Ten years ago, Ecuadorian-American DJ Dave Villegas, a.k.a Dave Nada, kicked off a new wave by mashing up house and reggaeton and creating moombahton. The sound, which started in D.C., exploded in clubs and concert halls and left an undeniable imprint in the mainstream through hits by Skrillex and Major Lazer, who drew clear inspiration from the style.
This year, Nada launched a label called Hermanito with DJ Tittsworth and, from Los Angeles, the two of them have been promoting Latinx artists and celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the fusion they pioneered. Just in time for the decennial, they also released an album that includes the best of moombahton’s artists, both past and present. One of the tracks, “Te Encontré,” features Mula, the Dominican trio that has reimagined dembow beats and brought a bright modernity to bachata, merengue, and perico ripiao rhythms.
The video for “Te Encontré,” directed by Nick Imparato, premiered last week and includes twin sisters sisters Anabel and Cristabel Acevedo singing over a cyberpunk backdrop. In an interview with Vice en español, Mula’s producer Rachel Rojas talked about her love of moombahton and said she felt an instant familiarity with Nada. “Moombahton is one of my favorite genres because of its sound versatility, creative freedom, and the energy that it transmits to people on the dance floor,” she shared.
In an email to Remezcla, Nada sang Mula’s praises and said they’ve been championing a direction that he’d like to see moombahton continue to move toward in the future. “To me, this collab is a great representation of moombahton’s fusing signature sounds of dutch house, dembow, and pop, and the genre’s future reconnecting with its Latin roots,” he said.
The full Moombahton 10th Anniversary playlist is available on Spotify; check it out here: