Hiedrah knows that nightlife is political. The Buenos Aires club collective and party force is in the middle of an ongoing battle against conservative president Mauricio Macri and his draconian cultural reforms. Recently, the crew took to the streets, fielding a contingent at the BsAs Pride parade and organizing marches that underline the importance of alternative community spaces.
That activism pairs meaningfully with the crew’s unique sound, which is now in the spotlight as Hiedrah starts to produce its own tracks in 2017. There’s a compilation around the corner with original work from the South American artists that make up Hiedrah’s continent-wide collaborator base, including Salviatek’s Lechuga Zafiro and Pobvio, neo-andino beatmaker Sikuri, and Chilean NAAFI producer Imaabs.
“Secreto” is the lead-in – the crew’s first official single, which we’re premiering today at Remezcla. The track comes to us from Patagonian newcomer Aggromance (aka Diego Luna), who, like Hiedrah members Tayhana and Nahuel, was born in the coastal Argentine oil town of Caleta Olivia.
The song is what Plan B would sound like if the duo romántico entered a Limp Bizkit phase, what Aggromance calls a blend of “dark fantasy, los soniditos villeros y un hardstyle mocho.” It’s fitting, given the crew’s reputation for putting hard industrial edges on party jams.
We touched base with Aggromance about his work with the radical Argentine cultural producers. “What I like about Hiedrah is its way of attaching the sounds to ideas, its restlessness in constantly looking for new sounds,” he told us. “During the three months that I’ve been a part of the crew, I’ve met Brazilian DJs like Pavigo and Anuradha Golder (The Dance Pit) from The Bronx. I’ve learned a ton from them and it’s been incredible; it’s so crazy the exchange of sounds and ideas that are produced from those meetings.”
Stream the track above, and keep an eye out for Hiedrah’s first compilation, coming soon.