From the lofty peaks of the Andes to dense tropical jungles and bustling metropoles, Peru’s landscape is diverse, and so is its music scene. Think hazy shoegaze, psychedelic cumbia… and have you ever heard of Q-pop?
Much more than panpipes, here’s a brief rundown of 2025’s best new music from Peru.
The playlist, as always, is at the end.
SÍGUEME – Renata Flores, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Quechua pop singer Renata Flores has collaborated with the US rapper and environmental activist Xiuhtezcatl for SÍGUEME (FOLLOW ME), a song about the diaspora experience. Flores is a growing name in South America and first went viral in 2015 after covering Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel reimagined in Quechua. In SÍGUEME, Flores and Xiuhtezcatl exchange verses singing in their indigenous languages, Quechua (Flores) and Nahuatl (Xiuhtezcatl), as well as Spanish.
CHULO —A.CHAL, Los Mirlos, Kayfex
Legendary Peruvian cumbia band Los Mirlos has been going since the 1970s. Their sound is a fusion of anglophone psychedelica, surf rock, and tropical South American cumbia, or, as they prefer to call it “Cumbia Amazonica”. Shimmering guitar riffs and zingy keyboards meet moody vocals from R&B artist A.CHAL. At the helm is producer Kayfex (Isabela Suced, Milena Wartho, Susana Baca and more), who has dedicated his craft to amplifying Peru’s diverse indigenous musical culture and melding it with electronic sensibilities.
LA LLAQTA (El Pueblo) — L E N I N
If he hasn’t made it onto your social media feed yet, busting out some serious dance moves and singing at the same time, L E N I N needs to be on your radar. With his enviable, glossy black hair, Lenin Tamayo Pinares is the pioneer of what he calls Q-pop, which is a blend of Andean folk and K-pop instrumentation and visual aesthetics. His songs blend Spanish and Quechua, the indigenous language of the Inca Empire.
Come si fuese baltasar — Almirante Ackbar
Almirante Ackbar sits alongside the likes of Jean Paul Medroa, Los membrillos and Los Niños Vudú as part of Peru’s burgeoning grassroots indie scene. The band’s latest single embodies heady optimism with a singalong chorus and upbeat guitar strums reminiscent of 2000s British indie.
No me creas—SebastiÁn Llosa
This catchy pop number sounds like it should be in a rom-com cut scene with glistening electric guitar strums and acoustic drums. While I was writing this article, I listened to his acoustic set at the Kennedy Center, where he mentions in passing that he never writes love songs, only about breakups. True to form and in a message that translates across the globe, Sebastian cautions against taking an ex back. In a refreshingly honest take, he affirms: “Cuando te diga que voy a cambiar no me creas” (“when I tell you I’m going to change, don’t believe me”).
Now Playing: Rosalía’s new album Lux. 14 different languages, opera, orchestras and pure drama. I love it. Dios Es Un Stalker is gorgeous.
