María y José - "Rey de Reyes"

The infamous Tony Gallardo has had one hell of a year. Well, maybe not in a profitable sense, but anyone following his steps (and his sudden social network deaths and resurrections) has seen him treating this year with the introspection of a giant. We can easily say that his next album is already our most anticipated record of 2012. María y José has not only kept momentum through the release of two of the best pop jams of the year (“Granada” and “Puerto Alegría”), but as predestined by its cult status, his 2010 debut Espíritu Invisible also enjoyed a well-reserved resurgence in popularity. Originally, the ruidoson father had contemplated the idea of releasing an EP this year, but through a holy and illuminating call, he has opted to redirect his mind to his much anticipated sophomore album. Unlike the negligence of attention to his debut (the world just wasn't ready), this time around he’s got plenty of fans and publications watching carefully.

In an impulsive stroke of creative temperament, Gallardo decided to go ahead and self-leak what seems to be the first single off his new album. “Rey de Reyes” is the unforeseen and outlawed anthem of this winter season. This is the first time in which we see María y José (whose veins carry royal blood) immersing fully in 3Ball territory (if you don’t know, the ruidoson and 3Ball kids are each other's biggest supporters). This piece is the sole definition of SWAG, and it’s so brutal to the dance floor, that it might steal some of the heat off the totally-gone-mainstream hit, “Inténtalo.” Well, at least creatively. The way Tony’s vocals chase the Aztec rave beat while dragging some elements of ruidoson into the ritual speak of an artist ready for his own crown and a steel shield next to his torso. Through comedic hubris and some corrido-striking guts, “Rey de Reyes” is the idolization of the forbidden fruit.

♫♫♫ "Rey de Reyes"

Featured: Kali Mutsa - "Tunupa"

Featured: Kali Mutsa - "Tunupa"

SHOCK, Chile



“They dubbed their daughter Kali Mutsa because they were devotees to Kali Sara, who according to legend is the daughter of Maria Magdalene, and Mutsa (“Cat” in Roman) because she had cat eyes according to the healer and violinist Sarah Tikuna.”



Diving into the majestic depths of Kali Mutsa means to give 3/4 of yourself away to a world of crafty rituals, afflicting gastronomical feasts, and powerhouse operas. The haunting project of Chilean telenovela star Celine Reymond appeared on this year’s list of Club Fonograma’s Bands to Watch, and she seems to have all the intentions of making our prediction a reality. Kali Mutsa is the kind of turmoil discovery that makes us stand up just to catch a glimpse of her musicalized acrobatics. We’ve been buzzing about Mutsa’s gypsy diva qualities and her retro-fetishist canvas for over a year and, while we would be more than happy to dwell on the character’s mystique, Kali Mutsa is ready to take the next step. Miami-based publisher/record label SHOCK Entertainment recently signed the project onto their roster and will soon release the artist’s first EP, Ambrolina.



Earlier this year, Kali Mutsa grabbed a spot on our compilation, Juventud Bruta, with her outstanding, lyrically-ecstatic track, “Tunupa.” Now as her first official single, the song has been reworked into an even more stunning number. The new version substitutes the demo’s program-based skeleton and reconditions the adventure with the warmth and romanticism of wooded instruments. “Tunupa” has acquired the sort of celestial plethora that can only be experienced by immersing your soul into the fragmented pupils of a black cat. A boundless, irresistible, and velvety single that should put Celine Reymond and Kali Mutsa on steady ground.

♫♫♫ "Tunupa" | Facebook

Featured: Mentira Mentira - "TIME TIME"

Featured: Mentira Mentira - "TIME TIME"
Nene Records, Mexico
by Carlos Reyes

Now that Bam Bam’s Futura Via and Odio Paris’ self-titled album have seen the light of day (with plenty of shine), there are only two other rock albums we’re absolutely craving: the debut albums of Spain’s Pegasvs and Mexico’s Mentira Mentira. While the former has yet to announce an actual record, the latter is taking the right steps toward victory. Mentira Mentira’s Gaby is a true force of nature and having Bam Bam’s Mou on board as your producer can only make things better. The one-man act will actually be releasing two albums this year through two different labels: Meaningmore on Nene Records and Gasoline on Vale Vergas Discos. Last year, during El Garage’s last breaths, some lucky people got to download a rough cut of Meaningmore, and our assenting excitement gives us away us as part of those people. The album was removed from every corner of the web and has been building muscle with a top-notch production it clearly deserves.

With the visual eye of Jaime Martinez the band unveiled “Turnaway” a few months ago and are now back with the jaw-dropping track “TIME TIME.” This is Mentira Mentira at its best, showcasing queasy dissonance and infernal glow to the contrasting chant of Charles Manson’s “I’ll Never Say never To Always.” Yes, this is somewhat of a study on the American icon of evil. The start is peaceful and shimmering, building up to the most corrosive soundscapes you could possibly think of. The track comes with a NSFW clip that might give the creeps to more than a few people (let's see how long it takes before someone flags it on YouTube). It features footage from several documentaries about the serial killer and excerpts from Jim Van Bebber’s The Manson Family (2003). This is some kind of romantic stigma on human insanity. Horrific and toxic, yet full of emotional depth.

♫♫♫ "TIME TIME" | Facebook

Featured: Carmen Sandiego - "Dandy Rasca"

Feature: Carmen Sandiego - "Dandy Rasca"
Independiente, Uruguay
by Pierre Lestruhaut

Even though Carmen Sandiego’s fourth release, Joven Edad, made it into CF’s best albums of 2010, many of us weren’t really paying attention to what Flavio Lira and Leticia Skrycky were doing as a duo a few years ago (which was interestingly documented in the short-film Dónde en el mundo) before the band had mutated into their present line-up of fully formed indie pop quartet. So for those who recently discovered their early records, it was clear that the band’s evolution over the years seemed to be more in the line of constant reinvention rather than linear progression, of adopting a different sound for each release rather than focusing on polishing a specific one. From the bedroom noise-pop experiments of Vida Espiritual (2007) to the simplicity, honesty and plain nostalgic sweetness of the very twee-inspired Nanas (2008) and Ristampa (2008), these were very disparate releases from what we would have expected of the band that captivated us with self-aware lyricism and well placed punch-lines in Joven Edad.

“Dandy Rasca” is the latest track from the Montevidean band, a pleasant two minutes of straightforward rock and roll and country guitar licks in what is clearly their most upbeat song yet, the one where perhaps they realize how much being a guitar-bass-drums line-up allows for a more accessible songwriting style without abandoning the quirkiness of indie pop. And even though it’s probably not their greatest song, it’s still a very satisfying move to follow their most attention-grabbing release and, at the same time, it’s the kind of song that has us both scratching our heads and quivering with excitement as to where this band might be going next.

♫♫♫ "Dandy Rasca" | Facebook

Featured: Shantelle - "Otto y Ana"

Featured: Shantelle – “Otto y Ana”
Independiente, Mexico

Tijuana’s music scene has always been fascinating, it’s the one town you can always turn to when trying to diversify your color palette or embrace your sinister being. Recently we’ve been a bit too preoccupied with the all-mighty ruidoson and overlooked a few acts that might not be as electrifying as the residents of La Bodega Aragon but are truly worthy of our attention. Some of these artists include Belafonte, Dani Shivers, and Ibi Ego. A couple of weeks ago CF-favorite Orlando introduced us to a song that’s been haunting me since its very first spin. Orlando described them as his favorite Tijuana band and went on to confess that these guys were actually the band that accompanies him in his full-band gigs.

Shantelle is a stirring addition to the line of shoegazing bands (Odio Paris, Las Robertas, Grushenka) that are embracing the fuzzy aesthetic of noise pop. Although Shantelle’s formation dates all the way back to 2003, the 4-piece band is on its way to release their debut album this year. For starters, I’d say the dazzling “Otto y Ana” should do a fine job profiling the band as something more than promising. Otto y Ana are the two main characters in Los Amantes del Circulo Polar, a 1998 cinematic exercise by Spanish filmmaker Julio Medem. Shantelle takes the narrative of a thorny romance to metaphysical proportions. The explorations given to Medem’s initial ideas are of grandiose verbalism, and the band’s instrumental and rhythm machine sequencing is equally thrilling. Even if you know the outcome of the story, when that last refrain shows up, you can’t help but to sing along “salta de la ventana valiente!”

♫♫♫ "Otto y Ana"
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Featured: Víctor Hugo - "Así es como se arruina un verano"

Featured: Víctor Hugo - “Así es como se arruina un verano”
Fuego Amigo Discos, Peru
by Pierre Lestruhaut

Considering Víctor Hugo used to sing in Mi Jardín Secreto, an indie rock band from Lima packed with Planetas-infused upbeat riffs, his latest single and closing track on Fonogramáticos Vol. 12 “Así es como se arruina un verano” is a considerable shift in musical style. Nearly every single person I’ve shared this great track with has had the same instant reaction of pointing out just how evocative it is of Ennio Morricone film scores. Only seconds into the track, you can almost feel the tension of an old spaghetti western duel building up. The initial heavy pounding beat and steady guitar strumming are joined by an almost frightening backing vocal harmony. Then the track morphs into a stunning series of chord progressions leading us into the inevitable grandiose climax and finale.

Most music that I would qualify as somewhat cinematic, such as Portishead or early Wu-Tang records, usually exercises itself in being sonically evocative of films and their scores through the heavy use of samples. Víctor Hugo instead directly embraces the same compositional form and structure of great Morricone climactic tracks like “L’Arena” or “The Ecstasy of Gold” in order to create something that emotionally brings us back to the experience of watching films. Released through Fuego Amigo Discos, “Así es como se arruina un verano” is unlike anything we’ve heard from the Argentine net label (and maybe even anything that’s ever been covered on CF). Yet this young label has already given us great singles by favorites like Los Migues and Luciana Tagliapietra, and it might just be starting to become the home of a series of interesting bands to watch.

♫♫♫ “Así es como se arruina un verano”
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Featured: Bam Bam - "Ragatrón"

Feature: Bam Bam - "Ragatrón"

Arts & Crafts Mexico

Bam Bam is perhaps, the most lauded and best critically-perceived band hailing from the Nene Records catalog. It was once Monterrey’s best-kept secret, but the band is on its way to conquer a broader audience now that they’re signed under Arts & Crafts (Mexico). Early in 2008, the band released its first self-titled record, which we described as “a consequence of pop music’s transcoding into scattered rock, one that breathes youth and exhales a virtuous shrewd of instrumental & lyrical skill.” This was the moment we recognized the Bam Bam as one of Mexico’s true new great bands. Bam Bam’s landscape-defying rock surprised us and moved us. It also came to reaffirm our skepticism towards other crowd-pleasing Mexican bands (Zoe, Bengala, etc), who despite making honest efforts, were simply not very stimulating.

“Ragatrón” is the leading single off their new record Futura Vía, produced by Bam Bam’s Mou & Martin Thulin. It only takes a second into the song to feel you’re being lifted to a higher ground; it’s a whimsical dance-battle among light, instruments, and electronic swarms. The soundscape in “Ragatrón” is as packed as our galaxy, yet it gravitates with ease among the gas dust, cosmic rays, and all that stellar matter surrounding intergalactic space. And you get to this setting just with the instrumental core. The lyrics narrate a beautiful story; ‘Ragatron’ seems to be the name of a very kind galactic creature/force who invites a ‘lost dreamer’ into a life-changing journey. The time-jumping adventure makes him experience space, glimpse the great extinction (of Dinasours? Humans?), and tells him he is not lost: “no estas perdido, eres lo que falta en la ecuación.”

Featured: Campo - "1987" (Roundabouts)

Campo – “1987” (Roundabouts)

Independiente, Uruguay



My iTunes has about a dozen songs titled “1987” and I really like them all, it might be because that was the year I was born. I’ve never done a thorough research on this particular year, but I know Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Player” was the zeitgeist. Uruguayan ‘newcomers’ Campo were also inspired by it, and have made it the first taste of many great things to come for the new band by Juan Campodonico. Campo made our Bands to Watch list for two things; first, Campodonico’s stamp of quality, and second, because we’re deeply in love with “1987” (Roundabouts).



Campo defines its sound as “subtropical music” and they get it right; “1987” sounds like Gorillaz doing a Cuban bolero. This is an all-around song that gets into your skin quickly. It takes me back to middle school, where an afternoon of skating, discoball, and your first love seemed like true paradise. “1987” is a consequence of the new global pop tradition, where extreme corners find themselves through subtle fusion. This track slides so easily you get the impression your listening to funk music, but you if you dig deep into it, it’s actually a very dark and depressing track looking for some light: “I’m hearing that sound, you’re getting much closer, my eyes are shut.”



This version of “1987” (Roundabouts) is still a demo and won’t be included on the actual album. For the production of Campo’s debut (out later this year), Campodonico teamed up with his Bajofondo partner Gustavo Santaolalla (you know him), and Joe Chiccarelli, (who has worked with The Strokes, The Shins & The White Stripes). The final version of “1987” will be in Spanish and it will feature Jorge Drexler.

♫♫♫ "1987" (Roundabouts)

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Featured: Andrea Roca - "Buenos Salvajes"

Featured: Andrea Roca - "Buenos Salvajes"

Michita Rex



When I downloaded Andrea Roca’s Arar EP, the genre tag that came up in my iTunes was “pop gore de la periferia.” Now, I normally trust anything endorsed by Michita Rex, but that tag made me wonder what I was getting myself into. I was bracing myself for some rattling chains, clicking heels, branches scratching on window glass-type experimental obscurity. I’ll admit I was a little scared, but mostly I was really intrigued.



The genre tag was misleading, though. Instead of the conceptual and difficult to digest upon first listen music that I expected, what I got was four gorgeous ambient songs. “Buenos Salvajes” is beautiful track that starts off serenely with bird chirps, like an early morning at Walden Pond. And that’s really what the song feels like, like waking with the birds at dawn and breathing in the fresh air and just allowing yourself to be a part of it all. Roca’s voice is full and enveloping, while still being soft and tranquil and in perfect harmony with the minimal instrumentation. Even the brief entrance of the drum machine near the end, though it should be jarring and feel out of place, integrates seamlessly into the song’s storyline.

♫♫♫ "Buenos Salvajes"

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Featured: Pipe Llorens feat. Elis Paprika - "Ven a mi casa a ver Donnie Darko"

Featured: Pipe Llorens feat. Elis Paprika - "Ven a mi casa a ver Donnie Darko"

Delhotel Records

Pipe Llorens, the man behind “Dame Un Besito” and “No Quiero Ejercicios de Respiracion”, and one of our Bands to Watch 2011 will be releasing an LP later this year (on Delhotel Records); this time, with many people watching. As a funny fact, he is a former contestant of Telemundo's 12 Corazones, not that it matters, it just shows style. He seems to have taken a few muscle relaxants in his new single “Ven a mi Casa a ver Donnie Darko.” Much of Pipe’s themes and qualities circle around existentialist notions, and this very smooth ride recalls some of his earlier work as a sort of psychedelic balladist.

He strips off his Hip Hop sensibilities (and techno-loving tricks), and just like he showed in his cover of Piyama Party’s “Nosotros Los Rockers”, he proves to be an artist able to deliver songs on his own terms. Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko is the excuse for a date, and the inspiration for a beautiful song. If the film is a generation’s surrealist dispatch, this song documents the dream and the movie’s metaphysics. While listening to this simple, yet deeply emotional song, it’s hard not feel inside a wacky Sundance movie, or the mentioned cult-favorite film. Pipe Llorens recruited a friend in the song; the much more recognized Elis Paprika, one of Mexico’s most recognized pop-rock stars. “Ojala fuera un gran hombre como Vincent Gallo.”

♫♫♫ "Ven a mi casa a ver Donnie Darko"

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Featured: Ximena Sariñana - “Tu y Yo”

Featured: Ximena Sariñana - "Tu y Yo"

Warner Music

Mexican songstress Ximena Sariñana is preparing the release of her second album, out later this year on Warner Music. It will be the follower to her triumphant first record Mediocre (2008), one of the most critically acclaimed debuts in the past decade. Over the past three years she’s been working on movies, making self-discovery trips through Omar Rodriguez’s bands, supporting up-and-coming artists (Daniela Spalla, Alex Ferreira) and crafting what will also become, her first record in the English language. Judging from what we heard during her latest U.S. tour, the pop-melody magic and piano-led warmth will translate effortlessly.



“Tu y Yo” (produced by Natalia Lafourcade) is one of Ximena’s favorite songs on the new album, and also, the only Spanish-language track. The song’s old-school entrance is mournful and immediately fading, a few seconds away, the melodic progression turns into a delicate piece full of emotional & melodic shifts. The song is sometimes affectionate, sometimes devastating (“en esto del amor no hay mas que un corazon”), it shines, dissolves and slowly fades away beautifully. Lafourcade is turning into a multi-dimensional producer, one that knows how to withhold and surrender resources to beautiful love songs.



Lyrically, Ximena’s gorgeous imagery tells the story of a fragile couple; when he flies, she runs, when he drowns, she swims. “Tu y Yo” is exactly that, an emotional breakdown of a couple’s courtship, the trajectory of catching up with love. Under the production work of Lafourcade, David Sitek (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Greg Kurstin (Lilly Allen, Ladyhawke, Beck), Ximena seems to be on her way to international success.

Download! ♫♫♫ "Tu y Yo"

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Featured: Hypnomango - "El Mundo No Es Real"

Feature: Hypnomango - “El Mundo No Es Real”

Nene Records + Miut Records, Mexico

This is our favorite new song, to put it in better context, we were waiting for a song as good as this one to officially welcome the New Year. Something about a song named “El Mundo No Es Real” is immediately grabbing; the concept of isolation at such affirmative terms is moving, almost heart-trenching. Here we got a song that’s almost cheerless (“nada es real”), but self-responsive (“yo ya no existo”), in its own fuzzy way, it’s celebrating its existence, and that’s just what we need for a fresh start. Well-punched sequences, self-destructive drums and dissonant vocals describe Hypnomango, the new hot band from Monterrey.



Originally a one-man band by Rene Rodriguez, Hypnomango fell into the right hands a few months ago, as Nene Records’ leading man Mou (Bam Bam, XYX), who offered his excellent craftsmanship as a producer and drummer. We can’t emphasize it enough; Mou is one of the most creative individuals in Mexican music today. Hypnomango will bring its raging nostalgia and undeniable noise pop into record next month, through the release of its still untitled debut EP via Nene Records and Miut Records. “El Mundo No Es Real” could translate into “No Hope Kids”, but this one is actually alive.

♫♫♫ “El Mundo No Es Real”

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Featured: Midiset feat. Fakuta - "Tonos Cromáticos" (Tropical)

Featured: Midiset feat. Fakuta - “Tonos Cromáticos” (Tropical)
Independiente, Chile

Chilean pop took Club Fonograma by storm in 2010, as we once put it, “it’s the collective well-measured sound involving numbers, distances and form.” It’s difficult to predict if 2011 will be as fruitful, but we’re hopeful. Midiset is a powerpop act in the line of De Janeiros and Maifersoni; their songs aren’t as textured, but definitely profound. “Tonos Cromáticos” is a rework/remix by house favorite Fakuta, who added vocals to their song “Tropical” and came out with a beautiful track that’s nothing less than a stroke of genius. Midiset’s watchful and revelatory shifts demanded beautiful on-action lyrics, “cuando me hace girar, cuando lo veo girar.”

Fakuta’s well-punctuated vocals build up the beautiful bridges she’s starting to be known for, like Robyn or Teengril Fantasy, the amount of emotional performance here is wonderfully euphoric. She sings about unresponsive rhythms and coordination with her heartbeats, but above all, there’s a sense of rendition in both, Fakuta’s profile (“Amar y Desarmar”) and Midiset’s “Tropical” that speaks straight to the heart. This rendition, like that of falling in love, finds the strength to let go through the unveiling of disco strings (halfway through the song), as she has finds the coordination of her heartbeat when she sings “frecuencias de movimiento sideral, de bailar, nos vamos a encontrar.”

♫♫♫ "Tonos Cromáticos"

Featured: Mickey Mickey Rourke - “SATANIC YOUTH BRIGADE”

Featured: Mickey Mickey Rourke - "SATANIC YOUTH BRIGADE"
Magic User, USA

The elusive Los Angeles-based Miller Rodriguez never intended for Mickey Mickey Rourke to be anything beyond a personal art project. He says that he “wanted [the] project to seem like a myth where people were hearing the music but never knew about who it was coming from.” So far, he’s been successful in maintaining that air of mystery, always appearing as a cryptic, shrouded figure (like in the video for “GLO”) and letting the music speak for itself. And it speaks volumes. Just this year, Rodriguez has released three albums as Mickey Mickey Rourke and another album as part of Mickey Brown.

Rodriguez’s blend of glo-fi atmospheric psych pop in lush textures creates beautiful soundscapes that you’ll love getting lost in. This is the kind of music that’s best listened to in full-album form, allowing the narrative to unfold, the landscape to be formed, and yourself to become fully immersed. “SATANIC YOUTH BRIGADE” is one of Rodriguez’s more accessible, poppier songs, with the tinny echo of the vocals and the steady anchor of the guitar working together to soften the screeching and distortion. The track will be on the upcoming album Magic User, set to be released in January.

♫♫♫ “SATANIC YOUTH BRIGADE”

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Featured: Hey Chica! - "Adiós Noviembre"

Featured: Hey Chica! - “Adiós Noviembre”
Lo Que Nadie Ve, México

They got one of the coolest band names on earth and they’re finally justifying the exclamation point at the end of it. Hey Chica! had a good fair amount of buzz with their debut EP Do You Really Belive? (Happy Garlic-The Poni Republic, 2008), a set of harmless songs with enough charm to defend its naïve mystique. Like many young bands from our region, the English-language lyrics were off-putting, but there was something beyond their speech to appreciate, some good old power-pop. They self-describe as a confrontation between the sweet voices & chords of ‘the girls’ (Kiwi, Jeka) and the punk-garage rhythms of ‘the guys’ (Barona, Baqui). The perfect balance to deliver songs with a galvanizing delicacy.

The Guadalajara-based quartet prospects their self-released debut LP early next year, titled Lo Que Nadie Ve. They’ve put out their new single “Adiós Noviembre” just in time to farewell the eleventh month of the year. It only takes a single spin to know this is their most accomplished number yet; an important step in their quest for harmony, along with the warmth of its lyrics: “épocas de nublina escuchando esa canción.” Hey Chica! has polished a beautiful pictorial song for featherweight dreamers.

♫♫♫ “Adiós Noviembre”

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Featured: Niña Dioz - "Chicos, Tenis y Cachucha"

Featured: Niña Dioz - "Chicos, Tenis y Cachucha"

El Mixtape II, Mexico

In our last Niña Dioz feature she claimed that techno was back (“El techno esta de vuelta”), she was right, most of our ‘destacados’ are in fact, techno-disco driven albums. This time, she takes on a much more personal track, a letter to her loyal fans and the new ones. She looked stunningly gorgeous in the video “Chicos, Tenis y Cachucha”, it’s weird to say, but it’s that kind of individual pride that keeps us on the edge of our seats in anticipation of La Nueva Escuela (her anticipated debut LP). In the meantime, she is putting the final touches on El Mixtape II, which now has an official release date, November 26.

Niña Dioz had a Q&A with MTV Iggy, where she confesses she feels closer to the ‘Latin Alternative’ scene than to Mexican hip hop. It’s refreshing to see an MC who embraces the hip-hop culture but is not a purist. She is rather on the lookout of what’s truly around her. “Chicos, Tenis y Cachucha” is a must-download, the perfect blend of The Knife’s “Hearbeats” and Niña Dioz’s ‘latin lingo.’ Seems like the kind of track that gets much love over at The Hype Machine, we'll see if their new system of recognizing accents & 'ñs' works on this very hot jam.

♫♫♫ "Chicos, Tenis y Cachucha"

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Featured: El Mejor de los Babuinos - "Me Voy de la Ciudad"

Featured: El Mejor de los Babuinos - "Me voy de la ciudad"

Unreleased, Mexico

Grayscale road music makes up for some of the most romantic music; running away or coming home serves as the perfect mediation and muscle of affectionate story telling. Monterrey-based El Mejor de los Babuinos mediates the curves of the road with clever, velvety composition. Carla Morrison has been pointing us to them for a while; she claims they sound like José José, we think they’re on a line between Fleet Foxes and Jumbo. But indeed, they carry the aesthetics of today’s ‘wooded’ pop with splashes of crooner nostalgia. The idea of the band initiated while lead singer Fere Gutierrez drove back home just after breaking up with his girlfriend, which explains the mournful feeling in their gorgeously painful songs.

The first chords in “Me voy de la ciudad” are simply the warm-up to many instrumental passages that add up to a stunning piece. “La carretera dice no mires atras”, the lyrics dictate the composition of the song; it sums up instruments and space as if they were picking up hitchhikers on every mile. When the percussion is fully exposed (in full panorama) during the second half of the song, it proves to be both, a nostalgic and triumphant piece. Vocally, El Mejor de los Babuinos also resemble to some light-norteño bands like Duelo and La Firma. They are currently working on their firs EP, to be released next year under the working title El Suelo Se Mueve Mas Rapido Que Mis Pies.

♫♫♫ "Me voy de la ciudad"

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Featured: quieroStar - "Efecto Espejo"

Featured: quieroStar - "Efecto Espejo"

Unreleased, Chile

Javiera Mena gave us a hint a few months ago about quieroStar, claiming it was a band that deserved our undivided attention. Indeed, this Chilean trio comprised by Sofia Oportot (“Chofi”), Raul (“Mr. Monster”) and Arturo (“DJ Exxtra Large”) know how to grab one’s attention. In a year in which we hear disco strings in every corner of the continent, this band adds some serious dense melody to the trend, achieving success in the best of Stereo Total or Fangoria’s Un Dia Cualquier En Volcano 3-volume series. It’s got that ‘sadness in the spotlight’ vibe that predominates global kitsch music.

“Efecto Espejo” is the first single out of their upcoming album Lo Hare Publico, which will be available for open download soon. The song is a tribute inside a tribute; it wears its influences with tremendous confidence, ignoring the fact that we’ve probably heard that song before in some way or another, but it’s that thrive for disco rapture what makes this song special. If we were to turn off the disco lights, we would found a warm, vulnerable sweet voice singing to a mirror, not for personal grooming but for self-reflective reason. "Tu imagen en mi, que me hace ver mas linda."

♫♫♫ "Efecto Espejo"

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Featured: Happy Corners - "Diamante"

Featured: Happy Corners - "Diamante"
Unsigned, Venezuela

Happy Corners is Maria and Victor, a Venezuelan duo making minimalist music that’s wispy and dreamy and sometimes dark, and all via Gchat. The band formed when Maria, who is currently living in Buenos Aires, met Victor during a visit to Venezuela. Since then, the two have been writing songs by sending each other beats through Gchat. The band lists Sister Crayon, Zola Jesus, and Tamaryn as influences and has recently recorded a cover of Ariel Pink’s “Fright Night (Nevermore)” that you can download over at Pinglewood.

Their first single, the sparse “Diamante,” is a mystical experience, with the haunting vocals almost like an entrancing chant and the visceral percussion weaving in and out of the foreground. In fact, it’s really the percussion that is the most interesting and substantial part of the song, going from a quiet background to a light complement to the vocals to an aggressive focal point seamlessly and beautifully. The band is currently working on their first EP, which they expect to release in the spring.

♫♫♫ "Diamante"

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Featured: Collateral Soundtrack - "Marco El Gordo"

Featured: Collateral Soundtrack – “Marco El Gordo”
Independiente, Mexico
Track from ‘Collage’

Collateral Soundtrack (Edgar Mota) released the impressive Long Play EP last year, a record in which he combined atmospheric texture with testimonies of people under LSD. I may be repeating myself a bit too much, but this is the kind of music project to be explored under a cinematic eye. Music journalists keep thinking of sampling-based music as a form of minimalism without weighing the density involved in every step towards a sound, this is not minimalist music, it’s the contrary. Mota’s sensibilities are still a bit rickety from an actual narrative, but it’s getting pretty close. Collateral Soundtrack just got a whole lot more interesting with “Marco El Gordo”, the first cut from his upcoming sophomore EP Collage.

“Marco El Gordo” starts on the imaginary, within a few seconds it dazzles into chromatic heights, reaching the epic side of melody along the way. Its stylistic ambition is actually very traditional, but those circular sequences strike for nothing less than a vertiginous experience. Although it’s only two minutes long, I can really see myself holding to this piece all year long; it’s got that larger-than-life quality that’s nowadays only found on Hip Hop. Collage will be out later this year, definitely one to keep an eye on.

♫♫♫ "Marco El Gordo"

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