When producer and percussionist
Nicola Cruz issued 2015's wondrous
Prender el Alma for the pioneering ZZK label, he, in essence, delivered a new brand of Latin American music that paid homage to the South American continent's historical past and in particular Ecuadorian culture and folklore, all the while embracing cutting-edge digital technology folded into his organic creations.
Cruz called his form "Andean Step," and built his sumptuous tracks layer by layer, instrument by instrument, drum by drum, loop by loop, exploring Afro-Latin cosmologies in a setting ripe for headphone listening and the club floor.