Country : Germany Label : Shika Shika Genres and styles : Cumbia / Downtempo / latino / tropical bass Year : 2020

Shika Shika: 5 Years

· by Rupert Bottenberg

Five years is a milestone that’s noteworthy enough, especially for an independent label in trying times. Based in Berlin, the imprint is operated by Robin “El Búho” Perkins and Agustín “Barrio Lindo” Rivaldo, a pair of producers in their own right, English and Argentinean respectively though archetypal global citizens in truth. For the last half decade, they’ve curated a catalogue of cool, comfortably lightweight downtempo jams that consistently impress with their character, their quality, and their artful balance of rawness and refinement. The equatorial heat and humidity is consistent, as the label taps talent focused in or on the cornucopia of musical cultures spilling from the coastlines of the Caribbean. Percolating percussion is ever present, and it’s in there that one here’s the proverbial “artist’s hand”, as well as in the frequent raspy flutes, clattering marimbas, and plucking of guitar-like things. Perkins and Rivaldo close out 2020, a year that saw among other things the label’s excellent endeavour for endangered birds, with a double LP looking back over their best moments. The lovely cumbia “Canario” (birds, always the birds!) by Mexico’s Karen & Los Remedios is this writer’s pick of the pack, it’s from their Botanas EP of this past fall, though the numbers here are uniformly above average (that doesn’t make sense, mathematically, does it…). Here’s to another five years of fine music ahead, and many more after that.

Latest 360 Content

Annie Saumier talks about the OSM 2024 Competition

Annie Saumier talks about the OSM 2024 Competition

Pinnacle of Modern Choral Music at the Azrieli Music Prizes

Pinnacle of Modern Choral Music at the Azrieli Music Prizes

OSL | Antoine Bareil Plays Mendelssohn’s Famous Violin Concerto

OSL | Antoine Bareil Plays Mendelssohn’s Famous Violin Concerto

Arab World Festival of Montreal | Narcy and Omar Offendum: Two Decades of Friendship in Artistry

Arab World Festival of Montreal | Narcy and Omar Offendum: Two Decades of Friendship in Artistry

Örjan Sandred and the Stenhammar Quartet Reinvent Live Electronics

Örjan Sandred and the Stenhammar Quartet Reinvent Live Electronics

Wolfgang Rihm – Jakob Lenz

Wolfgang Rihm – Jakob Lenz

James Ehnes/Orchestre philharmonique de Bergen, dir.: Edward Gardner – Sibelius : Violin Concerto, Serenades, Humoresques

James Ehnes/Orchestre philharmonique de Bergen, dir.: Edward Gardner – Sibelius : Violin Concerto, Serenades, Humoresques

India Gailey – Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth

India Gailey – Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth

Trio Fibonacci – Max Richter Remixed

Trio Fibonacci – Max Richter Remixed

Collectif9 – Rituæls

Collectif9 – Rituæls

Diana Panton – Soft Winds and Roses

Diana Panton – Soft Winds and Roses

Zouz in These Jours de cendres

Zouz in These Jours de cendres

Julian Gutierrez Vinardell – De Ti Lo Quiero Todo

Julian Gutierrez Vinardell – De Ti Lo Quiero Todo

Violons du Roy | Richness and Vocal Splendor of the Divine Handel

Violons du Roy | Richness and Vocal Splendor of the Divine Handel

Le Vivier | Flashback: Immersive Exploration of the Narcissus Myth for Violin and Electronics

Le Vivier | Flashback: Immersive Exploration of the Narcissus Myth for Violin and Electronics

Arab World Festival of Montreal | New Diva Uprooted From Her Native Palestine

Arab World Festival of Montreal | New Diva Uprooted From Her Native Palestine

Quatuor Molinari | Guido Molinari’s Major Inspiration, 20 Years After His Death

Quatuor Molinari | Guido Molinari’s Major Inspiration, 20 Years After His Death

I can’t stop thinking about the Xiu Xiu show in Montreal

I can’t stop thinking about the Xiu Xiu show in Montreal

Arab World Festival of Montreal | Narcy and Hakawati Omar Offendum meet in the present tense

Arab World Festival of Montreal | Narcy and Hakawati Omar Offendum meet in the present tense

Folk Alliance International 37th Annual Conference in Montreal

Folk Alliance International 37th Annual Conference in Montreal

Emilie Cecilia LeBel – Landscapes of Memory

Emilie Cecilia LeBel – Landscapes of Memory

Nathan Hudson and Ben Loory – Music for Falling and Flying

Nathan Hudson and Ben Loory – Music for Falling and Flying

Yves Cloutier – Fleuve

Yves Cloutier – Fleuve

Subscribe to our newsletter