Gio Chamba
Birthplace: Houston, TX now in Denver, CO
Formed: 2014
Last Release: “Prisma” with Nakury (Costa Rica) & Principe Q (Nephew of Selena) from Corpus Christi.
Pronouns: he/him
Circle: Gio Chamba is the musical project of Giovanny Alejandro, a first generation Mexican American who grew up in both Houston, Texas and Monterrey, Mexico. The project started in 2014 when Gio wanted to create music inspired by all the Cumbia, Rock and Hip Hop he had heard growing up, but with an electronic twist. He was inspired by artists such as Los Destellos, Santana, Celso Piña, Mano Negra, Los Mirlos, Tiro de Gracia, Control Machete, Calle 13 as well as Latin American electronic cumbia artists such as El Remolón, Dengue Dengue, Tribilin Sound. and more. Gio incorporates his guitar melodies, which are inspired by psychedelic rock, with vicious rap and tropical vocal melodies over heavy bass, pounding dance beats, to make an original mix of Cumbia, Rock, Hip Hop and electronic dance music.
In 2015, Gio met energetic percussionist Coffee Guzman and began working together after hitting it off immediately. Their first show together was at Houston’s biggest festival at the time called Free Press Summer Fest. Gio and Coffee would open for acts such as Los Lonely Boys, AB Quintanilla and the Kumbia Allstars, Dengue Dengue, Natalia Lafourcade (twice), Ozomatli and Chicano Batman. They have also performed at festivals with acts such as Khruangbin, Leon Bridges, Diplo, CHVRCHES, Rae Sremmurd, etc.
By 2017 they performed for the NFL “Super Bowl Live” event in Houston Texas to a crowd of thousands and have become a Houston staple ever since. They continued to release music together with his co-producer and friend, Principe Q aka Svani Quintanilla, son of AB Quintanilla. 2018 to early 2020 was a busy time for Gio and Coffee, playing shows every weekend and releasing singles. They have performed throughout Texas as well as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami and Puerto Rico.
When the pandemic lockdown began in March 2020, Gio focused his attention on recording and releasing music from home and has since released over 22+ songs. In early 2021, Gio moved to Colorado to put down roots with his growing family, and has since focused on building an online fan base in the state, but most importantly in Denver. Gio Chamba’s first official show in Denver will be September 2 at the Hi-Dive with Ritmo Cascabel and Los Narwhals.
What music from your Latin culture inspires you: I could go on forever on this thread! There is so much music from Latin America that inspires me not only for my music but also for life. I find myself listening to a lot of Brazilian Tropicalia/Bossa, and then I go to Peruvian music like Los Destellos, Los Mirlos, Manzanita y Su Conjunto, then when I want rock I go to Chile’s Los Prisioneros, early Santana or Caifanes Mexico. I also really like Cuban and Puerto Rican music, artists like Los Zafiros, Joe Cuba, La Lupe and Hector Lavoe. Since I’m a cumbiero at heart, I like Andres Landero, Calixto Ochoa, Lisandro Meza, Frente Cumbiero, Ghetto Kumbé, CERO39 and many others from Colombia. The last wave of Latin music also inspires me like Hip Hop and reggaeton, artists like Calle 13 (Residente), Eladio Carrion, El Alpha, Bad Bunny of course and many more. I love all Latin music, even the ones I didn’t mention.
Plans for the rest of 2022: I plan to release some new collaborations, some singles, and continue working on an album focusing on bringing together and building the community in Denver. I’m so excited to meet so many different artists, connect with other music lovers like myself, and get all of Denver dancing to my electronic cumbias.
Official Website: Gio Chamba Official Website
Get social: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook
