Cecilia Noël, who plays at the Belly Up Tavern tonight with her Wild Clams, may have been born in Peru, but her musical influences reach far beyond the geographical boundaries of South America.

The salsa/soul/urban sound that has made her group a sold-out attraction at Los Angeles-area clubs comes from a mix of styles that could best be described as eclectic.

"I call my music 'salsoul,' which is salsa and soul music," Noël said in a recent phone interview. "It is the Afro-Caribbean influences mixed with punk, rock and soul music from all the way back in the'60s to contemporary music."

Noël, who was born in Lima, Peru, said she grew up listening to the music of the Beatles, James Brown, Jimmy Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone. But she also enjoyed the music played by her parents, includ- ing Tito Puente and groups like Perez Prado, known as the "King of Mambo."

"That is the music my parents listened to, and I loved it," Noël said. "I started very young, I had melody and rhythm. I wanted to be full of energy and have great arrangements, but I wanted to keep the melodic element. I want to play songs that people will remember"

Noël's musical roots stretch back to ancient times. "My great-great-great- grandfather was from Inca royalty, and he became the first violinist for Louis XVI in France. Of course, he came back to Peru married to a French woman, and that is how my family continued. His name was El Curaca Sacha, el cacique, and he was an administrator for the Inca emperor," Noël said.

Noël first began singing at age 11 in a band named El Polen formed by her cousins. Shortly afterward, she left Lima and traveled to Argentina to study music and later continued her studies in Heidelberg, Germany.

When she returned to Lima at the age of 14 the legendary jazz performer Stan Getz saw her perform, and a year later he invited her to New York to live with his family. "Now, I travel back to Peru only to visit my mother," Noël said. "She has always supported me; she is wonderful. I studied percus- sions, violin, piano and the trombone, but of course my main passion is writing and singing."