Every week, we highlight some of our favorite releases in a handy list. Although we try to cover as much new music as possible, there are so many stellar releases to talk about. Consider this our genre-diverse guide to songs we have on repeat.
Follow our playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify or Apple Music.
1
Isaac Soto - “Pandemonium”
Mexican producer Isaac Soto takes us to his own church with “Pandemonium,” the closing track of his upcoming VAA-released CU4RTO EP. A choir of tickling synth arpeggios lifts our spirits up and up, later plummeting into a house frenzy. “I re-evaluated the feelings conveyed by house music chords,” Soto explains. “For this track, I pictured the last party humanity has in The Matrix, where everyone is aware it might be their last time on the dance floor. I like to think this song could be a pre-apocalyptic song.” Stream our premiere of the track above. –Cheky
2
STEFA* - "Una Casita, Pt. 2"
The spectral vocal harmonies of Queens-born vocalist STEFA* conjure images of long lost ancestors and distant spirits. Combining choral music and chants inspired by her indigenous Emberá forebears, “Una Casita, Pt. 2” is a gentle but urgent search for a place to call home. –Isabelia Herrera
3
Mylko - "Runaway"
Mylko’s music usually looks the future deep into its eyes, but on “Runaway,” the Mexico City duo flirts with throwback sounds with enviable ease. With this understated funk hit, they tell everyone going through a breakup to stand up straight and dance their way back into love. –Cheky
4
Kamixlo - "Soulless"
This King Kami EP B-side (according to a cheeky note by the Bala Club co-founder in the track’s liner notes) may well be an artistic rendering of what happens when a bird is sucked into an airplane engine. Those with a taste for Kamixlo’s penchant for sonic assault will find much to love here. –Caitlin Donohue
5
Kelela ft. Miss Boogie, CupcakKe, JUNGLEPUSSY and Princess Nokia - "LMK" (What's Really Good Remix)
Kelela stokes the inferno of impatience for next month’s Take Me Apart remix album with this single, blessed with a cast of your favorite hip-hop luminaries and capped off by a crisp verse from Dominican-Colombian rapper Miss Boogie. –Caitlin Donohue
6
Mala Rodríguez - “Contigo” (ft. Stylo G)
Following the explosive feminist battle cry that was “Gitanas,” Mala Rodriguez drops “Contigo,” a bilingual romantic affair featuring Jamaican-American artist Stylo G. Let’s not move too fast and say this Andalusian-Caribbean collaboration is about love, but the pastel-colored mix of dancehall and dembow riddims might have you feeling weak in the knees. –Cheky
7
Artimpakt - "Ignis"
This is a careful climb laid out by a percussionist-producer from Santa Catarina, Brazil, a crack if you’re looking for music to stimulate frontal lobe activity. Artimpakt’s “Ignis” comes to you courtesy of a compilation from São Paulo-Lisbon net label Tropical Twist Records. –Caitlin Donohue
8
Loyal Lobos - "Swim"
One of the most striking things about “Swim” is how sparse instrumentation is handled with virtuosic mastery in the name of total emotional surrender. LA’s Andrea Silva picks an acoustic guitar like a symphony, her voice extracting every ounce of pain from her lyrics; even the reverb is used to build the perfect atmosphere. That it confesses feelings of love to someone for whom “music is your girl” makes it all the more poetic. –Marcos Hassan
9
Aliment - "New Human"
There’s tension running throughout “New Human,” thanks to basslines trying to elbow their way into occupying one single space. When the Barcelona punk trio lets out a surfy guitar chord at the end of each verse, it feels like a breeze in your face after spending some time in the middle of the pit. –Marcos Hassan
10
Son Palenque - "Adios Batata (ft. Leon Pardo)"
From Colombia, Palenque Records shows that Afrobeats is a global sound that connects people of the diaspora together, and Son Palenque’s “Adios Batata” – dedicated to then recently deceased tamborilero Paulino Salgado Batata III – is one of the most recognizable tracks from this genre of Afro-Caribbean rhythms. So this new cover/dub version from Llorona Records’ Cerrero functions as a tribute to a man, a sound, and a vibe that transcends borders. –Marcos Hassan
11
Exploded View - "Dark Stains"
While Exploded View has been around for just a little while, it’s refreshing to hear them reinvent themselves one release at the time. With their forthcoming Obey album, they seem to be doing it from one song to the other. “Dark Stains” sees them go full synth-strangling post-punk, resulting in one of their catchiest songs, proving that for all their unpredictability, they always deliver great sounds. –Marcos Hassan