Here’s a wonderful looking device from South America, aimed at bringing you petite electronic rhythms in a vibrant and colourful container. The Hanan Cumbia is a tabletop drum synthesizer, with four sounds and four sequences which are triggered and played using the arcade buttons and control knobs. Let’s jump into this colourful vortex!
The Hanan Cumbia comes as a completed unit and houses a bleep drum which is an indie drum machine developed by Bleep Labs. The sounds include a Kick, Guiro, Cow Bell, and Conga – the latter having pitch controls. It has an on board sequencer to record and play your own patterns and can be synced to external devices. It’s a project which is a collaboration between Yeffry Ruta Mare (Graphics), Los Laberintos (Screen Printing) and Oficina De Sonido to deliver this visually striking unit.
A build guide and further instructions (available in Spanish) are on their website. It has a very retro feel, similar to early 90s drum machines and can provide a sparse and minimal background to your music. See the video below to hear the Hanan Cumbia in action:
The Hanan Cumbia is the second device produced by Oficina De Sonido who are based in Mexico.
