Los Wembler’s de Iquitos – Vision del Ayahuasca

This is one of my weirder recent acquisitions, in terms of being outside my normal tastes. I knew exactly zero about cumbia music before discovering Los Bitchos, whose infectious cumbia-based instrumentals delight me – once I discovered them, I was all in. If I could find a release by the legendary Peruvian band Los Destellos, I would be all over it – but they are pricey.

Last autumn (2024) I was a little surprised to spot this amazing album cover on a random look through the world music section of Forever Changes, and although I didn’t know what it was, it doesn’t take much searching to find out the the oddly named Los Wembler’s de Iquitos is a band that goes back to 1968 (or earlier). “The Wembler’s” is a made-up name in the style of an English pop group, and we just have to accept the errant apostrophe.

This 2019 release was meant to commemorate their 50th anniversary. Some of it’s just some pleasant, straightforward material, and some of it seems quite off the hook, in a good way. Will this ever get a huge amount of play from me? Probably not. But is it an enjoyable addition to my collection? Yes.