Started by four friends from Lima with a shared passion for traditional Afro-Peruvian music and global DJ culture, Novalima stands in the common ground bridging past and future, uniting tradition and innovation.

From their humble start, file-sharing musical ideas and producing their first album in separate countries at the dawn of the internet, Novalima is now a live musical force revered worldwide for breaking boundaries and uniting seemingly irreconcilable genres, communities, and generations. They have created an inspiring movement and revolutionized the music scene in their native Peru by bridging a longstanding divide between the mainstream and the minority Afro-Peruvian community, who have struggled against discrimination and cultural dissolution for generations.

During their career, Novalima has garnered worldwide critical acclaim from mainstream (NPR, UK Guardian, Wall Street Journal, La Presse, Metro, Billboard) and underground media (Giant Step, Remezcla, Sounds & Colors, Nat Geo) alike, delivered legendary performances around the world at festivals such as Roskilde, WOMAD, Pirineos Sur, NYC Central Park, Montreal Jazz Festival and Chicago’s Millennium Park, earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album, and were featured in cult filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s hit Mexploitation movie Machete.

While their sound is futuristic and cutting-edge, the roots of Novalima’s music reach back hundreds of years. In a far-too familiar tale, African slaves were brought to Peru as early as the 1500s until the middle of the 19th Century, establishing an outpost of the African-Diaspora on the Pacific coast of South America. Over the years, the soul and rhythms of Africa melded with the melodies and instruments of Europe and the Andes. The result is rich musical repertoire that existed for generations on the periphery of Peruvian popular culture.

The founders of Novalima, Ramon Perez-Prieto, Grimaldo Del Solar, Rafael Morales, and Carlos Li Carrillo, became friends and started playing together in Lima during their high school years, playing a pivotal part in the 80s underground hardcore punk, and the 90s psychedelic/acid-rock scenes. As children of artists and intellectuals, Ramon, Grimaldo, Rafael and Carlos were well educated and well traveled, and while they listened to traditional Peruvian folk music regularly in family reunions and in the street, they relentlessly explored new sounds in Rock, Dub Reggae, Latin and Electronic Music, which became grounds for their own discovery.

During their early experimentations blending Afro-Peruvian sounds with electronica, the four founders were living in different parts of the world. From their homes in London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, and Lima, they emailed song ideas to each other. These long-distance recordings resulted in their 2002 debut album, the self-titled Novalima.

The reception to the album exceeded their wildest expectations, eventually reaching platinum sales status in Peru, and for their next album they invited more Afro-Peruvian musicians to join their recording sessions. The outcome was Afro, an album that was released worldwide in 2006 to tremendous acclaim and put Novalima on the international music map. The London Metro Evening Standard raved, “Novalima has more than succeeded in bringing the spirit and soul of Peruvian blues into the 21st century.” Afro held the #1 spot on the US College Music Journal Latin Alternative and New World Radio Charts for ten weeks combined.

Soon after Afro was released, the founders returned to Lima and invited top Afro-Peruvian musicians to join Novalima making it a true band, setting the groundwork for live musical creation and intensive global touring.

On their 2009 album Coba Coba, released on the acclaimed world music label Cumbancha, Novalima expanded the critically-acclaimed formula they developed and took their inspiring fusion in new and exciting directions by delving further into the African diaspora and bringing influences from reggae, dub, salsa, hip-hop, afrobeat and Cuban son. In anticipation of the band’s acclaimed 2009 US and European tour, they released Coba Coba Remixed, featuring exclusive remixes by top DJs and producers including Da Lata, Zeb, Faze Action, Seiji, Boozou Bajou, Haaksman, and more. At the same time, a stunning music video for the band’s song “Coba Guarango” was featured on the homepage of YouTube and quickly amassed well over 100,000 plays in 24 hours.

After two years of constant touring, the band gathered in their home studio in Lima to record and mix the album Karimba that took Novalima's sound into new places. They introduced both new sounds and traditional rhythms like the Panalivio, Zamacueca, Ingá and Tondero, while maintaining their distinctive afro and dub sound. Their reputation at home allowed them to work with the top traditional musicians in the city, inviting vocalists Pepe Vasquez, Rosita Guzman, and Sofia Buitron as well as guitarists Roberto Arguedas and Felix Casaverde (former guitarist of Chabuca Granda), in addition to members of the live band.

This year, Novalima celebrates their 20th anniversary with the release of La Danza, on San Francisco’s Six Degrees Records, and an international tour that will take them to North America, Latam & Europe starting in April 23.

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With Yemanjo

Yemanjo is a project of producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Harris. Raised in the rich culture of California’s Bay Area, Harris’ work is influenced by the global music styles he has encountered through extensive world travels.

Yemanjo’s music is a unique fusion of downtempo and organic house beats with traditional sounds from Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The previous five years have seen Yemanjo touring the globe while releasing prolifically with top labels in the genre such as Cosmic Awakenings and Cafe de Anatolia. 2024 saw the release of “La Misma Fuente”, an acclaimed full-length album on NYC-based imprint Wonderwheel Recordings.

In performance, Yemanjo combines his original music with live singing in many languages, trumpet, percussion, and other instruments in an electro-acoustic hybrid DJ/live set.

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