We sit down with Cumbiafrica to celebrate their new release on Universal France’s Decca. We discuss the story behind the music, their collaborations with HUGEL and of course their new release.
How has your year been so far?
We’ve been working very hard with our label, Producciones Alé Kumá. At the beginning of the year, we released the single “Carmelita Adiós” alongside DJ Dean Mickoski, and more recently an EP titled “Sheel Sheel (Drone Song)” in collaboration with Gaza Birds Singing, a children’s singing group from Palestine. This EP is part of a larger album called “Canciones de Resistencia” (Songs of Resistance). During this first semester, we spent a lot of time in the studio because, as summer approaches, we’re intensifying our release schedule. We have planned to drop a new single every three weeks throughout the season. All of these tracks are part of an Afro Latin House album that will be released very soon.
How did you all meet? What’s the story behind Cumbiáfrica?
We met in Colombia. Leo was already a well-known producer there, having worked extensively with major folkloric figures like Martina Camargo. I, Lina, had just finished my degree in acting and dramatic arts, but alongside my acting career, I had been singing since I was a child, accompanying my father who is a pianist, as well as my sisters who are also musicians. Later, thanks to a scholarship, Leo and I traveled together for two months to an artistic residency in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with deep cultural connections to Colombia. There we met many artists from the local Afro house scene, and that’s how Cumbiáfrica was born.
What inspired you to take this path sound wise?
At that time, Leo was directing an orchestra in Belgium called De Palenque a Matongé, alongside Congolese guitar legend Dizzy Mandjeku. The orchestra was made up of African and Colombian musicians, and I was part of it as a singer. When the pandemic hit, we had to scale down the format to a DJ set with electronic sounds and vocals. However, we wanted to preserve sounds like the marimba and guitar that evoke both Colombia and Africa, and that first intercultural project.
What have been your biggest influences on your current sound?
Afro-Colombian music and contemporary African music have a constant dialogue of mutual influence that goes beyond their obvious common roots. Soukous, champeta, cumbia, soca, amapiano, classic Afrobeat, and contemporary Afrobeats are all part of our influences. Artists like Ginton and Trinix, with whom we’ve worked, or the Colombian group Bomba Estéreo, have influenced us greatly. But the artist we admire most and who will always be present is Stromae.
What inspired you to reimagine Batonga? What does that mean to you?
“Batonga,” beyond being a classic in Angélique Kidjo’s repertoire, is an anthem — not only of African identity, but of resistance, female strength, and rootedness. We wanted to establish a dialogue between Angélique’s voice and mine, between Fon (the language of Benin) and Spanish. For that, Leo wrote some original verses that highlight this aspect: “Raíces fueron mis pies, mis manos ramas en flor, erguida caminaré como árbol buscando el sol. Ya nada borrará mi voz” (Roots were my feet, my hands branches in bloom, I will walk upright like a tree searching for the sun. Nothing will erase my voice). For us, above all, it is an honor. Angélique is one of the most influential voices in contemporary African music and a five-time Grammy winner. This wouldn’t have been possible without the management of Decca Records.
How did you come to land on Decca as a label?
Leo has been running his producer project, Alé Kumá, for 25 years, founded in Colombia. It has transitioned from ethnic music to contemporary African music, and in recent years, into dance music, especially Afro house. Because of that experience, Decca reached out to him. They wanted to “reimagine” some songs from their more classic catalog. “Batonga” was on that list, and they wanted it to be the starting point of this collaboration. We hope it extends to more African artists from their catalog.
Why did you use your Alé Kumá alias here alongside the Cumbiáfrica titled project?
Leo wanted to give the track a more “Latin house” sound and identity, so he proposed to the label that, in addition to Angélique’s original sample, we should record verses, chops, and hooks in Spanish. So he decided to involve me as the singer of Cumbiáfrica, a project that many critics have considered an “instigator” of the Latin house movement, especially because of our collaborations with DJ HUGEL.
Tell us about your work with HUGEL? How did that relationship come to be?
We met during the pandemic. He reached out because he knew Alé Kumá’s work as a composer and producer for Martina Camargo. We had recorded a version of “Morenita” in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018, and Leo suggested that HUGEL “reimagine” a new version. We never imagined that this song would become the “post-pandemic” anthem of Latin house. After that, we met in person during the filming of the “El Sueño” music video, and later came “Águila.” Leo also collaborated with HUGEL by helping him manage the licenses for “La Verdolaga” with Colombian singer Totó la Momposina.
What has been your most memorable gig this year and why?
The most important show this year was at the Carnaval de Vinaròs, in Valencia, Spain. We played in front of 10,000 people, and it was broadcast by the Valencian public television network. What was most moving was that we learned there that recent generations frequently choose Cumbiáfrica’s songs for their parades and comparsas. So many carnival attendees know our repertoire by heart, even our lesser-known tracks. When we got on stage to sing, the audience became a massive choir accompanying our songs. It was incredibly emotional, and we’ll be uploading the full concert to our YouTube channel very soon.
What is your studio set up like? Any rare equipment you like to use?
Today we have a very well-equipped studio in our new home, with excellent acoustic conditioning. But for many years, we recorded in a technically limited home studio. Sometimes we feel nostalgic for that home studio because we recorded many of our emblematic songs there. Our first microphone was a The t.bone RB 500 ribbon mic. Today we have much more sophisticated microphones, but we still use our old ribbon mic as a complement to capture Cumbiáfrica’s vocals.
What advice would you give to young up and coming producers?
Our advice is always: “listen to musicians.” And by musicians, we don’t mean conservatory academics. There are traditional musicians who can’t read sheet music but play guitar or drums by ear. These people know many secrets of music that many producers are unaware of. Ideally, producers should also learn about music, or simply learn to play an instrument or sing. But if you don’t have the time, surely you have a musician friend who can help you listen to your tracks and advise you on how to achieve a better musical result.
What more can your fans expect from Cumbiáfrica this year?
In addition to the releases on our own label, we want to expand our collaboration with Decca Records because they have a wonderful catalog. Many of their ethnic, jazz, and world music artists are reference points for their communities and for musicians around the world. We are working on two new releases for Decca Records and hope that later these and other pieces can be compiled into an album of collaborations with African musicians. That is the very essence of Cumbiáfrica.
Stream their latest single below and purchase here.
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