Traffic Sound was a

Peruvian rock Rock music entered the Peruvian scene in the late 1950s, through listening to performers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Bill Haley (musician), Bill Haley, who popularized rockabilly in the United States. The first Peruvian rock bands appeared ...

band founded in 1967 by Manuel Sanguinetti (vocals), Freddy Rizo-Patrón Buckley (rhythm guitar), Jean Pierre Magnet (sax), Willy "Wilito" Barclay Ricketts (lead guitar), Willy Thorne Valega (bass, d.2019) and Luis "Lucho" Nevares (drums). Manuel and Freddy had met in school and played in Los Hang Ten's, with the latter and his older brother Jose originally coming up with the idea of founding "Traffic Sound". Simultaneously, Magnet joined "Los Drags" as Barclay and Thorne played in "Los Mad's" with Nevares and, a while later, Thorne again playing in the short-lived (1965-66) Peruvian band "Ides of March" (not to be confused with the US band founded in 1966 The Ides of March). As noted earlier, they all met in the summer of 1967 and created Traffic Sound The name was chosen because of their penchant for a traffic light, placed as a souvenir in the attic of the Rizo-Patróns house where they held their practices after a wild night in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Albums

After a year of continued rehearsals and private shows and with the guidance of their manager, Jorge Manuel Vegas (b.

Iquitos, Peru Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province, Peru, Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the List of cities in Peru, ninth-most populous city in Peru ...

, December 20, 1944, d.

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

April 17, 1987 ), the band tried their luck at Peruvian psychedelic emporium The Tiffany with great success and recorded his first album "A Bailar Go Go" in 1968 with label MAG. It contained versions of songs by

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal m ...

and

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. In later albums they included their own music with a fusion of

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

and Afro-Latin sounds. They held gigs in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Their second album "Virgin" (1969), all original material contains Peruvian

Psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

hit, "Meshkalina". The lyrics referenced to the

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: In 1970, Traffic Sound recorded another LP named "Traffic Sound" (a.k.a. '' III,'' or ''Tibet's Suzette''), in which they blended psychedelia spirit with an Andean folk sound, and more closely approached

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. In 1971

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

organized the first South American tour of a Peruvian band, and Traffic Sound was well received in demanding markets such as Argentina and Brazil. After the tour they switched to bigger label Sono Radio and released four singles. At this point Willy Thorne left the band and was replaced by Zulu (Miguel Angel Ruiz Orbegoso) on bass and keyboards, with whom they recorded their last LP, "Lux". During a strike at Sono Radio the master tapes disappeared and were only found in 1996. This album is different to the previous, the Andean influence is more evident and some political concerns were expressed. The band held a memorable concert at the Teatro Segura in Lima together with the Contemporary Orchestra of Peruvian jazz pianist Jaime Delgado Aparicio in 1971 and disbanded in 1972.

Aftermath

Saxophonist Jean Pierre Magnet began a successful solo career. In 1973, bassist/keyboardist Zulu was asked by IEMPSA to record his own album (label ODEON). After three releases, a mention in

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

magazine and his music being heard among much of Latin America and the Latin market in New York, he retired because of a devoted desire for preaching the Bible. Singer Manuel Sanguinetti founded Radio Doble Nueve, Peru's rock radio station, in 1979. In 1993, Traffic Sound members got together again for a concert at ''Muelle Uno'', Miraflores, and launched new versions of their old hits, a London remasterization CD of "Virgin" for Europe. Since 2005 they have met several times (at Hotel Los Delfines, Asia beach and The Dragon Racing Club of

Punta Hermosa Punta Hermosa is one of 43 districts of the Lima Province in Peru. The capital of the district is the village of Punta Hermosa. The district's main attractions are its beaches. Geography Punta Hermosa borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the ...

). Repsychled Records has since re-released "Virgin". Two of their songs, "Lux" and "Yesterday's Game" were used in episodes of American TV series

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

. They returned in 2005. The presentations were at luxurious clubs and hotels in Lima (Hotel Los Delfines, Asia, Club de Regatas Lima and El Dragon de Punta Hermosa). Then, from 2015 thru 2017, the group was reunited again with Willy Barclay Jr. on second guitar and Zulu on bass at the "Teatro Peruano Japonés", Lima, Peru, to a full house. They then played at "Teatro Fénix", Arequipa, and at the "Gran Teatro Nacional", Lima.

Discography

Albums *A Bailar Go Go (1968) *Virgin (1969) *Traffic Sound, a.k.a. III, a.k.a. Tibet's Suzettes (1971) *Lux (1971) *Yellow Sea Years (2005) *Greatest Hits (2005) SinglesSingles (Inca Rock)
/ref> *Sky Pilot-Fire (1968) *You Got Me Floating-Sueño (1968) *I'm So Glad-Destruction (1968) *La Camita-You Got To Be Sure (1971) *Suavecito-Solos (1971)

References

{{Authority control Peruvian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1967