Listening to Santa Muerte’s “Cositas Raras x Lo” feels like the adrenaline rush of grinding with that dime piece you’ve had your eye on for a minute for the first time (I see you). So of course, the visuals for the track on Bootlegs & Edits Vol. 2 depict a bloutfit-clad queer couple’s dreamlike night at a carnival. Imagine the feel-good spirit of “XO,” and add some elote and reggaeton. I like to think that Queen B would approve.
The track fuses Nic Nac’s “Loyal” beat with Farruko’s erotic vocals for “Cositas Raras,” offering a dark, sensual soundtrack for the pair’s romance. Created by NWLA’s Boncker and Zai Najera, the cinematic clip shows the couple frolicking around the festival grounds, riding on a merry-go-round, watching fireworks, and, adorably, hugging and giggling.
Houston-based Santa Muerte (aka producers Sines and Panchitron) are keenly attentive to the work of avant-garde producers like Total Freedom and False Witness, and their efforts here reflect that. Building on this sound, the duo creates gloomy and celestial beats that borrow from hip-hop, dembow, grime, trap, and even ballroom house. More than just evincing the collision of disparate dance music cultures, Santa Muerte’s eclectic oeuvre reflects today’s reality: we can listen to grime and bass at the club, and still embrace the latest dembow single. In the words of dembow goddess La Materialista, “no te pongas bruto y baila.”
Check out the mixtape below.
https://soundcloud.com/do-the-astral-plane/sets/premiere-santa-muerte-bootlegs-edits-vol-2