Empanadas Ilegales
Empanadas Ilegales sets the stage ablaze with a wild tropical fusion! Blending psychedelic cumbia, salsa, and surf rock, prepare for an explosive sonic journey that will ignite dance floors without borders.
Formed in 2017 during late-night jam sessions and impromptu rooftop concerts, Empanadas Ilegales is a psychedelic tropical music collective comprised of musicians with Colombian, Ecuadorian, Argentinian, and Canadian roots. Their music is both a tribute and an invention: cumbia meets surf rock, salsa intertwines with Persian melodies, and folklore collides with free jazz.
With Sancocho Trifásico, their latest album, they push this hybridity even further, delivering their richest, most soulful, and most audacious project to date. Their debut album, Papayón, was recorded live at Vancouver’s Fortune Sound Club and showcases their energetic stage presence through a vibrant mix of six tracks. Creepy Mambo followed in 2022, a bold nod to cumbia classics. In 2024, the band continued this exploration of their live sound, pushing the boundaries even further by recording Creepy Mambo on the rooftop of the Warrington Art Collective in Vancouver.
With performances at major events such as Sled Island, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Calgary Folk Fest, SunFest, Mixto Fest, and JUNOFest, the band continues to expand its reach, connecting cultures, sounds, and generations through rhythmic and deeply danceable music. Their music acts as a call and response between hemispheres, igniting dance floors across cultural boundaries.
