Austin band Los Desechos try to raise the dead with their new cumbia LP

This story was co-published as part of a partnership between Latine news and culture site Austin Vida and KUT News. The “Austin Cultura” radio show airs every first Friday of the month and is co-hosted by KUT producer Juan Garcia and Austin Vida Editor & Publisher Nancy Flores. You can listen to the show below:

Growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, guitar player John Dell was exposed to many iconic cumbia records.

“I was surrounded by it, and as with most musicians, I went in different directions over the years, but I kind of took it back to the roots to where it all started from,” he said.

His new band Los Desechos channeled the energy of those classic cumbia vinyls in their upcoming release “Cumbias Levantamuertos.” Dell said making the record for a vinyl release shaped the creative process from the start. The band chose to record the music the “old school” way, using amplifiers and instruments from the 1960s, leaving in mistakes and recording to reel-to-reel analogue tape.

“Being a big vinyl guy, it’s somewhat of a retro venture back to the ’70s and ’80s border radio,” he said.

Austin has proven to be a hotspot for modern cumbia, and the city’s cosmic cowboy and psychedelic hallmarks can be heard throughout “Cumbias Levantamuertos.”

“[Austin is] definitely considered by some to be the ‘Cumbia Capital,’ it’s in the DNA of Austin,” Dell said. “I think it all around fosters a community that is accepting of not only just cumbia but like new styles of cumbia.”

In Spanish, the phrase “levanta muertos” is used to describe something so good it could raise the dead; from the first cup of coffee in the morning, to the first taste of home cooking after a long time away. The music in this release was crafted to be danced to and enjoyed with family, friends and long departed loved ones.

“It’s very interactive,” Dell said. “Once the band ramps up it’s like the whole place becomes one.”

Los Desechos will be performing at Antone’s Record Shop to celebrate the release on July 15. They will follow that up with a performance at Cumbia Night at Hotel Vegas on July 19. Find more local shows in Austin Vida’s free Cultura guide. Sign up to receive it at AustinVida.com.