14 New Songs to Listen to This Week From Helado Negro to ROBI

Helado Negro - “Agosto feat. Buscabulla”

Longtime friends and collaborators, electronic experimental artist Helado Negro and tropical synth-pop duo Buscabulla have released their newest joint music video for “Agosto.” The ethereal melancholic song is an ode to Roberto Carlos Lange’s (Helado Negro) hometown in South Florida and is part of his latest musical project, Far In. The experimental music video follows the two vocalists as they sing their dream-like poetic verses – from Lange’s couch to distorted images that feature both Lange and Raquel Berrios enjoying the beach from different POVs. – Jeanette Hernandez

Andrekza - “Outro”

Most tracks named “Outro” are usually the types that can be easily skipped, but in the hands of Andrekza, this is hardly the case. “Outro” is one of the singer’s sweetest and most melancholic songs with a groove that is driven by saccharine melodies as if the notes contained tears within themselves. “Outro” also gives us Andrekza’s 15th video, which recaps her whole Cassette era by taking us to the creation of her music and previous videos, adding a more personal note to an emotionally heavy track for the lonely hearts out there. — Marcos Hassan

ROBI, Jay Wheeler - “Garabatos”

Earlier this year, Puerto Rican singer and songwriter ROBI flexed his all-things-designer lifestyle and immediately stole hearts with his syrupy sweet verses alongside Feid and Alejo on the viral TikTok hit “Pantysito.” On his latest single, the Carolina artist moves towards more pop chart-destined stylings to keep those feelings of overwhelming uncertainty around that type of love that isn’t so easy to define at bay. “Garabatos” is built around gentle guitar plucks as ROBI (joined by romantic reggaetonero Jay Wheeler) attempts to shake off any ambiguity through stripped-down songwriting and confessional storytelling: “No se si quedarme/Por siempre como los retratos/O si es solo mi mente/Dibujando garabatos.” – Nayeli Portillo

Young Miko - “Acento”

You’d be hard-pressed to think of another indie Latine trap artist who had a better July than Young Miko. Not only has her single “Riri” become a last-minute contender for song of the summer, but she also topped streaming charts in her native Puerto Rico, released her first EP, and was invited onstage by the king of the world himself Bad Bunny on the second night of his Un Verano Sin Ti concerts. Breaking down doors and shattering ceilings, there’s no denying that, like the Sidetalk sample she uses in “Acento” says, she’s going hard this year. — Juan J. Arroyo

Xiomara Fortuna - “Jardinera” (prod. Isaac Hernández)

Over the past few months, the Dominican Republic’s queen of fusion music Xiomara Fortuna has been slowly teasing her follow-up to 2021’s Viendoaver LP — her monumental ode to rap, dembow, and other street-perfected sounds. Entre Luna y Babia sees Fortuna tap Dominican jazz prodigy Isaac Hernández for production duties, resulting in a gauzy and at times minimalist swirl of sonic ingredients ranging from folk to hip hop and psych rock. Album standout “Jardinera” kicks off as a slow-burner, building on lithe acoustic guitar and incorporating organic percussion, digital beats, spacey synths, and Latine jazz keys that frame an unusually romantic dedication from Fortuna and creates poetry that is sweet as it is danceable. – Richard Villegas

Rico Dalasam - “Tarde D+”

The Brazilian rapper Rico Dalasam keeps showing he got loads of bars yet to be taken out of his drawer or phone’s notepad app. Less than a year after releasing his powerful sophomore album Dolores Dala Guardiã do Alívio, the MC gets back to the game, tackling love and sex with his particular chronicle-like storytelling style. Dinho’s production, linking Nigerian afrobeats and Bahia’s percussion afro-reggae, wraps Rico’s sweet and fierce lines warmly as he shifts pace from rhyming to singing: “You took so long, so now step aside because there’s another boy in the line.” — Felipe Maia

Winter - “atonement” (ft. Hatchie)

Samara Winter, the LA-based Brazilian singer-songwriter simply known as Winter has just announced her new Bar/None LP What Kind of Blue Are You? with the lead single “atonement,” featuring Australian electronic pop outfit Hatchie. Enveloping shoegaze aesthetics jump out from the very first notes, and Winter and Harriette Pilbeam’s vocals float over the muscular beat and crunchy guitars, chanting the mantra “Where did you go? I wanna feel you” as part of an open-ended story about a true love that can wait. – Cheky

unÁnima - “Llego a Tierra”

Magic happens when music combines with deep philosophy. And unÁnima’s “Llego a Tierra” is yet another testament to it. The Puerto Rican singer released a traditional acoustic-driven aguinaldo lament-inspired song about embracing the now rather than thinking of the future. The hypnotic track starts with a recital from Carmen Ureña that describes the metaphorical state of decision-making urgency while in the face of drowning. The song’s theme is based on a Buddhist phrase narrated by the writer Pema Chödrön. The phrase’s morality is that it’s better to relax your body in uncertainty than fight against the river’s current chaos for more chances of survival. The impactful tune ends with an ethereal hum that creates a euphoric state of sound as the vocalist harmonizes. It’s entrancing, to say the least. – Jeanette Hernandez

Kotanna - "Cumbres De Maltrata"

Mexican ambient artist Kotanna takes sounds that are supposed to fade into the background and turns them into music that’s impossible to ignore. Over droning synths, he weaves melodies in and out of the mix to evoke different states of mind — it’s part soundtrack to a film yet to be made, part mood enhancer. “Cumbres De Maltrata” paints a sound mural of epic proportions, open as the sky yet brimming with vertigo from climbing high into the heavens, making for an otherworldly experience that inspires sublime emotions. — Marcos Hassan

Carla Rivarola - "Tetelpan"

“El mundo ya era triste,” Mexican-Argentinian musician, songwriter, and producer Carla Rivarola muses in the opening of “Tetelpan” as she time travels back to her childhood home of Álvaro Obregón; “Pero al menos todavía había halcones/En las faldas del Desierto de los Leones.” Rivarola glides through soft, sing-speak verses that crescendo into loud and crashing choruses, paralleling the tried-and-true magic of ‘90s indie rock earworms. Backed by chiseled, clean-tone riffs and a warm, warbly synth, she touches on the conundrum that comes with reliving memories and circling back to familiar paths: finding tranquility in nostalgia while sitting with getting lost in the startling infiniteness of it all. – Nayeli Portillo

Iván J - “Fumando”

Iván J was putting his feet in high-profile doors and making all the right moves years ago, maximizing the combination of his dulcet voice and street bravado. He put all that on hold when he joined the armed forces and later took a sabbatical to find himself, but now he’s dipping his feet back into reggaetón and attempting to get back into the contemporary fast lane of the genre. “Fumando” is a slow perreo that signals to old fans and new listeners how good he was at those, building the anticipation for him to demonstrate what he can do now. — Juan J. Arroyo

Ela Minus, DJ Python - “Pájaros en Verano”

Ambient love songs? Yes. Absolutely. ♡, the forthcoming collaborative EP from Ela Minus and DJ Python can be described as just that, roaming free with gentle, chirping beats that weave a delicate cocoon around lyrics inspired by Carlos Raygadas’ 2018 film Nuestro Tiempo. The effervescent production on “Pajaros En Verano” harkens to Minus’ early days as a “tiny dance” pixie, embracing an existential rumination about wonderful, fleeting time spent with loved ones. The song encourages us to cherish the “who” instead of the “what” in life’s joyful moments. Because oftentimes, connection is what stays with us forever. — Richard Villegas

Bianca Oblivion - “Bad Gyal (ft. Thai Chi Rosè & Dyer MC)”

Harnessing booty-shaker sounds from around the world again, DJ and producer Bianca Oblivion makes an Atlantic crossing from Brazil to the U.K. and passing by Jamaica with her latest single, “Bad Gyal.” The LA-based artist boxes the straight-forward 2000’s baile funk beatbox sample with embodied kicks and crispy claps in this track. She steps up the game with the help of the ferocious Dyer MC vocals and the smooth and yet vividly bar-spitting of Thai Chi Rosè — an habituée of Bianca’s studios that have already pulled out a good track with her in “Bubble Pon Di Bed.” — Felipe Maia

Asia Menor - “Patio”

From Temuco, Chile, up-and-coming rock quartet Asia Menor previews their upcoming debut album Enola Gay with “Patio,” a striking single that will strike a chord with fans of indie rock from the aughts. Featuring thunderous drumming and angular guitar lines, “Patio” is a dynamic, punky ride through a shifting song structure reflected in the oppressing house that is the track’s subject, a metaphor for mental illness. – Cheky