Inside Colombia’s technicolour Picò sound system culture

“We love music and we like it loud.”

So says Fabian Altahona Romero, the man behind fantastic blog Africolombia. Nowhere more so than in the northern coastal town of Barranquilla, whose proximity to the Caribbean has fostered a love for sound system culture or picòs that will make Jamaica’s finest look positively discrete.

Massive, technicolour, turbo-charged sound systems, the picòs are an expression of Barranquilla’s love for music as a communal act, to be enjoyed in public rather than at home. And of course, at its heart are records, reflecting the country’s rich African and Caribbean heritage.

Speaking to manufacturers, painters, DJs and bloggers, we went to Barranquilla to find out more about the heart of this extraordinary culture.

Check out photos from behind the scenes of the filming below.