The 60's scene south of the border was incredibly fertile and unfortunately, largely untapped until the flood of reissues that have sprung up of late. Many South American countries had acts that rivaled their Northern and Eastern neighbors, and besides the obvious hotbed in Brazil, Peru was one of the most well stocked scenes.

	Laghonia - Glue Though the band owes a heavy debt to many UK and US acts on their debut, they infuse the album with an eclectic style and distinctively South American sense of rhythm. The band shines the brightest on their heavier, guitar laden tracks but
even when they veer into folkier territory they'd put many lesser bands to shame. There are certainly derivative moments, but considering this is the band's first album it's no more so than the majority of garage bands at the time. The band recorded a follow up that was also moderately received in their home country before being plagued by line-up changes and eventually disbanding after two lesser records that followed. Still this is a great snapshot of the Peruvian scene circa late 60's/ early 70's. Download: [MP3] Laghonia - Neighbor [MP3] Laghonia - Glue Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Traffic Sound - Virgin Traffic Sound, certainly one, if not the best Peruvian group at the time; have a more polished sound than that of Laghonia. Their mixture of breezy guitars and flashy rhythms have brought them to light with reissues popping up
a number of places in the mid to late 90's until now. The band had a knack for textures, mixing woodwinds and the occasional vibes into the mix and straddling the line between a West Coast almost Santana vibe and more progressive sounds. It's unfortunate that they never received proper acclaim in this hemisphere during their original run but any an all of the band's reissued material is worth digging up. They prove more than any other the importance of the Peruvian psych movement. Download: [MP3] Traffic Sound - Virgin [MP3] Traffic Sound - Meshkaina Support the artist. Buy it HERE