Following on from the hit track ‘Alma Carnavalera’ with 300k + streams on Spotify ‘Campo de Minas’ is the new track from Stephanie Santiago – a fusion of Bossa ballad and Afro-Brazilian grooves as part of a series of releases that sees her explore her Latin American heritage, revealing a new sound informed by life in London and Latin American lineage.
Produced alongside her regular collaborator Andres Pascua, the musical inspiration came about from Steph and Andres’s common love for Brazilian music. Whereas her previous two tracks took their cue from Colombia inspired by Cumbia and Bullerengue this time there’s more of a Brazilian influence, eschewing the synth / electronic sounds and programmed drums for a more acoustic and percussive sound.
The track features Colombian percussion and rhythm sign language band La Legión (based in Bogotá, Colombia) which was live directed and arranged by Jorge Arciniegas who thought of bringing the elements of samba reggae that worked perfectly with the South American and African instrumentation of the percussion ensemble. The percussion was recorded live at the State of The Art recording studio Altar Audio in Bogotá, Colombia.
About the song’s subject matter Stephanie says “What inspired me lyrically was a situation where one day I was working as a mobile hairstylist in a household of yuppie brits.. I was disregarded in conversational topics and experienced racial microaggressions.. I was not exactly hurt by this but it more or less enforced the idea that race and class discrimination prevails in modern society.. just in a more subtle way.”