el polen: cholo

Buh Records present for the first time in vinyl format, the reissues of the two first and fundamental albums by El Polen, the legendary Peruvian band formed in the late 1960s by brothers Juan Luis and Raul Pereira. Two records highly sought by collectors round the world due to the majesty of a sound where you find Andean music, folk and psychedelia. 1972's Cholo, presented here, and 1973's Fuera De La Ciudad ("Out of the City") (BR 090LP) are two landmarks in Peruvian music, as they are two works that start a path for fusion between rock and native music in Peru and Latin America. This influential Peruvian band, pioneer of the fusion of Andean music, folk, and psychedelia, is the favorite artist of Devendra Banhart. With Cholo, recorded in 1972, El Polen and rock fusion began their history in Peru. Seven songs emerge: "La Flor" ("The Flower"), "Cholito Pantalon Blanco" ("White Pants Little Cholo"), "Paisajes De Quenas" ("Quena Landscapes"), "Valicha", "Sitting Dreaming", "Tondero", and "Sequencias De Organillo Y Poliphon". The name of the album comes from the film that director Bernardo Batievski shot to honor the life of soccer player Hugo "Cholo" Sotil. "We were the only group that auditioned for the film. Batievski immediately after hearing us said: 'this is the mestizo music I need.' Part of the repertoire we had in those times was included in the record, these were songs we had already played in many concerts and that had matured for more than a year", Juan Luis remembers, 48 years after recording Cholo. For this record the musicians sat on the floor, turned the studio lights off, and recorded "the magic of Cholo" in only three hours. The input by Ayacucho musician Alejandro Vivanco was incredible. Rock roots, symphonic, progressive, psychedelic tints emerge from these songs combined with Peruvian folklore. The Cholo adventure was possible with the participation of Juan Sebastian Montesinos, Ernesto Pinto, Fernando Silva, and Beto Martinez. The present edition in vinyl format has been produced from the master tapes with the authorization and supervision of the band itself. This is the starting point for a series of releases of a new collection of Buh Records dedicated to El Polen.