Hailing from Venezuela, Los Impala, as they were originally known, signed to the Velvet label (originally based in Cuba) in 1964. They were highly regarded musicians and released a handful of collectable albums before making the move to Spain chasing international success. They released the eponymous Los Impala for the Marfer label out of Madrid in 1968 which caught the attention of Audiofidelity Enterprises in New York and a one-album deal.

A name change, to the more contemporary sounding Impala Syndrome, resulted in their self-titled masterpiece released on the Audiofidelity subsidiary Parallax in ’69. The acid-trip cover painted by Stephanie Altman sets the mood for this awe-inspiring slice of hard-rocking psychedelia that borrows the best of Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and the Beatles and fuses it into the wholly original South American sound of the Impala Syndrome.

Reviewer Beverly Paterson described the album as “Crammed tight with dazzling mobility, Impala Syndrome is one of the finest albums of its genre”.