Empanadas Ilegales will perform Thursday, July 24.

One can only speculate what puts Empanadas Ilegales on the wrong side of the law, but suffice to say their psychoactive spin on cumbia, salsa and other strains of Latin dance makes for a guaranteed good trip. Formed in 2017, with members hailing from Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Canada, the septet draws on the musicians’ richly varied cultural heritage — but they’re far from traditionalists. As documented on two studio albums and a raucous rooftop concert filmed at Vancouver’s Warrington Art Collective, their freewheeling musical approach embraces surf guitars, free-jazz sax solos and dubbed-out digressions alongside Afro-Cuban rhythms and propulsive baselines.

As far out as their musical influences get, Empanadas Ilegales never lose sight of the party. That balance between heady experimentation and body-shaking grooves earned the band a devoted fan base in their hometown Vancouver, where Empanada aficionados make a point of attending every performance to hear their latest musical reinvention. It has helped win over crowds at jazz and folk festivals across the country, where even the stuffiest audiences are powerless to resist the urge to dance. Rhythms so irresistible they could be classified as a mind-altering substance? No wonder it’s against the law.

- Peter Hemminger