Vancouver’s Empanadas Ilegales Cook Up A New, Flavourful Rhythm with Their New Single “Chancletazo”

Vancouver, BC’s electrifying Psychedelic Cumbia and Salsa ensemble, Empanadas Ilegales, are cooking up a new, flavourful rhythm with their new single “Chancletazo,” the first single from their forthcoming album, Sancocho Trifásico, to be released on June 6 via We Are Time. The song takes its name from the well-known Latin American slang term for a ‘flip-flop slap’ — a playful, yet fearsome, disciplinary tool wielded by parents across generations.

The song mirrors this with its hard-hitting, cyclical sections, evoking the inescapable force of a well-aimed chancletazo — a memory that haunts many childhood memories.

“This track was written by our drummer, Daniel Ruiz, at the band’s request, capturing the rhythm, intensity, and humour of this cultural rite of passage,” says guitarist, Jaime Millan. “Driving the tune forward is a punching, pulsating percussion rhythm that sets the foundation, relentless and unshakable.” 

The song culminates in a powerful trumpet solo by Jocelyn Waugh that takes flight, soaring over a guitar melody that combines with the band, almost evolving into an otherworldly layer of percussion, hammering with persistent intensity. An electrifying sonic force — rhythmic, relentless, and impossible to escape.

Pre-order the album here, and see the full track list below.

Sancocho Trifásico – Tracklist:

1. Suto Ta Kandá (de las 4 a las 12)
2. Mano Peluda
3. Chicharra
4. La Trifulca
5. Cumbia Rajá
6. Chancletazo
7. Bailecito de MORD
8. Gher Bede (Sanguijuela)
9. Alégrate Mijín
10. Matador