Lemvo has released two albums, Mambo Yo Yo and Sao Salvador, with Putumayo and is working on a third. His specialty is percussion-heavy rhythms fusing Congolese soukous and rumba beats with Cuban salsa and son . I can play small towns now and find people who are familiar with our music. It's because of our association with Putumayo. The idea is simple, really.
Stores usually provide some sort of background music for shoppers to hum to while browsing.
He says he couldn't have understood this retail avenue, however, without experiencing it for himself. Before using Putumayo as an introduction to other cultures through music, he was bringing culture to New York with a chain of clothing and crafts stores. After graduation from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Latin studies, Storper left the United States for an extensive tour of South America. His love of the culture led him to gather clothing, art and handicrafts and start a shop in New York City. He named it Putumayo after a favored river valley in Colombia.