''Los Thuthanaka'' is the debut studio album by the Bolivian-American duo of the same name, consisting of siblings Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton. It was self-released as a

surprise album A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single (music), single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in t ...

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

on March 22, 2025. The album reimagines various traditional genres of

Andean music Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America. Original chants and melodies come from the general area inhabited by Quechua people, Quechuas (originally from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile), Aymara people, Aymar ...

from the duo's

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

heritage, such as

huayño Huayno (Waynu in Quechua)Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) is a genre of popular Andean music and dance. It is especially common in Peru, western Bolivia, northwest Arg ...

, caporal, and

kullawada The Kullawada, kullahuada, cullaguada or kullawa is a dance practiced in Bolivia and Peru and there is controversy about the origin of the dance between Bolivia and Peru. The name of the dance derives from the word ''kullawa'' ("sister" in Engli ...

, in

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

forms. The album received critical acclaim upon its release.

Background

The follow-up to Chuquimamani-Condori's 2023 album ''DJ E'' and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton's 2024 album ''Estrella Por Estrella'', ''Los Thuthanaka'' marks the siblings' first full-length project as the eponymous duo. In a statement to ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' upon the album's release, Chuquimamani-Condori wrote: The album was released by surprise on Saturday, March 22, 2025, exclusively on

Critical reception

''Los Thuthanaka'' was met with universal acclaim from music critics upon its release. In a 9.3/10 review for ''

'', Joshua Minsoo Kim described the album as "ceremonial but swaggy, cataclysmic but healing, unrefined but magnificent." He called it a "dense, elaborate thicket of sound" where "traditional genres and ancestral wisdom coexist with digital ephemera and rapturous noise," remarking that its " unmastered" nature serves as "a call to unlearn contemporary notions of sonic perfection and surrender to music in all its forms." It was the highest rating ''Pitchfork'' awarded to any new album since

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...

's 2020 album ''

Fetch the Bolt Cutters ''Fetch the Bolt Cutters'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It was released on April 17, 2020, Apple's first release since ''The Idler Wheel...'' in 2012. The album was recorded from 2015 to 2020, largely at A ...

''. In a review for ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

'', Jesse Dorris called attention to the album's "storms of noise" variously comprising " orchestral stabs, dog barks, DJ scratches, and shitty

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

sounds full of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

preset," summarizing, "Los Thuthanaka

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

everything they touch—

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, chopped and screwed hip-hop, Andean folk music,

braindance Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intelligent dance music') see ...

and the hyper prog of bands like

100 gecs 100 gecs () is an American musical duo formed in 2015 that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. They self-released their debut album, '' 1000 gecs'', in 2019 to positive reviews, followed by a companion remix album, '' 1000 gecs and the Tre ...

—with a determined flamboyance." ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' reviewer Eden Tizard called the album "a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

record in the true sense, eternal time in the rhythms of

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

, the steps of the Andean dance

," adding that the duo's work "is steeped in the history of queer and Indigenous people, the ties to place and the drift of migration, with an approach to production fidelity that eschews colonial ideas of the future." Writing for ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'', Chris DeVille called ''Los Thuthanaka'' "an easy shortlist contender for 2025's best album," describing it as "eight propulsive instrumentals that get the most out of repetition but never feel like they're spinning their wheels."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from

. * Chuquimamani-Condori – keyboards, sampler,

CDJ A CDJ is a specialized digital music player for DJing. Originally designed to play music from compact discs, many CDJs can play digital music files stored on USB flash drives or SD cards. In typical use, at least two CDJs are plugged into a DJ ...

, ronroco, bombo italaque * Joshua Chuquimia Crampton – guitar, bass

References

{{reflist 2025 albums Surprise albums Indigenous LGBTQ culture