Andean music is Folk Music originating in the indigenous communities of the Andes Mountains in South America, in the areas covering modern-day Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The genre developed hundreds of years ago, combining Spanish musical styles with those of Quechua and Aymara peoples.
This music is most commonly played in rural regions of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador and by people of Quechua or Aymara descent. Sadly, most Andean music will never be recorded due to the remoteness of these regions. Some groups, however, have recorded their music and performed to a worldwide audience.
Andean music gained sizable popularity throughout Latin America, especially in its countries of origin and the neighboring countries of Argentina and Chile. Many artists in each nation integrated Andean styles into their music. The genre experienced a revival in The '70s with the Nueva Canción movement, a genre of folk music heavily influenced by Andean music. Its lyrics were left-wing and pro-democracy, resisting the right-wing dictatorships common in Latin America at the time. The genre became extremely popular throughout Latin America and played a role in the democratization of the region. It spread Andean music to a much wider audience. Outside of Latin America, the most well known Andean song is Simon & Garfunkel's cover of "El Cóndor Pasa". It helped Andean music reach an international audience.
Songs are often, but not always, instrumentals. Lyrics may be in Spanish, Quechua, or Aymara. The main instrument is the siku, an ancient panflute used by indigenous musicians long before Spanish colonization. Other key instruments include the charango, a stringed instrument similar to a lute; the quena, a wooden flute; and the bombo, a type of drum.
In works set in Peru, Bolivia, or Ecuador, Andean music will often play in the background or serve as a Regional Riff.
Andean music demonstrates these tropes:
- Follow the Leader: After the genre's resurgence of popularity in the 1970s, musicians across the Americas began performing Andean music or taking influence from the genre.
- Genre Mashup: Andean music combines aspects of Spanish and indigenous Andean music traditions.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Andean music gained large popularity in other Latin countries, especially Chile and Argentina. Interestingly, it is also relatively popular in Japan of all places.
- Instrumentals: Many Andean songs are instrumentals.
- Regional Riff: Andean instruments are used to represent Peru, Ecuador, or Bolivia.
- World Music: The genre is often characterized as this, although the term has launched some backlash.
Notable Andean music artists include:
- Bolivia Manta
- Congreso
- Damaris
- Fémina
- Renata Flores
- Géne-sis
- Grupo Aymara
- Jaime Guardia
- Illapu
- Los Incas
- Inkuyo
- Inti-Illimani
- Los Jairas
- Los Jaivas
- Víctor Jara
- Los Kjarkas
- Violeta Parra
- Manuelcha Prado
- Quilapayún
- Uña Ramos
- Rumillajta
- Savia Andina
- Magaly Solier
- Sukay
- Daniel Tinte
- Milena Warthon
Other examples of Andean music:
Anime & Manga:- El Cazador de la Bruja has a few pieces by Yuki Kajiura that were inspired by Andean influence, notably Inca Rose
.
Live-Action TV:
- The 1982 BBC nature documentary series The Flight of the Condor and its associated soundtrack album helped popularise the genre in the UK.
- The Fast Show had a recurring sketch featuring an Andean music group playing badly in bizarre locations.
Live-Action Films:
- In Aguirre, the Wrath of God, one of the Inca natives accompanying the expedition has a siku pan flute and plays it at times, serving as Source Music. The melody is part of the film's soundtrack by the band Popol Vuh also.
Music:
- Simon & Garfunkel released a cover of the song "El Cóndor Pasa" that became a huge hit and spread Andean music worldwide. They discovered the song after hearing it performed by Bolivian band Los Incas and asked for permission to use it. One of the members mistakenly told them that the song was a copyright free folk song, when it actually came from a 1913 play and had not yet entered public domain. This led to a lawsuit by Daniel Alomía Robles's son, which luckily was solved easily and with no hard feelings due to the misunderstanding, and Alomía Robles was added as a songwriter. Their cover has original English lyrics and uses the instrumental version by Los Incas as a backing track.
Theatre:
- El Cóndor Pasa is a 1913 Peruvian zarzuela, a type of musical play. Its music was written by Daniel Alomía Robles and contained a soundtrack of Andean music, including the instrumental song of the same name which would famously be covered by Simon and Garfunkel.
Video Games:
- Animal Crossing: One of K.K. Slider's songs is "K.K. Condor", which is in the style of Andean music. It is heavily inspired by the folk song "El Humahuaqueño". The album cover shows him in traditional Andean clothing in front of the Nazca Lines.
- Mario Kart 8: The stage Shy Guy Falls features Andean-inspired music.
- New Super Mario Bros.: The World 6 Map theme is inspired by Andean music.
Western Animation:
- South Park: In the episodes "Pandemic" and "Pandemic 2: The Startling". In it, Peruvian pan flute pans are appearing throughout the world including South Park playing Andean music. It turns out the reason for this is so they can keep giant guinea pig monsters from wreaking havoc on the world.
Other:
- Two of the songs on the Voyager Golden Record are "Roncadoras and Drums" and the Wedding Song from Huancavelica, both made my indigenous peoples of Peru.
