Art by Alan Lopez for Remezcla
Every week, we highlight some of our favorite releases in a handy list. Although we try to cover as much new music as possible, there are so many stellar releases to talk about. Consider this our genre-diverse guide to songs we have on repeat.
Follow our playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify or Apple Music.
To kick off his new Warner Music Spain subsidiary WOAH Music, Catalan producer Alizzz has released “Tu Cama,” a driving baile funk-meets-Afrobeats track that perfectly captures the imprint’s mission to harmoniously marry mainstream pop and innovative sounds. The song features R&B heartbreaker Jesse Báez and up-and-coming Madrid singer Paula Cendejas, who trade playful verses about a romantic escapade. –Cheky
Portland-based duo Reyna Tropical wrapped 2018 by opening for Bomba Estéreo on the final leg of their North American tour. Aiming to remain fresh in our minds, the band has released a new single titled “Como Fuego,” colliding sunny Caribbean guitar picking with bashful vocals and an unshakably sticky melody that will have you bouncing and humming along throughout. –Richard Villegas
From the get-go, Buenos Aires’ Space Alpe makes it his business to let you know what he’s all about. Employing chopped vocals and weird ambient synths, the producer introduces you to his seductive and noisy approach to music. The airy and tense “Unfocused” updates the golden age of trip-hop and slow dances with it into the night. –Marcos Hassan
The Dominican rapero from Santiago-based crew MITEL DICO lays into 2019 and his five-song Enero EP with this laid-back to rapid-fire flow about earning your scars and crowns. –Caitlin Donohue
Houston rapper Buckamore has been bringing some of our favorite, future-forward hip-hop sounds as of late. On “Hold On,” a follow-up to his Waves EP, he links with producer James North and H-town’s SINES again for a crashing, creepy, tinkling wave of persistent doubt. –Caitlin Donohue
Spain’s more versatile rapper continues his world chavo tour after his moment with Jesse Baez and the Broke Kids Crew in Las Vegas, this time linking with relentless baile funk ruler MC Bin Laden, who easily fits his flow into a hip-hop bridge. The gut-slapping, field-dancing buddy video is particularly entertaining — alright gentlemen, you have our attention. –Caitlin Donohue
On their debut LP Cheers!, bubbly garage-pop trio The Bralettes are finally showing off the sound they’ve been diligently honing over the past year. Album opener “Scary Harry” finds the Dallas natives in their truest form, burning a creep known for harassing women at local live shows with a delightfully catchy song built on buzz-sawing guitar chords and devilish harmonies. –Richard Villegas
Costa Rica’s Ladrona turns pessimism into cathartic rage with this excellent punk anthem about living in the end times. Singer Vacteria Chac howls passionately about the ying and yang of existence, while the rest of the band plays quickly and a little chaotically. But they invite you to scream along, mixing and matching elements that make for eternal anthems of discontent. –Marcos Hassan
If you’re not already excited for Branko’s sophomore solo album, which is coming out on Enchufada in March, we’re sure his new single will do the trick. For “Hear From You,” he and Sango conjured their mutual love for Brazilian music to adorn a mellow, empty space where London-based vocalist Cosima walks around lonely and quietly. This is upbeat music for sad hearts. –Cheky
Punk is the perfect soundtrack to both wasted youth and the empty promise of modern life, and Bogotá’s Muro provides a fitting answer to bigots everywhere. “El Futuro” addresses a non-existent tomorrow and rages rightfully for all of us who yearn for prosperity and peace but find those things to be unattainable. It’s great for gleefully throwing yourself against the wall, too. –Marcos Hassan
We’d be liars if we said we’d forecasted the fact that Daddy Yankee’s next collaboration would be with 90s reggae artist Snow, but here they are, delivering a piece of dancefloor engineering that interpolates Snow’s classic 1992 songs “Informer.” We’re with it, but the video foists bobble-headed Daddy and Snow avatar heads on the dancers performing the choreography – when can we catch the Big Boss and Snow actually pull off those moves? –Caitlin Donohue
Chihuahua is proving to be a major hotbed for folk music, with notable releases by Dromedarios Mágicos and Sr. Trigger bringing attention to the region, and 17-year-old Ed Maverick is emerging as the scene’s newest star. On “Ropa de Bazaar,” his latest single, Maverick has teamed up with indie upstart Bratty for a swoon-inducing ditty about the urge to run away with his sweetheart – an epic romantic certainty we’ve all felt, even when the future is anything but clear. –Richard Villegas