In “emblematic Ynfynyt Scroll fashion,” the sounds that opens “1704” off the producer’s mixtape HEQ are untraceable for the moment. “I found this track during a deep SoundCloud binge overload,” says Peruvian-born producer Rodrigo Díaz. “When I went to go look it up again, not only was the track itself taken down, but the account didn’t exist.” He ran the throbbing sub-bassline and piano through by a few Ynfynyt AUX synths to create a characteristically thoughtful, adrenaline-revving melange of sound, but one whose providence is sadly unknown. “The answer is that I have no idea what I’m doing or how I got to the end result that I did,” concludes Díaz. “I’m obsessed with the vocals on that track, though, and I’m not gonna rest until I find out who did it.”
Interaction between sound is standard practice for Ynfynyt Scroll, and a happy kind of crazy reigns on HEQ. Other vocal contributors are easily traced; Bad Bunny comes to roost in the title track’s easy electro perreo sprawl and “Papito Chulo” speeds Lorna’s “Papi Chulo” into an agreeable, echoing dembow Frankenstein.
Diaz sees HEQ as a synthesis of his current musical influences: “very moody and dark rap I never stop listening to, as in 21 Savage, Tay K, Bad Bunny, etc., as well as the sort of stripped down, minimal yet maximal sounds coming out of the Caribbean now, particularly Martinique.”
Another standout track on HEQ is a collaboration with Estado de México reggaeton emcee Erick Con Mas Flow, “Mexaeton.” Here, a chrome finish on the singer’s vocals lends a cool, slightly robotic feel to a traditional culo-venerating courtship tale.
Ynfynyt Scroll is hyped to play the song live, with an upcoming mini tour in Mexico featuring gigs with Monterrey’s Club Viral, a Guadalajara event with Cyber Witches, and a Mexico City event with Mami Slut and Perrealismo. “Pretty much all my favorite DJs are in Mexico,” he says, name-checking Rosa Pistola, Marmota, and DJ Mataputos. From fierce old school proponents like DJ Rosa Pistola to NAAFI’s shadowy club theatrics, Mexico City has become a site of evolving traditions for the genre. Perhaps the country’s artists are a good fit for Ynfynyt’s eclectic, danceable mashups.
The tour comes at a time when Díaz — who lived for years in Dallas and New York City — has relocated to Bogotá, where he says he’s working for a coffee exporter. The job brings him to a lot of the country’s far-flung, hard to reach corners, which is proving to be the overhaul that he needed to embark on a new period of creativity. “It’s extremely inspirational to my music to be here, particularly going deep in the high-mountain campo, interacting with people and hearing what music they listen to and their views on the world.” He’s managed to log some Colombian studio hours, and is fishing for producers and vocalists in the area, on a quest for future creations with fully credited collaborators.