Combo Chimbita – ‘Babalawo’

Now Loverboy may be named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 by the incomparable Mariah Carey, she of one of the most finely-controlled octave ranges on the planet, so this may come as a surprise, but we really love a wailer. Someone who lets rip, exorcises those demons and releases the spirit. Case in hand Combo Chimbita and the vocal fierceness of lead singer Carolina Oliveras. They are punk. They are Latinx. They are the moment…and they just dropped new single, ‘Babalawo.’

“This song narrates a dream I had in which an Eggun (deceased person) assuaged my fears and encouraged me to continue down my path,” says lead singer Carolina Oliveras. “They said ‘Ponte pa lo tuyo,’ a directive to follow that which is already mine — a message I felt important to share forward … While it may seem that this song is dedicated to a particular Babalawo (similar to a priest in a Yoruban context), it’s also an homage to the many teachers who form the Yoruban culture and religion around me and continue to inspire a deeper exploration from me.”

Combo Chimbita combine folkloric mystique, otherworldly psychedelia, and a dash of enigmatic punk in their music. Comprised of Carolina Oliveros’ mesmeric contralto, illuminating storytelling and fierce guacaracha rhythms, Prince of Queens’ hypnotic synth stabs and grooving bass lines, Niño Lento’s imaginative guitar licks, and Dilemastronauta’s powerful drumming, the lure and lore of Combo Chimbita comes into existence.

Combo Chimbita
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