We are living through an era where more music is available to us than ever – whether it be via social media, streaming or apps. But despite this wealth of options, it can be difficult to cut through the industry hype, the homogenizing algorithms, and find something new and exciting. In our weekly Nuevo Noise playlist, you’ll find some of our favorite releases of the week – from the most exciting new names in urbano to the burgeoning SoCal neo-Chicano soul wave and everything in between.
Follow our Nuevo Noise playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify.
1
Loyal Lobos - "Si Te Portas Mal (Be Bad)"
As pop songs go, few capture the intoxicating feeling of spending a late night with someone you’re crushing on. “Si Te Portas Mal” builds from a soft percussive rhythm that carries an irresistible melody, capturing a feeling that almost can’t be contained. Loyal Lobos‘s greatest trick is to communicate so much emotion and desire in a voice that could become a whisper. “Si Te Portas Mal” takes its time and savors it. -Marcos Hassan
2
Rita Indiana - “Miedo”
A word? “This song is for my community, for whom love has always been a heroic trait,” says tropical vanguard member Rita Indiana. Maybe this isn’t what you’ve come to expect from strobe lit, lung busting Pride anthems, but “Miedo” is filled with a rueful certainty that adds complexity to a time of year too often strung with bland, rainbow-colored hype. -Caitlin Donohue
3
Monte - "Mirla"
It’s not surprising to learn that Bomba Estéreo’s Simón Mejía has taken inspiration from nature sounds of the Amazon jungle to fuel his new project, Monte. The Colombian musician has made instrumental music that avoids the trappings of Rainforest Café fodder by being true to its source; it also doesn’t hurt that the talent for arrangements he demonstrates in Bomba Estéreo remains on point here. “Mirla” will get your head swimming down a river of sound. -Marcos Hassan
4
Soledad Vélez - "Tu Mejor Amigo"
Soledad Vélez has been on a rollercoaster musical evolution these past few years, jumping from indie rock, to synthpop and now reggaeton with impressive agility. On “Tu Mejor Amigo” she handily invokes perreo’s hypnotic 808 and bass line combo, but it’s her sullen, auto-tuned vocals that elevate the track to the heights of dance floor tear-jerking classics like “Dancing On My Own” and “La Canción.” -Richard Villegas
5
Atropolis - "Gozala" feat. Los Rakas
This song hit like Prozac, a distinctive pulse from the Oakland-Panamanian duo and Greek Cypriot producer Atropolis in advance of the latter’s album Time of Sine. If the lyrics of peace on earth seem too pat for this moment of chaos, consider it more mantra fodder than banner headline. -Caitlin Donohue
6
Chamo - “Turn Blue”
Bogota-based newcomer Chamo has spent part of his quarantine making Nostalgia Cliché, a new EP that will see the light later this year and includes the bedroom pop jam “Turn Blue.” Splashed with just enough psychedelia, the song tackles breakups and the realization that things will never be the same. But be careful, because it can hit harder if you think about it as a cry for normalcy during these COVID-19 times. -Cheky
7
Maifersoni - “La Sabiduría del Agua”
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Enrique Elgueta, aka Maifersoni, has long been a cult figure of the Chilean underground—pondering and processing social change and new musical techniques with nuance and great flexibility. His first release of 2020 is “La Sabiduría del Agua,” an expansive meditation on the emotional state of Chileans in the wake of nationwide social unrest that kicked off in October of last year. Melding elements of spoken word, ambient and jazz, the song is both warning and mantra: sometimes you’re well, and sometimes you’re not, but consider the wisdom of water and try to go with the flow. -Richard Villegas
8
Ulldeter - “A Rebuf”
Extraperlo member and frequent El Guincho collaborator Aleix Clavera is back under his Ulldeter alias to share with us his newest full-length, the Caribbean-inspired Tresor. Third on the tracklist is “A Rebuf,” a festival of bright and nostalgic textures with a rhythm that references reggaeton, where Clavera sings in Catalan about enjoying life without trying to be the best, using motorcycle racing as a vivid metaphor. -Cheky
9
Vaya Futuro - “Talión”
As we get closer to the release of El Peso del Mundo, Vaya Futuro’s upcoming fourth album, the Tijuana trio share a new single called “Talión.” The song is based on the biblical idea of “an eye for an eye,” and the band uses lyrics, live instrumentation, electronic production, and a mesmerizing orchestral arrangement by Marco Martínez to craft their sonic interpretation of rage and its buildup. -Cheky
10
Laguna Lunar - “Epifanía”
At this point, it’s safe to say that bands mining the vintage drum machines, warm synth tones and catchy lyrics of ‘80s pop will not go away anytime soon. When artists like Valparaiso, Chile’s Laguna Lunar take it on, it gets a new lease on life. “Epifanía” keeps the freshness intact by leaning on their post punk influences rather than copying formulas, putting a ting of goth to the track. “Epifanía” is a dancey and melodic song that will not sound old any time soon. -Marcos Hassan
11
Pasaje - “Flores y Diamantes”
Chilean electropop duo Pasaje have unveiled their debut album Sin Salida, riding high on the recent wave of dance music releases making quarantine simultaneously more bearable while stoking nostalgia for nights of crowded dance floor bedlam. One of the finest slices of hedonism in Sin Salida is “Flores y Diamantes,” a track booming with drum kicks, glittery synths and gauzy whisper vocals that will transport you from your bedroom to the middle of a wild circuit party. -Richard Villegas
12
Agrupación Changó - "Oroí Oroá"
“Oroí Oroá” is a great example of how music can become devotional art by submitting to an insistent rhythm. Part of the work of Discos Pacífico to release little known music from Central and South America to a wider audience, Agrupación Changó gives us a call and response track that’s typical of places in Ecuador’s street dancing and funerals. “Oroí Oroá” talks about religion but becomes its own liturgical ecstasy by sending the listener to a state of dance that transcends time and place. -Marcos Hassan
13
Sines & Yayoyanoh - "Free"
Houston label MAJÍA unleashes longtime collaborator, Texas producer Sines on this undulating club reggaeton moment. The crew labeled this track “a heavy take on sensual music for grown folks” and who am I to disagree with soundtrack proposals for weighty lovemaking in a moment like this? -Caitlin Donohue