Nueva canción centres on Andean folk instruments such as the quena and charango together with acoustic guitar, carrying social and political messages. Spare, unadorned accompaniment and a sincere, conversational vocal are at its core. Built on themes of land, poverty, dignity and solidarity, it keeps a plainness that sets it apart from commercial pop.

In the 1960s, Violeta Parra's collecting and re-creation of Chilean folk songs became the wellspring, and Víctor Jara and the group Quilapayún tied the music to movements for social change to form 'nueva canción chilena'. It spread as a cultural movement supporting Salvador Allende's Popular Unity government, and reached across Latin America through figures such as Argentina's Mercedes Sosa.

Listen for the way the plaintive tone of the quena (a notched flute) and the rapid strumming of the charango carry the feel of the Andes. The voice is grounded in sincerity, speaking softly to the listener rather than belting. The rhythms rest on folk forms while the lyrics point clearly at the real social world.

Violeta Parra's 'Gracias a la Vida' (Thanks to Life, 1966) distils the genre's spirit. For Víctor Jara, start with 'Te Recuerdo Amanda' (1968), whose gentleness against its tragic backdrop is deeply moving.

Violeta Parra, who wrote 'Gracias a la Vida', took her own life the following year. That this hymn of thanks for life became close to her final work gives the song an added weight.