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Peru has long been known for its rich indigenous and colonial history and its gastronomical culture. But the Andean country is also making waves with a flourishing experimental music scene. Riding the crest of this wave is Lima-based La Sonoteca.

La Sonoteca is a digital library of Peruvian electronic music that archives the work of over 70 artists. Planning began in 2006 when organizers of a local music festival realized that a formidable collection of music dating back to the 1960s risked destruction unless they could find a way to preserve it. In 2007, they received help from Telefónica Perú's Centro Fundación Telefónica (CFT), which was established to help support and distribute cultural expressions that use new media technologies.

Today, La Sonoteca has a large, state-of-the-art space with computers and online databases located in CFT's visitor center in central Lima. Here the public has access to the electronic library. According to Omar Lavalle, the organization's director, the center represents a "unique space to promote and distribute this type of work."

Lavalle wants to increase Sonoteca's role as a cultural resource and hopes it will create interest in Lima's experimental music culture outside Peru.

Why Lima? Lavalle points to the special traits of the city, where traditional culture and contemporary artists exist in an edgy urban balance. "Sometimes the chaos of the city can inspire the imagination," he says. Thanks to La Sonoteca, the chaos has been organized in a way that can inspire future generations of artists.