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.
Two kings finally put their brains together to bring us this year-end bop. “Dancin” is Fuego and A.CHAL’s attempt to capture the strip club atmosphere in a three-and-a-half minute song. We can almost see the singles raining down. –Cheky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsiTia1CWqc
Brazilian producer and DJ Boss In Drama has been in high demand this year, putting considerable work into recent releases from Karol Conka and Linn da Quebrada, but it’s his campy and oh-so-satisfying remixes that keep shifting the spotlight in his direction. His latest concoction is a baile funk remix of Ariana Grande’s viral breakup sensation “Thank U, Next,” upping the BPMs but retaining the track’s mature – and slightly petty – acceptance of heartbreak. The remix has also been paired with a hilarious video of costumed Brazilian street dancers that will have you acting up at the club whenever you hear the track next. –Richard Villegas
As Mexican production rookie Aqua Mute prepares the release of Insectario, his first solo EP, we’ve been given a taste of his avant-garde leanings in “Imago,” a bubbling, asymmetrical track that unfolds like a lucid dream inspired by dystopian sci-fi and adventures in the Far East. –Richard Villegas
Polo Vega, Mexicali’s prime minister of electronics, delivers a goth-tinged synth pop gem of a breakup song with this collaboration. Mar De Sombra’s pained, raspy vocals about heartbreak imbue the composition with a sense of desperate emotion. Unlike Trillones’ last record Tal Vez Sí Existe, “Los Síntomas” will keep you company when you’re not feeling like going to the club. –Marcos Hassan
https://soundcloud.com/bungalovv-ii/bungalovv-arrayan
This quick, thunderous track by T R R U E N O’s Bungalovv (aka Pablo Betas) is what needs to be pulsing through your earbuds when you’re in pursuit of easy prey. Wind instruments and an impeccably-timed climax lead the way to the Buenos Aires producer’s final blow. –Caitlin Donohue
Chicago house heads will fall into this one like a goddamn feather bed. Producer Ariel Zetina takes slow seduction from Canada’s Boy Pussy and outfits its remix for ecstatic movement via queer and trans-centered Toronto label Wet Trax. TFW you get off on more BPMs… –Caitlin Donohue
Argentine singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sol Pereyra has linked up with Dominican indie pop darlings Mula for an exuberant end-of-year banger called “Antireversa.” Tapping the gods of electro merengue, the song brings fans a beautiful message of perseverance in a chaotic world, reminding us that the only available direction in life is forward. –Richard Villegas
The last time we heard from instrumental post-rock philosopher De Osos, the young producer was embarking on a delicate and devastating conceptual journey into outer space. It seems Arturo Luna has once again touched ground on Planet Earth, this time showcasing a more optimistic side in “At Least (Be Human),” a six-minute rumination that collides piano, synth stabs, and noise bursts into a stunning sonic art piece. –Richard Villegas
Shrieking, multi-tracked vocals open a tale about a babysitter gone very, very bad. The synth plings and plongs provide a sense of tranquility to the song’s morbid narrative, sung as if the vocalist is standing on the wrong side of a curtain of static. A guitar melody awashed in distortion drives the track home, creating a horror finale fit for this goth ballad. –Marcos Hassan
Barcelona-based Venezuelan producer Cardopusher has found his place among recontextualized vintage sounds in his recent musical output. “Nambu Line Dub,” the closing track on his new Muscle Memory EP, stands out for the sense of calm that follows an acid-heavy marathon. Its techno machinery is sweetened with Caribbean percussion fills, and its deteriorated synths make us feel like we’re daydreaming of a long gone beach vacation through a Betamax filter. –Cheky