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Latino

Sojourn to Tijuana with The Dream X’s Latest Serving of Hip-Hop Exoticism

Posted on 2 April 2024

After The Dream X racked up over 600k Spotify streams with his sophomore single, Tijuana, we had to know what the hype was about, and we quickly found it within the instrumental exoticism of the vibrant sojourn of a release which will leave you riding high on the waves of the oceanic production.

With the hazy melodies working in contrast to the bitter-sweet lyricism which explores the anti-climax of post-breakup hook-ups, there are as many layers to the emotions as there are to the genre-fluid instrumentals which fuse Latin guitars with a pseudo-trap backbeat and afrobeat colour.

Tijuana is the kind of track you’ll hit play on and feel the compulsion to crank up the volume until it’s slamming through your speakers and melodiously reverberating through you so you can savour the honeyed elixir which pours from The Dream X’s vocal harmonies which groove between his rap bars.

The Utah-based rapper, singer, producer, and actor is a fucking phenomenon, and we’re already desperate to hear what comes next.

Stream Tijuana on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joseph Batrouney gently deconstructed the monocultural mould with his jazz fusion score, At Hand

Posted on 16 December 2023

For his latest seminal piece, Joseph Batrouney collaborated with Niran Dasika, Flora Carbo, and Jacques Emery to orchestrate a beguiling instrumental serenade, which sees jazzy smoke signals billow through the progressions in the sublime score, At Hand.

At Hand stands as a beacon of his unique musical vision, seamlessly blending influences from Middle Eastern, jazz, and flamenco traditions. Batrouney, with his profound understanding of musical fusionism, presents a track that is as organic and fluid as a meandering river, gently challenging and deconstructing the monocultural mould. The track moves with a natural grace, each note and rhythm flowing into the next, creating a harmonious and captivating auditory experience.

Batrouney’s musical skills, honed under the tutelage of luminaries like Tony Moreno, Nate Smith, and Israel ‘Piraña’ Suarez, and through his studies at prestigious institutions like Monash University and New York University, shine brilliantly in this release. His ability to infuse his music with a rich tapestry of rhythmic textures and motions is evident in every beat.

The artist’s noteworthy performances, including appearances alongside the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and tours with Arte Kanela Flamenco, have undoubtedly contributed to his deep understanding of rhythm and melody. This understanding is palpable in At Hand, where every chord and rhythm seems to tell a story, inviting listeners into Joseph’s world of rhythmic exploration and cultural fusion.

At Hand was officially released on the 20th of November ahead of the EP of the same name, which subsequently reached the airwaves on December 8th. Stream the EP on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cenzontle’s fusionist sound is sweeter than ‘Nectar’ in their latest seminal Latin folk release.

Posted on 18 November 2023

After enchanting audiences under the GlowStone Leaf Orchestra banner and producing 13 albums that weave a tapestry of profound narratives and complex harmonies, the delectably talented Berlin-based artist, Jorge Hernandez, who has been honing his rhythmic and raconteurial crafts for over a decade stepped into a new ensemble when he assembled the three-piece Cenzontle with Lucie Nana and Kim Kong in 2019.

Monikers don’t come much more apt than Cenzontle, which translates to “400 voices”; it is a nod to the Mexican heritage of Hernandez and the multi-layered essence of his work, which breaks the monocultural mould while proving music is a universal language.

The eponymous LP, which hit the airwaves earlier this year is an opportunity for immersion in a captivating fusion of traditional Latin American Folk and electrifying Rock, delivered with a digital twist. Whether you delve into the vibrant recording or witness the emotional and innovative depth via the live performance of the standout single, ‘Nectar’, you’re sure to be stirred by the spiritually transcendent experience which solidifies Cenzontle’s position at the forefront of genre-bending music exploration.

Stream the Cenzontle LP on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlotte Lansman grooved through the last rays of summer while celebrating new love in her jazz-soul single, Stupid Love

Posted on 5 September 2023

Charlotte Lansman delivered the definitive London jazz sound while lyrically moving away from soul cliches in her latest single, Stupid Love. The London-based, Bristol-born singer never fails to hit the sultry with a little bit of grit mark in her singles that bring elements day to day-to-day reality into luxe installations of sonic beguile; Stupid Love is far from the exception.

By evading hallmarked cliches, she was free to focus on the way we wear rose-tinted glasses to cope with the false truths and how wearing your boyfriend’s shirt to the station in the morning cloaks you in impassioned ardour and enables you to fall in love with the world of around you. It’s almost a paradox how her song crafting is completely antithetical to your average love song but reaches the pinnacle of romanticism regardless.

With Joe Rodwell in charge of the production, which sees new romance explored through laid-back grooves, retro synths, rhythmically arrestive Latin jazz beats and guitar riffs that will make the last rays of summer feel even sweeter, Stupid Love became an uplifting triumph.

Stupid Love was officially released on August 24; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Get your Latin Trap ecstasy hit with FJP’s latest drop, Molly Party

Posted on 7 August 2023

FJP’s latest single, Molly Party, dropped (or should that be came up?) on the 14th of July to blur the boundaries between Latin Trap and the evolution from Jamaican dancehall, Dembow, and to generate a fierce party rocking with conviction and culture hit that could fill any Bronx dancefloor.

With a sound so hedonistically filthy that you’ll get a contact high from your speakers as the bass and harsh snares are blazing through them, there’s no better hit to get your party started – literally.

To create his galvanising distinctive sonic signature, the Dominican Bronx-born-and-raised artist fuses his Latin Caribbean roots with eclectic hip-hop influences to produce riddim-riding anthems that will safely secure his place on the Bronx hip-hop map.

Add Molly Party to your Spotify playlists.

Keep up to date with the latest releases from FJP on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ozzie Aguilera gave the ultimate lesson in reformation in their 2023 reworking of ‘Yo Quiero Saber’

Posted on 18 June 2023

The Mexican-American singer-songwriter, makeup enthusiast and entrepreneur, Ozzie Aguilera, revisited the past by reworking their 2022 Alt Latino Pop debut single, Yo Quiero Saber, to prove that life is a journey of progress, and even though you have to be accepting of your flaws, if there is the opportunity for growth, grab it with two hands and don’t let go.

The 2022 version was a melodic dream. The 2023 reinvention carries the same dream-like colourful mesmerism with swathes more conviction in the harmonies, which exemplifies the message in the single, that we are all constantly evolving.

It was a highly conceptual move from the mindfully captivating innovator. One that shows how willing they are to right wrongs and how capable they are of spreading a resolving message of inspiration to all of their listeners on their own paths.

Yo Quiero Saber was released on June 9th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

POVEDA reminds us of that warm 1985 glow on Otra Noche Más

Posted on 14 April 2023

Bringing us the first composition of Roberto’s career from 1985 which has extra flair added for modern times, POVEDA performs with an electric skill and wholehearted desire on Otra Noche Más.

POVEDA is a 2-piece project born from the creative minds of Cuban composer Roberto Poveda and the American drummer Layton Weedeman.

”It is no coincidence the song of freedom was picked up and recorded by the national record label of Cuba, EGREM, but met its interesting fate and was mysteriously lost without a trace. Nearly 35 years later, during the 2020 pandemic, Roberto brought the song back to life.” ~ POVEDA

Decompressing the stresses of the world with something so peacefully chilled and pleasant to sip on at the beach, POVEDA has dropped a rather influential soundtrack to summer. This is a superbly constructed song with innovative juices dripping from each corner and shall evoke a warm feeling of hope into each listener’s veins.

Otra Noche Más from the Cuban/American duo project POVEDA is a rather peaceful soundtrack to roaming around and seeing the world with a positive mindset. Sung with a soulful passion and brimming with a carefully calm aura of adventure, we are treated to something rather unique.

In a world replenished with sneaky copycats, this is a warm ray of sunshine in all the right places.

Turn this up in full via Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Marcosth3frog drops the heat for us to warm up inside on Tu Y Yo

Posted on 6 April 2023

Sizzling through the airwaves like a modern-day hero awaiting his claim for the top-tier echelon, Marcosth3frog gets the flow alive with ideas on the catchy new single to swim deeply into on Tu Y Yo.

Marcosth3frog is a Montreal, Canada-based indie Latino rapper who has recently evolved his sound and makes those soothing hits to be played on repeat.

Impressing from all angles and never letting us go for a second, Marcosth3frog is a majestic track with a party atmosphere and shall surge up our emotions, and get those sleepy feet tapping again.

With smooth vocals and a bustling beat to turn up a little or a lot, this is the kind of song which will cause beaming smiles to drift through the sunshine.

Tu Y Yo from Montreal, Canada-based indie Latino rapper Marcosth3frog is one of the catchiest singles available to our souls right now. There is so much to appreciate about a song with a real bounce and rhythm, which will alleviate all worries like a flick of a switch.

Listen up on SoundCloud.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Mia Laren is demurely devil may care in her cinematic Latino pop track, Careful

Posted on 5 April 2023

Starting with a scintillating spoken word verse which outlines the brutality of betrayal with devil-may-care demure beguile, Latino pop artist Mia Laren’s latest single, Careful, is a cinematic invitation into her hypnotically emboldening scorn.

With a music video that is somewhere between Westworld and Moulin Rouge exhibiting the artist’s professional dance training, few icons shine brighter than the Baltimore singer-songwriter and producer. Evidently, there’s no end to her superlative talents. After growing up in a musical family, she found her magnetically celestial voice at 10 before graduating from UMBC with a BA in dance. From there on out she found her calling; replicating her life experience through rhythmic dramatized depictions.

Watch the official music video for Careful on YouTube or add the track to your breakup playlists on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slip into the sonorous soul of Jamie Toomey’s latest single, My Love is Real, featuring Syauqi Destanika

Posted on 26 September 2022

Taken from the sophomore album, Second Sunlight, from the eclectic Irish musician Jamie Toomey, the ambient jazzy RnB single, which comes laced with loungey folky instrumentation, My Love is Real, featuring Syauqi Destanika is a mesmeric offering of sincerity.

The tenderness to the uniquely uplifting melodies amplifies the luxe Gospel-Esque vocal timbre of the Indonesian vocalist, Syauqi Destanika, to the nth degree in the stripped-back soundscape which makes minimal demands on your attention but tugs on your heartstrings all the more viscerally for it.

You can delve into My Love is Real for yourselves from September 23rd by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast