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Throughout, Baca has laboured under the convenient "Afro-Peruvian" critical label, though as Fly has already pointed out it sells her distinctive sound somewhat short. The label's an acknowledgement of the fact that the lyrical content of many of her songs draws on the experience, particularly slavery ('El mayoral', 'Panalivio/Zancudito'), of her black Peruvian ancestors, as well as the use or recreation of traditional folk idioms.

But it's less than half the story. What's truly distinctive is the mix of elements. The North American influence is clear and explicit, with a crack team of New York musicians including Luaka Bop label director David Byrne himself bringing a sparse, jazzy inflection to the earthiness of Baca's tunes and words (see 'Golpe e' tierra', 'Valentín'). Star turns John Medeski on keyboards and guitarist Marc Ribot both also appear in her 2002 Espiritu vivo, acknowledging the success of the collaboration.

Less commented is the peculiarly Spanish flavour of Baca's music, not an element to be taken for granted in the Latin American context. In large measure this is down to the elegant guitar of Rafael Muñoz, part of Baca's regular band, but the choice of lyrics in many of the numbers on Eco de sombras also testifies to Iberian leanings, with a Lorca-esque sensibility which locates sensual love in an earth-bound world of salt, grass, rivers, fruit, forests, rain and crickets. And if Baca's own rhythmic drive and vocal quality have roots in Africa, they also have no less in Andalusía.

The instrumental arrangements are marked by an aesthetic which combines the real passion of Baca's inspiration with elegant restraint to an almost classical extent, in spite of the sheer numbers of musicians involved. This music has space to breathe, and it's space that invites the humanity and sensuality of the listener to collaborate.

The only minor niggle here (allow me one) is the translations of lyrics and liner notes, which can be clunky or even misleading – rendering "el son caliente de aquel danzón" as "the hot jam of that dance" is really awkward, and translating "muros" as "murals" is just wrong. But that's nitpicking – overall, a wholehearted recommendation.

Luaka Bop VVR1029952