Photo by Paul D. Major
Uruguayan producer Lechuga Zafiro, real name Pablo de Vargas, is probably most known for his work with the Stockholm-based label Staycore and Mexico City's NAAFI, but he's also got a burgeoning label of his own called Salviatek. Pobvio is its co-founder, and while he was responsible for the label's first release, de Vargas is up to bat for the second.The resulting EP is called Aequs Nyama, and it was largely born of original recordings of candombe comparsas, or troupes involving drummers and dancers performing to the candombe rhythm. Candombe is a Afro-Uruguayan rhythm which can be traced back 1750, when Africans were brought to the country for slave labor, where they "used the rhythm of the tambores, or drums, to communicate with each other and defy colonialists," writes Upside Down World. Candombe comparsas still exist to this day, and "for many Uruguayans of Afro descent, Candombe is part of everyday life and resistance in a continually discriminating society." The release also has a visual component which imagines a biotech device, designed by Art Belikov, Pichón Ameba, and Bao-Tran Tran, which has a website here.Today we're sharing the EP's tirelessly frantic lead single, Tambor Espada (سكين) featuring C1080, a candombe comparsa. The track has so far been played out by the likes of Night Slugs' Neana, Fade to Mind's Nguzunguzu, and Melbourne producer Air Max '97. Speaking with THUMP about the track via email, de Vargas gave some backstory for the track: "'Tambor Espada' is one of the experiments with candombe drumming that has resonated the most with dancers and producers," he explained. "It is in line with the idea of bringing candombe rhythm logic and culture to the club. The raw, dark and chaotic mood of the track represents the type of feelings and sounds I like to investigate when producing music." Stream it below, follow Lechuga Zafiro on SoundCloud, and be sure to get the EP when it's out November 15.
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