Stephanie Santiago bares her "Carnival Soul"

The smell of cloves and cinnamon, the taste of café con panela (sweetened coffee), the sound of cumbia, the warmth of the accordion, and plenty of glasses filled with rum and guaro (liqueur), are just some of the things that remind Stephanie Santiago of her land, all detailed in the opening lyrics to her upcoming single “Alma Carnavalera”; it’s a song which sees her pine for the Colombia of her roots.

Born in South London to Colombian musician parents – her father an accordionist, her mother a singer – cumbia and salsa filled Stephanie’s childhood. But like anyone, she needed to find her own way, to discover London’s multifarious subcultures, to get lost in the energies of youth music. Her early work reflects this, with forays into soul, jazz, reggaeton, even punk, opportunities to experiment but also refine an inherent talent for songwriting and an ability to inhabit songs with her voice.

Glimpses of Latin music have emerged in her music before – it would be impossible for them not to – but this EP signals a new chapter in her career in which her heritage and search for identity are brought to the fore. “Alma Carnavalera” (“Carnival Soul”) is filled with an immigrant nostalgia for being in a distant place: “Too far from my homeland, a grey autumn in search of eternal spring” she sings, while always trying to bring a dose of home wherever she is, the verse ending “here we bring the carnival sabor (flavour)”. Echoes of carnival can be heard in the song’s make-up, its focus on vocals, percussion and bass indicative of traditional female-led bullerengue that is still performed along Colombia’s Caribbean coast, and the sound of gaita flute synonymous with cumbia at its most carnivalesque.

“Alma Carnavalera” is the first in a series of releases from Stephanie Santiago that will see her explore her Colombian heritage, revealing a new sound informed by life in London and Latin American lineage. Colombia has always been in Stephanie’s heart, now we get to hear it.