2014 is just coming to a close, and we’re still taking in all the greatness that the year brought to new music (have you checked out Our 30 Favorite Tracks of 2014 list?). However, there’s no time to lose in gearing up for the New Year, and we’ve got the lead on some big releases we can guarantee you’ll be listening to in 2015. Some are soon to come, and some are still shrouded in mystery, but that’s no less of a reason for looking forward to new material from some of our favorite artists. Read on for our 2015 projections.
Future Brown
The supergroup of J-Cush of Lit City Trax, Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda of Nguzunguzu, and Fatima Al Qadiri known as Future Brown have given us plenty of reason to look forward to their debut album, due out February 24th on Warp. The tracklist, revealed here, features a who’s who of underground culture, with appearances by Maluca, Kelela, Timberlee, and Ian Isiah counted, and it will include the already-beloved original single of “Wanna Party” featuring Tink. Check out a preview of the album with their collaboration with Maluca, “Vernáculo,” an ice-cold reggaetón track with a video that takes the form of a surrealist beauty commercial. –SS
Compass
Toy Selectah and Mexican Institute of Sound have called on more than 80 of their most talented friends across scenes for their forthcoming album, Compass, due out early 2015. The motherlode of an album counts on collaborations across genres and scenes, looping in contributions from the likes of Maluca, Bonde Do Role, Boy George, Nina Sky, Kool A.D., MC Lyte, and many more (full list of artists found below). It’s a momentous occasion that we’re proud to see go down—with so many latin artists on the line-up (and two of our favorite Mexiwizard producers behind it) this ambitious project is an in-your-face statement about the ever-growing influence of Latin creators in the industry and across all genres of music. –SS
Los Macuanos
Los Macuanos recently teased their upcoming project La Derrota with a foreboding CGI clip for their newest track and video, “#1DMX.” The track, which has been a staple opening track in the crew’s set for some time now, contains field recordings from the original #1DMX protests that took place in December 1, 2012 when Peña Nieto took office. With this video dropped on the first of December this year, the release makes some deliberate connections to the sense of foreboding that’s been in play the past few years, reaching new intensity with the Ayotzinapa tragedy. As the video suggests, the full-length album will be available for listening sometime around December 1st, 2015. –SS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvjtIYzHksI
Prettiest Eyes
Not too long ago, Prettiest Eyes, the new home to two former tach.dé members, released a split cassette with fellow LA dweller Kim & The Created. Unlike the doom-prog elements in tach.dé, Prettiest Eyes is more rooted in kraut, punk, and psych. No 14-minute tracks here, no depressing indulgence (although tach.dé indulgence is some of the best indulgence!). Just microbursts of brashness and bilingual yelps. Hard-nosed tracks “Get Away” and ’60s-cut “Huelebicho” were just enough to tide us over until their debut full length comes out in February. –PCG
beGun
I’ve never met a beGun song I didn’t like. The talented Barcelona producer is known for crafting glittery, glitchy, uplifting tracks that are geographically coded. We’ve gotten “Madrid,” “Shanghai,” “San Francisco,” “Hamburg,” and more recently “Dublin” and the more orchestral “Mumbai.” You can download both for the price of nothing below while you anticipate his no-doubt-great upcoming debut LP, which is reportedly set to drop sometime in 2015. –PCG
https://soundcloud.com/begun/dublinfree
Kanaku y el Tigre
We’ve long been fans of Peruvian “wandering folk” duo Kanaku & el Tigre. According to some reliable sources, their first single is due out in January, with the full album on the way for the first half of 2015. Though we haven’t heard new material in a minute, you can still head over to the band’s Soundcloud for a free download of their heartfelt debut album, Caracoles. –SS
El Roy MT & Los Monstruos del Mañana
El Roy MT & Los Monstruous del Mañana doesn’t have a lot of info or music out yet. If you search for them, you’ll find an EP, a comp track and a Pura Crema video with some sweet beats. What it lacks in quantity (and thoroughness), it makes up in quality and funk– a combination of latin stylings, ambient synths, digital soul funk groove, and a marvelous sense of percussion. El Roy MT blends Latino DNA with European leanings. It’s refreshing to hear an act grow up in public while retaining a sense of style, like a seventh-grader going to a neighborhood party in a tux. El Roy’s debut LP is due out in 2015 via Mexico City label Rock Juvenil. –MH
Monsieur Periné
Bogotano outfit Monsieur Periné, known for their hybrid sound that falls somewhere between cumbia colombiana and music you might hear if you were transported to a Parisian salon in the ‘30s and ‘40s, have been hard at work in the studio. Our Facebook lurking efforts have even unearthed a photo of themselves sharing studio time with none other than Rubén Albarrán of Café Tacvba (yes, for reals). We’re still holding tight for more details, but we’ll keep you in the know while information is revealed for the 2015 release. –SS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYxGlxlyL9M
María Magdalena
María Magdalena is a woman with a plan: throughout 2015, she’ll be debuting five new singles that will end up being her new EP by the end of the year. If her newest video “Relámpago” that dropped this week is any indication, we’ll be hearing more of her shimmering, experimental disco-infused electro pop. And we’d put a big bet on more falsettos, and spandex. We’ll be hearing the first of the future-quintuplet between April and May in the new year. –SS
Gepe
Our pretty little hearts be still: Gepe is back. Err, he will be back soon, at least. Landmark Chilean label Quemasucabeza has confirmed that Gepe’s newest will hit digital stands by the middle of next year, though they’re not offering up many more details than that. He managed to stay in the loop throughout 2014 by releasing a total of six official videos from his ever so popular 2012 GP album (ooh, double Gepes in his “Campos Magnéticos” video!). Gepe heads, your time is near. –SS
Kiko Villamizar
Austin, Texas’ resident nu-Latin crew Peligrosa are expanding to launch a record label this year, and their inaugural release is set to be as hybrid as their party sounds. Discos Peligrosa will debut with a full-length album by Kiko Villamizar on January 12th with La Remolacha, meeting in the under-explored intersection of Afro-Colombian rhythms, Andean folk traditions, and an upbringing in the capital of Latin America for many, Miami. –SS