Novalima

Novalima is a Peruvian production collective active since 2001. It is formed by Grimaldo Del Solar and Juan Medrano “Cotito”, and originally begins as a collaboration between four Peruvian musicians: Ramón Perez Prieto, Carlos Li Carrillo, Grimaldo del Solar and Rafael Morales.

Style and approach

The group’s music centres on afro-Peruvian and Latin percussion, combined with downtempo, dub, broken beat and house rhythms. Its sound also draws on a wide range of Latin styles, including son, cumbia, samba and bossa, set against electronic beats and live afro-Peruvian percussion.

Early recordings and albums

Novalima’s debut album, novalima, appears in 2003. It is mixed at The Premises Studios in London, mastered at Sterling Sound in New York, and released independently. The recording process takes place across several cities and involves contributors from Lima, Rio de Janeiro, London, Hong Kong, Valencia and Barcelona.

The group’s second album, AFRO, is completed after the musicians meet in Lima for live performances in January 2004 and regroup in London later that year at Robert Miles Studios. The album presents versions and remixes of traditional Afro-Peruvian songs, some over a century old, alongside original compositions. It is co-produced and mixed by Toni Economides and later mastered at Sterling Sound by Tom Coyne.

Collaborations and traditional material

AFRO includes contributions from Afro-Peruvian figures such as Nicomedes Santa Cruz, Lucila Campos and Zambo Cavero, as well as Juan Medrano Cotito, Mangue Vasquez, Milagros Guerrero, Oscar Aviles Jr. and Pedro Urrutia. The project connects electronic production with older Afro-Peruvian repertoire and performance traditions.