Nuevo Noise, Remezcla and Spotify’s collaborative playlist, is finally back for 2018. Today, it returns for its eighth edition, packed with a fresh set of under-the-radar artists.
The latest edition of Nuevo Noise features gems like Tatiana Hazel’s sugary breakup bop “No Me Encuentras,” Mint Field’s hazy “Ojos en el Carro,” and Bairoa’s luminous “Barlovento.”
Listen to the latest edition below, and be sure to follow the playlist on Spotify. Scroll down for a primer on five of the artists you should know from this month’s edition.
1
Tatiana Hazel - "No Me Encuentras"
Tatiana Hazel first caught our eye on her YouTube channel, where the young Chicago singer developed her songwriting skills and considerable on-camera talent through a series of earnest performances, sitting cross-legged with her trusty guitar. “No Me Encuentras” marks the continuation of her experimentations with both Spanish-language lyrics and increasingly electronic production tricks — the artist enjoys covering ground in the studio. Her latest track is a featherlight cumbia-dembow delivery of Hazel’s vibrato, an upbeat plea to forget a lover who is long gone for all reasonable intents and purposes. Tatiana told Remezcla that “No Me Encuentras” is a reminder that all relationships are learning experiences. There’s certainly no room for negative ways of thinking in amongst all that sunshine percussion. Cue Tatiana’s carefree intro riffs and drift out on your personal dance floor cloud — time to reflect on the fact that positives are available in every dumpster fire of a fling. –Caitlin Donohue
2
Bairoa - "Barlovento"
It takes a solid 43 seconds to arrive at the music during the video clip for this luminous song off Buscabulla musician Luis Valentín’s debut solo EP (which is also titled Barlovento). We come in slow, over a landscape that looks like a paper mâché rendering of Planet Earth. A small dot eventually resolves itself as the top of Bairoa’s head — ours as viewers is a bird’s eye view of his spiritual grounding in the waters that lap against Puerto Rico. This audio delay serves to highlight the sweetly washed-out tones that one, eventually, can hear in Barioa’s luminous and wave-drenched synthy reverb. Valentín’s vocals are baritone, breathy, deep yet somehow barely there, a diaphanous disco priest intoning a service that can only be heard by the truly faithful. This reverent approach is a central theme — the single art for “Barlovento” recreates a santería bodega, according to our recent interview with the Puerto Rican himself. Listen for inspiration in creating your own purposeful dreamscapes. –Caitlin Donohue
3
Mint Field - "Ojos en el Carro"
Can you hear it? The post-rock Tijuana shoegaze of duo Estrella Sánchez and Amor Amezcua are gearing up for the February 23 release of their Pasar de Las Luces EP. The album promises to be another multitudinous triumph for border bands, but in the meantime, fans can revel in the pyrotechnics of this late November release, the project’s first teaser. “Ojos En El Carro” certainly shreds. Raging, ragged chords juxtapose with Sánchez’s sweetest, slightest coos, the contrast serving to highlight the group’s talent for layering sounds and birthing 360-degree pools that invite listeners to let go of prosaic concerns and sink in. “Ojos En El Carro” may be just what you need for a long drive at sunset in a car with deep bucket seats and an elegant sound system. –Caitlin Donohue
4
Trinidad Cardona - "Dinero"
The lyrics of this charismatic singer’s debut single “Jennifer” were built around his high school crush on a girl with a boyfriend. (“‘I saw you walking.’ I was like, ‘I used your name,’” Trinidad Cardona recalled jovially, parsing the words for Genius. “And I told her I wasn’t going to give her credit.”) When the clip went viral, it became clear that fans were down for his slightly self-deprecating, beautifully voiced oeuvre. Half a year later, the teen delivered “Dinero,” the tale of a date who may have outmaneuvered him on the financial side of circumstances. Regardless of the state of his bankroll, the volume on his sound had turned up from the song’s winning, vocally athletic R&B to this welcome salsa track with driving hip-hop notes, a clever new vehicle for the emerging Arizona-based, Blaxican talent. Listen the next time you make it home after missing the happy hour menu on a hot date you had to spring for. –Caitlin Donohue
5
IZA - "Pesadão"
Those unfamiliar with the total package that Rio de Janeiro’s IZA brings would not be unwise to start with this sensual, raucous anthem. The singer’s impressive vocal skills come through appropriately heavy on “Pesadão,” not to mention her pop diva-worthy strength of presence. New listeners could hypothetically go from here to one of her a cappella renditions of US and British counterparts to begin to get an idea of the range that this woman has in those lungs. This track is a “Survivor”-type moment, with IZA asserting her power after the exit of a partner who would have destroyed her. A partial translation for those who want to vibe on the original’s message: “I’m going to rebuild my castle/Iron and hammer/Regain what I lost.” Brazilian singer Marcelo Falcão, who performs with roots group O Rappa, tucks in between airhorns for his hypeman moment, but this track is IZA’s to slay. –Caitlin Donohue