatmam Derdimi”
7. Babe Ruth – “The Mexican”
8. Manzanita y su Conjunto – “El Hueleguiso”
9. Los Orientales de Paramonga – “La Danza Del Mono”
10. Meridian Brothers & Conjunto Media Luna – “Pensando En Mi Morena”
11. Fumaça Preta – “Você Enlouqueceu”
12. William Onyeabor – “Atomic Bomb”
