Since releasing her self-titled debut album in 1997, Susana Baca has built a formidable worldwide audience for her intense take on Afro-Peruvian traditional music. Touted by former Talking Head David Byrne, she first sprang to prominence when he included one of her songs on his The Soul Of Black Peru compilation. She has since gone from strength to strength, releasing a series of acclaimed albums, and forging a strong live reputation in the States.
Some may see this brand of world-beat as music solely for middle-aged listeners, too exhausted to keep up with modern trends, but Baca does her best to keep her sound fresh and invigorating. She certainly possesses a powerful voice: worldly, elegant and versatile.
Baca is at her best when her music is boiling over with passion and fire, and there are a number of fine examples of this scattered throughout Travesias. ‘Merci Bon Dieu’ swells from a gentle banjo-plucked opening, to a climax of tremendous percussive intensity. ‘Palomita Ingrata’ pairs sombre, rainy-day strings with some aggressively plucked guitar, to create a mood of dark menace. ‘Viento Del Olvido’ is a more relaxed number: a sweet, summer-y melody with some pleasing accordion.
Not everything on here works quite so well, though. ‘Estrela’ is let down by a rather treacly string arrangement – Baca’s powerful vocal performance certainly deserved better. She should also be more astute when choosing Western pop songs to cover – Damien Rice’s ‘Volcano’ will always be a forgettable track, no matter how striking the re-interpretation.
But, quibbles aside, this is another strong chapter in the career of Susanna Baca. You won’t have to wrestle it from the hands of any trendy twenty-somethings, but world music aficionados may feel that the soundtrack to their summer has arrived early.