Mas Agua

Mas Agua

Mas Agua is a group from Piura, Peru, active since 1976. It begins as a project between Chris Cooper and Lee Young, who want to make music rooted in a set of influences ranging from The Band to Bob Marley, while still leaving room for their own ideas.

Formation and line-up

At first, the project remains on hold because Cooper and Young are already involved in another band. When they later meet bass player Landon Turner, and after that band ends, the three move ahead with the idea. They are then joined by drummer Drake Simmons, whose expressive style completes the quartet. The group develops a body of original songs and covers from that point.

Style and approach

Mas Agua draws on several styles while keeping a shared organic sound. Its performances move between blues-based rock from the 1960s and 1970s, acoustic roots music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, progressive odd-meter passages, carefully arranged sections and improvised playing. The group also records and performs in its own “Jam Room,” and presents music as a shared, communal activity.