Que salgan los dragones

One of the most talented members of the new wave of Chilean folk that is growing increasingly popular on the alternative scene is Chinoy, a singer-songwriter from San Antonio, near Valparaiso. His success is well-merited and there are many things which set Chinoy apart from other musicians. There´s the incredibly distinctive voice, high-pitched and raw, and the songs that are charged with emotion and passion. He plays acoustic folk songs with the energy of punk, and sings of the land, the sea and social inequality. Chinoy´s popularity lies in his ability to channel themes that all can relate to into a sound that manages to be both frenetic and harmonious.

But this is in reference to his playing solo and acoustic. I went down to the Galpon Victor Jara in Barrio Brasil the other night to Chinoy´s gig, which this time saw the man playing with band, something I hadn´t checked out before. I saw Chinoy for the first time in in La Trova in Valparaiso last year, where his echo-in-a-chasm voice and songs created an electric atmosphere. There was a haunting beauty to the music that mesmerised the venue and nobody spoke over his performance. But the Galpon was a different vibe, with Chinoy turning out as part of a punk three-piece. Yet in spite of the heavy rhythms of his bandmates, Chinoy´s role remains more or less identical to when he jams solo. He plays the same songs and fuses them with the same energy. The fact that he is playing in a group seems to bear little relevance to him and he maintains his individual aura, standing isolated on the far side of the stage from drummer and bass player, never letting up between songs, almost as if to let up would be to lose the fire of his music. He only addresses the crowd at the beginning and end of the set. Chinoy is in his element, in his world, performing and he rides his own wave each time.

But for me, there was something lost in the transition from acoustic to punk. For a start the sound quality wasn´t the best and Chinoy´s voice seemed less-suited to this heavier sound, resulting in a great deal of the intimacy that envelops his music being lost. Lots of people were more involved in conversation with friends as Chinoy played, which never happened when I saw him in Valpo, and it was telling that only later in the set, when Chinoy reverted solo, that the crowd became truly animated and involved. Maybe it was because Chinoy saved his best songs for last but it was only once he started playing solo that the crowd sang along. He departed the stage to raucous cheers and it had been a good gig, but really I felt that the band does him a disservice. Although, if I were in his shoes, I´m sure I´d want to let rip on a heavier vibe at times.

Following on from Chinoy was La Chilombiana, an absolutely fantastic twelve or thirteen piece afro-cumbia extravaganza who really set the place alight with heavy rhythms and a pulsating latin spirit. Their influences range from afrobeat to metal, but of course the true ethos of the band is pure unabated cumbia. These guys, who I´d never seen before, were sensational and the next time they´re playing I´ll be there for sure.