Video: Playa Gótica - "Fuego"

Playa Gótica’s first entry was a seismic breakup song that went unrivaled by anything else out of the pop Iberosphere in 2015. If Ana Gabriel wrote a track with the gothic icon Alaska, then perhaps “Reptil no gentil” would be its reimagined tribute. Since their explosive debut the Chilean group has remained relatively quiet, allowing them to refine their sound and build our expectations to near insane levels. It’s only fitting then that Playa Gótica’s comeback would also inspire us to return to our blogging duties.

“Fuego” moves the band forward with an updated version of the previously released song along with a new clip directed by Bernardo Quesney. Set in the woods and surrounded by mountains, the video contains a star making performance by singer Fanny Leona. She easily steals the spotlight with her restless presence and energy. The intercut shots where she struts along bathed in a Lynchean lens are easy contenders for our favorite mv images this year. On its own “Fuego” brought moody guitars and bass grooves that were not hard to love instantly. Thanks to its visual, one is now opened up to more anthemic layers and lovelorn chaos. #FlameEmoji.

Video: Piyama Party - "Paz Mundial"

Piyama Party’s glorious shoegaze waltz “Paz Mundial” opened Álbum De Oro with the kind of serenity and wisdom reserved for album closers. Luis Angel Martínez took us along as he scaled that familiar “wall of sound” where a new perspective was waiting to deliver bliss. It was a bold move, but months after sifting out less essential 2015 records, one can appreciate a whole lot better. 

Recently Sefárdico, pen name for Austin-based director Luis Eduardo Flores, took on the mission to deliver visuals for the underrated “Paz Mundial.” Jumping in we see a charismatic and terminally chill cult leader meditating and vegging out. His psychedelic landscape tinged in purple fauna pulls from Richard Mosse photos (h/t Remezcla), then flips to a reality where young people, plagued by failures and regret, announce their departure from the material world into a more meaningful existence inside a purple paradise. The treatment is notable because it presents a narrative that edges by, never encroaching the song’s gravitational pull and leaves us feeling as serene as the lyrics promise, “Qué bien se siente.”

Video: Princess Nokia - "Tomboy"

Small titties, big bellies, the allure of cannabis, gold chains, sweat pants and a Blues Clue's sample in the hood. Destiny AKA Princess Nokia AKA A Stripper Named Equality, AKA Wavy Spice is back. We talked at length about her convictions as an African-Taino warrior when we covered her Honeysuckle breakthrough, "Orange Blossom"- our #71 song of 2015. Now, we can begin having broader discussions about the impressive and appetizing cultural musings Destiny has been offering through anti capitalist, anti colonial, anti patriarchal social healing initiatives such as Smart Girl Club, We Are Brujas, and of course, the reason we even pay attention, the music. The breadth of these conversations has been revitalized as attached to Destiny through the power house that is "Tomboy". Everyone can fuck with this jam.

Engines ignite. Vintage (1990s) family portraits adorn the wall of Destiny's housing project apartment. Black & Brown girls of many shades delight in sororal street subversion, in sweat pants. The fashion throughout "Tomboy" is decidedly baggy 90s.  Blunts of modest proportions are smoked in public spaces, in a family kitchen with dirty plates chilling in the sink. Girl on girl love is mutual, adorned in gold. The chains that decorate their diverse bodies are precious and gaudy, relics of quinceañeras, bodas, and bautizos. Coal plants in the background act as menaces of anthropogenic global ecocide & Destiny pisses off abuelita- intergenerational skepticism. "Tomboy" is a tour de force that will continue inspiring editorial think pieces and street turn ups alike. "Tomboy" is a party jam- the type of cultural ammunition that we enter Summer 20,016 with.

Video: Babasónicos - “Vampi”

Does Babasónicos still matter? Do we need another melodious ballad in which Andrián Dárgelos displays all his lyricism ability? In the rather desolated mainstream Argentine music scene, they still stand out. They may not be the band from the Jessico days, which started a revolution in the mainstream radio by speaking on the inner thoughts of youth with a delicacy and straightforwardness that was both seductive and defiant. However, their new single, “Vampi” – a live recording to be included on their upcoming live album Desde adentro – shows that the band still has a lot to say.

If you thought Babasónicos’ position in the music scene was stable because “everyone” knows them, Adrián Dárgelos is here to mess it all up. On the chorus to “Vampi,” he asks himself: “So what if I am a vampire, if I am going to fall in love anyways? What’s the use of being immortal if you can’t die of love?” The possibility of being an observer in the periphery is not an option. Society has defined him as a rather cold and extravagant persona more interested in building up a character than in his emotions, but on “Vampi” he recognizes that you can’t live isolated – not even a character – because everything reaches you sooner or later.

The canonized status of Babasónicos have detached them from society. There are no longer passionate to death discussions about them because they won that debate and became immortalized. However, what was the use of winning? Revolution and outrage was left in the past and replaced by imitation bands who’d rather see them dead. But being mainstream doesn’t necessarily mean that people won’t point you out in a crowd. “I don’t want to be a freak anymore,”Adrián Dárgelos sings exhausted, but we all know that he is maybe bound to it.

Juana Giaimo writes about music for The Singles Jukebox and on her Tumblr. 

Video: Kali Mutsa - "Interstellar"

Kali Mutsa’s first LP Souvenance was like being stabbed with an epipen for your allergies to twee folk strumming. Nearly every song felt like the heroin shooting scenes in Requiem for a Dream. Now Chile’s persona-bending songstress returns with new single “Interstellar”: more valium than amphetamine. The song combines bursts of Kali Mutsa’s raison d’être Andean cumbia, while channeling a refrain from Björk’s “Hidden Place”, and something akin to Goldfrapp’s Felt Mountain soundscape. Directed by Enciclopedia Color (a go-to Chilean design studio), the video mixes the existential imagery of Bergman’s The Seventh Seal with the sexual dread of Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. There’s sensuality and dark moon mysticism here, which, if the single’s artwork is anything to go by, could be Kali Mutsa’s next goddess phase.

Video: Ases Falsos - "Mi Ejercito"

As far as poetic contributions are concerned, Cristobal Briceño postures as the leader of the pack in Chilean pop. This is true despite the fact that Ases Falsos are actually the contemporary descendants of rock en español. The poetic finesse of Conducción is charming, vague and compellingly incisive. Back in 2014, Pierre Lestruhaut called Conducción “lyrical pop grandeur,” a record that scaled back the aggressively political intentions of its predecessor, Juventud Americana. This isn’t necessarily true. Ases Falsos’ 2016 single “Mi Ejercito” shows Conducción wasn’t primarily a scaling back of political intensity but rather a calculated channeling of the age old mantra: the personal is political.

As the first single from Conducción indicates, our realities must find symmetry. The fourth (and likely final single from Conducción) succeeds in conducing balance. “Mi Ejercito” contemplates the limitations of teen angst: “parece que fue ayer cuando creí en la lucha contra el mundo” instead of channeling the energy of the world for combat. As Briceño would have it, the world is his army of which he is its commander and first line of defense. The Zapatista saying “mandar obedeciendo” comes to mind. In other words, Briceño alludes to the concept of command-obeying where the power of leadership directly stems from obeying the will of the community. True to form, Briceño channels personal agency over being a martyr for empty populism: “soy mi propia carne de cañon, y mi conspirador” (I am my own cannon made of flesh, my own conspirator).

But this isn't just a fluff piece for Ases Falsos or Cristobal Briceño's ego. I have thoughts regarding the music video for “Mi Ejercito” which follows a trend of cringe worthy visual presentations for the group: its corny. I also have some choice words regarding Cristobal Briceño’s confusing, nauseating, and disappointing comments regarding feminism which Alex Anwandter recently chastised and attributed to machismo. Cristobal, meet bell hooks en español. In the pejorative sense, Briceño's comments were pretty rock en español indeed.

Video: Mock the Zuma feat. Jamez Manuel - "Octanaje"

When it comes to NAAFI, we don’t nearly have enough words to introduce them. All we can say is that the label feels like world citizen. Not only virtually, but also very well positioned in many of the most important places around the world in physical locations and online sessions. NAAFI is thriving, and we continue to applaud them enthusiastically.

Kevin Santana, from Ciudad Juárez in northern Mexico, aka Mock The Zuma has been involved with the experimental club music label for about five years now. He is one the most active artists in their roster, contributing with a number of guest mixes to their NTS radio show and playing at their three-day festival in Oaxaca. However, it’s hard to believe that Gauss is his first release for NAAFI. The seven-tracker features Chilean rapper Jamez Manuel, and follows previous releases for French bass label Fullfridge and the Venezuelan imprint Cocobass.

It’s the Jamez Manuel collab track that shows an unnerving, dense video for "Octanaje.” Directed by Federico Schott and shot in Xochitlán de las Flores, Hidalgo, the clip compiles images of the desert, a busy highway, burning, smoke, a cemetery, and someone brutally disposing of a body in the dead of night. Haunting images that further highlight this track as just another awe-inspiring taste from one of 2016's most intriguing EP so far.

Video: Josué Josué - "Primus"

I initially discovered Josué Josué through his quiet and eerily spun verses on Matilda Manzana's 2011 deep cut, "Hola holograma." His flow was sharp and focused, yet charmingly timid and self-aware. Several singles and EPs later, we then came to view him as one of Mexico’s most forward-thinking and authentic rap projects, especially on collaborations that joined him with national producers like Mock The Zuma (who is barely getting his due praise thanks to the stellar Gauss EP) and Siete Catorce. Josué Josué’s penchant for daring soundscapes demonstrate how ahead of its time the Linus EP really was. His own voice lends itself to the electronic vanguard because his diction can match any kind of weird, brazenly pushing the word count up and floating next to the esoteric.

Josué Josué’s latest video, which we are ecstatic to premiere, is taken from what was supposed to be his send-off album, thus the apt title, Aprendiendo a morir. "Primus" sounds like the future. The energy espoused by the MC does not do much to push finality or other Ready to Die themes. Josué Josué still has much to say. The chiptune lounge foreground on the beat (courtesy of Technic Trouble) feels invasive. Director Eduardo Makoszay Mayén channels those claustrophobic vibes with a clip that corners the young performer. Those quick cuts, however, are not the only dizzying quality to extract from “Primus.” Josué Josué lays down his daily routine, which includes existentialist readings and seeking refuge through music to calm his spiraling spirit. Tell me who in here can relate?

Video: Gaax - "Manual"

Last year's lo-fi revelation Campo dos Sonhos from Brazilian composer and one-man-band Felipe Oliveira (Gaax) continues to attract repeated listens. Oliveira filled his record with a number of short songs, testing all kinds of moods or just indulging in noise. Most fell between 1-2 minutes, making them disposable in the long run. Still, others held up better. Consider "Manual," which submits in its brief runtime a somber bellow and a statement about feeling everything. With it now is a worthy clip coated in twilight and animations and also has me thinking about Chris Marker. These types of micro-shorts are fascinating for all sorts of inexplicable reasons. We felt the same upon watching Baby Nelson & The Philistines' "Ansiosos / Ociosos" and even Gepe's "Lluvia, diente, lluvia." Gaax doesn't revolutionize the format, but this entry is still quite unique and repeatable.

Video: Jóvenes Adultos - "Horas Muertas"

Jóvenes Adultos brings together former Little Ethiopia players Santi and Sebas as well as Charly from Cementerio de Mascotas. Although the trio has barely begun booking shows in Mexico City, their opening statement has instantly made them our favorite YA punk band. The video for “Horas Muertas” represents the adolescent routine scored by jagged guitars and warped lazy vocals. Two characters emulate New Wave cool in a grocery store and on the street in the humblest of formats: VHS. This 90’s homage is also coded in subliminal messages (what’s up with that handshake? Canto del huauzontle? No saques si no vas a compartir) and climaxes with a sacrificial ritual. Typical day.

“Horas Muertas” is taken from the upcoming Tarjeta de Presentación, slated for later this spring.

Video: Luciana Tagliapietra - "Mariposa"

No longer the sage newcomer from Diagrama de Ben or even the more mature La Luna, Luciana Tagliapietra readies a new chapter in her career as one of Argentina's most soulful voices. Returning with "Mariposa" was a brilliant choice. The song is a hazy ballad accented with meditative tones and diegetic sounds. In the clip we see studio time captured on a camcorder, Tagliapietra surrounded by friends and bandmates trying to erase the distance which the lyrics hint at (“pasarás cruzando el cielo sin pensar en mí…). But even these warm images cannot conceal that she remains a romantic. Some things never change.

Video: Tomasa Del Real feat. Talisto - “Tu Señora"

Pay attention. Tomasa Del Real is reggaetón’s new star, moving between the digital underground and her current sights on the global stage. She already hangs with national stars Adrianigual and has lent her voice to promote Spain’s up-and-comers La Mafia Del Amor. The Iquique-native has also been consistent in branding her own music with a ferocity that empowers. “Diente De Oro,” a past entry included on Joseo De Oro compilation, is as vitalic as anything else from the roster of future reggaetón players (that means you, J Balvin).

In a Valentine’s Day surprise, Tomasa Del Real dropped her latest video for the single “Tu Señora.” A collaboration with Talisto, the song is pure Ice Age reggaetón. Writer Zé Garcia coined this term imagining the caribbean frozen over. What would it sound like? A trifecta was later identified: "P'al piso," "Vernáculo," and "Supongo." “Tu Señora” doesn’t charge at us with that kind of intensity, but its glacial chemistry is its most memorable property. The video, from Enciclopedia Color, frames the two characters on opposite ends of the earth- Sweden and Chile. The desolate panorama allows the performance of needing someone to feel sincere. Do I even have to say it? Instant hit.

Video: Maluca - "MALA"

"I have had self esteem issues for many years and now that I'm in my 30s I'm just really fucking feeling myself," Maluca confessed to V Magazine earlier this year: "I wrote ["MALA"] as a way to highlight all the negative things people told me about myself...and embraced them."

"MALA" is resourceful (it doesn't even clock in at 3 minutes), wasting no time in transporting us to an air conditioned tropical atmosphere that is hazy & wet. It is her biggest moment since her #winning collaborations with Future Brown & Robyn. Maluca manages to sound both silky and robotic: "me llaman loca pero así te gusta...con pelo suelto como una bruja." Visually speaking, Maluca looks possessed yet in total control atop her 21st Century throne- massage chairs are the new "THRONES" apparently.

Maluca doesn't just work the straightforward beauty angle- alien-like skin tighteners(?) uncomfortably pull & stretch the skin on her face. Maluca has a taste for the malformed. She is also going for that coveted dewy look (post sex, early morning). She's RLY feeling herself and loving it: "2016 is all about self care. Being good to yourself is fucking cool." Maluca warned us: she be that M A L A.

by Sebby Ramirez

Video: El Guincho (feat. La Mala Rodríguez) - "Cómix"

El Guincho's comeback has proved just as confounding as early singles "Mis Hits" and "Roto Socu" hinted it would be. Early listens of Hiperasia reveal a kinetic, tantalizing and, indeed, hyper album that rejects the notion of a finished pop product. A move one could appropriately link with Pablo Diaz-Reixa’s intentions to capture the energy of Chinese bazaars in Madrid. But Hiperasia isn’t merely an attempt at culture shock. El Guincho actually sounds like he’s having fun with it.

In “Cómix,” the Spanish producer introduces his “Chef P” moniker and struts along to bars more Shibuya-kei than Straight Outta anywhere. Is this confidence earned? Maybe not at first. The fast food beats need a minute to dig up some substance, which unveils itself through hypnotic bursts. By the third or fourth “BUENA,” we really can’t help falling for it. Elsewhere a revitalized Mala Rodríguez pops up and barely flinches, securing the tone needed for Chef P’s closing lines: “Sé que te molesta ver / como no me cuesta / Chef P / Ch Ch Chef P / solo come Cómix.” Translation: stay mad.

Watch the CANADA-directed video above. Hiperasia arrives digitally February 12 followed by a March 11 physical release.

Video: Juan Wauters - "This is I"

With its casio string arrangements and malleable time signatures, “This is I” hardly fitted in with the rest of Who Me?. Far from being boring, though, the lyrically contemplative and sonically ethereal track features a rather subdued and somber range of shades: a mixture of elegiac sadness and deep self-analysis. “This is I” is not about hopeless dejection. It’s about the public expression of existential anguish as a way to regain a grasp of one’s journey through life.

The video, directed by long-time collaborator Matthew Volz, shows Wauters – and his conscience dressed in a leather jacket – walking towards a gang of extremely vengeful (ex)novias, getting beat up real bad by said gang, and laying his head on the lap of an affectionate abuela. The punk poet’s journey through life, memory and yearning is then ended by a tie-breaking spot kick while the fantasist moog sounds of El Chavo’s theme song resonate, bringing some much needed humor and hope.

Video: Fakuta - "Luces de Verano"

Oceanic 90s psychedelia, pineapples, Internet Explorer icons, dolphins & the symbol of eternal life (the Ankh) adorn "Luces de Verano" by Fakuta, the Chilean space pop prophet who channeled ghetto goth for the 90s freestyle of "Despacio" and has continued to look forward ever since.

"Luces de Verano" (that features Dënver's Milton on acoustic guitar and production) was likely the least interesting track on 2014's Tormenta Solar- perhaps because of its mainstream crossover appeal. Assimilating towards mainstream radio formats can be met with very mixed reviews and overt skepticism around here, especially when the results are Estilo Libre. But this is coming from a publication that also reviews the likes of Selena Gomez, Plan B, and Shakira. In other words, we are not elitists. Who doesn't enjoy that moment when good music and radio coincide? It took almost a year to fall in love with “Luces de Verano”; its subtle reggaetón tendencies, the steel drums reminiscent of one of the greatest pop songs of all time, and lyrics that unite the cosmic, the seasons, and the interpersonal. Dále Shine- a Chicago based collective I am a part of- even named its 2015 summer mixtape after the song. Calling "Luces de Verano" a blemish back in 2014 was not just totally harsh, it was also a mistake.

References to #seapunk are (hopefully by now) pretty far removed from the ego of those gentrifying white kids who moved from LA to Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood and started having house parties (yeah, I was there once: their house was painted a shade of blue and they brushed their teeth with seafresh toothpaste) where they sold deep sea diving outfits & played aquatically themed Sega Genesis games. Visually, “Luces de Verano” is undeniably indebted to Nenneh Cherry's international sensation, “Buffalo Stance”. Credit to Fakuta for knowing her context.

The fourth single from Tormenta Solar should have been Fakuta's duet with Cristobal Briceño or maybe even "Mascota". And we for sure should have gotten a proper video for "Guerra Con Las Cosas". Still, you can add “Luces de Verano” to the (at times subversive, always stellar) portfolio of Enciclopedia Color who (visually) set fire to that skyscraper in Santiago. Also listen to the bong ready vaporwave remix of "Luces de Verano" by the "ephemeral future / lobby music" project from Nicaragua, h y p e r n o v a 航海ハイ.

Video: Natalia Lafourcade - "Lo Que Construimos"

Natalia Lafourcade’s most recent studio effort has given us some trouble in formulating a meaningful consensus. Though far from a masterpiece, the Fonograma staff can at least acknowledge that Hasta La Raíz contains some of the most important songs of Natalia’s career. This admission stems, in part, thanks to the album’s visual campaign. Each successive clip has brought a unique thematic performance that’s helped underscore the beauty in the music. "Hasta la raíz" moved us as we saw Natalia carried by a crowd, drawing strength with each smile and embrace. A powerful image of community from a singer we once boxed in with idiosyncrasy. “Nunca es suficiente” took on relationship games where harmony and discord spun like a carnival ride. A third clip, and perhaps the best so far, brings to life another characteristic theme of Hasta La Raíz: solitude.

Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Güeros), "Lo Que Construimos" shows Natalia battling a night of dissolution. Just as Güeros was lensed in a freewheeling, “anything goes” tribute to French New Wave, Ruizpalacios recreates the same magic for Lafourcade. The video begins in a bedroom, a conventional set up that quickly takes all kinds of turns. These fausses pistes cultivate a sci-fi tone that lends a creepy air to a mostly heartbreaking song. The clip culminates with a dance performance on an empty street. To see Lafourcade, the adult and not the infantilized indie girl of 2009, dancing like Anna Karina dressed in the plainest wardrobe (a hoody/that bed head) produces such an intense range of emotions. It’s cathartic and nostalgic, it’s devastating and uplifting. It’s wonderful.

Video: Playa Gótica - "Reptil No Gentil"

Playa Gótica may only have one (official) track to their name, but the group has stayed on as our top Chilean obsession for months. Ever since Dënver's Milton Mahan Drake-ed "Reptil no gentil" into our lives, nothing has been the same. The song arrived in April at a critical moment, recalling how this was yet another summer short on hits.

"Aquí estoy, pidiendo entrar, detrás de la puerta." Right from the first line we have a I-hate-to-turn-up-out-of-the-blue-uninvited-but-I / couldn't-stay-away moment, joining the tradition of great songs about desperate love ("Y aquí estoy" by Ana Gabriel also comes to mind). For its video, directed by the man Milton himself, the edit knowingly recycles music video tropes laden with irreverent imagery. Singer Fanny Leona goes through the motions to act out that teenage attitude: the bong, the pizza, tearing up Pope John Paul's pic. It all stands in to compliment a composition that works to suppress its own feelings. Bass grooves and handclaps. Something to dance to not cry to. Pero, ¿por qué no los dos?

Video: La Mafia del Amor & El Combo Perfecto - "La Disco Resplandece"

As a music writer few things suck as much as not being around when an authentic hit drops. And with everything PXXR GVNG-related we can’t help but feel embarrassingly late to the party. In our defense, the following video was blocked stateside up until a few days ago. Having said that, i’ll skip any more contextualizing/padding and go right to the overstatements: FIRE. TAKIS FUEGO. SONG OF THE SUMMER. Alright, maybe we still don’t know about that last one. And at the rate Spanish collective PXXR GVNG, through their roster of MCs and producers, have been releasing music, we might end up with countless other songs of this caliber. For now all we know is that we’ve stumbled on something special.

As La Mafia del Amor, another incarnation of PXXR GVNG, we’ve heard sartorial dembow bangers like "En la discoteca en chandal” as well as built-for-radio pop (“Amor Bandido”). "La Disco Resplandece" invades the futuristic reggaetón championed by J Balvin and Farruko and perfects it by celebrating el perreo above all else. Verses from Yung Beef, Unai Sánchez, Khaled, and D. Gómez set up the standard depictions of flexing and woo, but the spirit of the track doesn’t really give a fuck about any of that (“No me importa si ella es guapa o fea / a mí me importa como ella lo baila / a mí me importa como lo menea”). What "La Disco Resplandece" achieves is a rare chance to re-appropriate whatever low-brow status is left in reggaetón and running with it. Throw in some diacritic beeps and frozen synths, and you have the brightest club anthem of the year. Now if we could just get Young Thug to pop up on the remix...

Video: Gepe (feat. Wendy Sulca) - "Hambre"

For the video of Gepe's latest single "Hambre", the director, Ian Pons Jewell, has gone with a literal take on the lyrics of the song. And why not? What Gepe, like most of his Chilean peers, has been crafting through his career is a redefinition and refinement of niche genre: this song takes his past major-key singles and shaves off their edges, narrowing down ideas, but retaining the essence of pure fuck-yeah ANDEAN POP! As 'Club guru, Carlos Reyes, stated in his first review of the song, there is always the worry these sounds (and collaborations) will slide into kitsch - what pan-pipers the world over have been actively promoting for decades. Aware of this, but not embarrassed by it, this video celebrates the "disfraces finos y elegantes" of the past and present backbone of the continent.

The video opens with a be-shorted hipster entering a cool establishment, greeted with a "Be Our Guest" enthusiasm, only to wind up as the main course. The wry humour, and deliberate gross out factor - that's just pork, isn't it? - subverts the theme of the song: the constant search for satiation, carnal or otherwise. We're all hungry, and there's a fine line between enjoying it, like a feast, and sacrificing each other to Wendy Sulca's high priestess. Dale de comer!