Cumbancha is an independent record label founded by Jacob Edgar, an Ethnomusicologist and music producer who for eight years was the head of music research and product development at famed independent record label Putumayo World Music. It had been Edgar's job to travel the world in search of exceptional artists and songs for Putumayo's critically acclaimed and commercially successful compilations of music from all over the globe. Over the years, Edgar kept coming across artists he felt deserved wider recognition and assistance in bringing their music to the world stage, and he decided to form Cumbancha to address that need.