Music & Films for
Common People
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10
DESTINY
John Talabot feat. Pional (Spain, 2012)
The marriage between house music and indie dream pop was quite fruitful during the last decade, and several of its offsprings like Jamie XX, Caribou and SBTRKT gave us perfect moments to soundtrack our nights out. Destiny is on the darkest, moodiest side of that electronic spectrum; although its mid-tempo beats are dancefloor ready, there's a heavy sense of the uncanny in the atmospheres, sitting somewhere in between the midnight seduction of The XX and the spooky disruption of The Knife. Yet, there's something that resembles a Balearic beat and tingling crystal synth effects for good contrast.
Also listen: Ela Minus - Juan Sant /// Tony Gallardo II - Juventud Guerrera
9
ERAS
Juana Molina (Argentina, 2013)
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Who would have thought that one of the individuals who pushed further the boundaries of alternative latin music on the 10's was going to be a 50 year-old former comedian? Molina defied conventions and expectations by going to dark corners of electronic folk, bending genres and playing by her own set of rules. Eras is like exploring a haunted mansion, from the opening percussive loops there's a sense of danger lurking in the corners, and then by juxtaposing the organic and the electronic she finds a distorted focus that blends reality and fantasy, narrating a folk tale of magical eternal devotion.
Also listen: Juana Molina - Sin Guía No /// Dolores - Cortafuego
8
PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ
Rosalía (Spain, 2018)
In Rosalía's modern take on Flamenco, she knows how to capture that sense of a legendary burning passion with beautiful and intense verses about how jealousy can take over a relationship and destroy it. Pienso En Tu Mirá brings the rhythmic hand clapping of Flamenco as the bass, and then ads mixed synths and effects to get a much contemporary version, taking a genre that was rooted in tradition and making it more approachable to a new generation. Rosalía challenges and subverts stereotypes not only from the rooted traditional Spanish culture, but also from the very macho new trap trends.
Also listen: Linda Mirada - Secundario /// Cupido - No Sabes Mentir
7
DESAFÍO
Arca (Venezuela, 2017)
In Desafío, Alejandro Ghersi creates a narrative about the blend between sex and abuse, pleasure and pain. He uses his falsetto voice to create an operetta orchestrated by pulsating synths, discordant strings and alarm sirens. He is slightly explicit, with imagery of blood and body fluids underlying there; it's aggressive and disruptive, showing the two sides of lust and desire, the opposition of tenderness and raw instinct. It touches fibers that are almost unknown to us; he let us peek, through the aesthetic of violence and decadence, the parts of ourselves that we try hardest to shut down.
Also listen: Carmen Sandiego - Eructo de Semen /// Mateo Kingman - Religar
6
LOS ADOLESCENTES
Dënver (Chile, 2010)
From all the Spanish speaking countries, only Chile understood how to make good pop music, and the first half of the decade saw many Chilean acts delivering amazing indie pop bangers that gave an alternative to the reggaetón or the soppy ballads that were being produced elsewhere. Los Adolescentes is just as playful and electrifying as you'd expect of a song that celebrates youth, not ony the bouncy synths are infective and super fun, when paired with a smart and slightly aggressive guitar riff, we get a clever melody that mirrors the contradictions of growing up that we find in the lyrics.
Also listen: Dënver - Revista de Gimnasia /// Dënver - La Lava
5
BOMBAY
El Guincho (Spain, 2010)
Bombay is the hipster reinterpretation of afrolatino rhythms like punta and merengue, seen through the prism of dream pop, as if Animal Collective made a version of 90's latin hit "Sopa de Caracol". An electronic percussion that also might take a few hints from Balearic electronics mixed with a keyboard progression that immediately brings images of sunny days in Caribbean beaches set the tone for one of the biggest achievements in tropical electronic music. With this great understanding of how to propulse latin rhythms, is not surprise that Diaz-Reixa is one of the most sought-after producers right now.
Also listen: She's a Tease - Fiebre de Jack /// María y José - Club Negro
4
¿CÓMO PUEDES VIVIR CONTIGO MISMO?
Alex Anwandter (Chile, 2011)
One of the reasons why Chilean pop is entirely different to what's produced in other countries is because it goes back to the subversive and contra-cultural roots of pop as an artistic movement, with Chilean pop musicians using their music as a way to spread messages of change and social justice. Alex Anwandter vindicates his queer identity by embracing the 70's disco music and the ball culture in a track that is poignant at questioning internalized homophobia and the forced closet identities, and that celebrates the pride of being oneself. A powerful queer anthem from a powerful queer artist.
Also listen: Alex Anwandter - Tatuaje /// Odisea - Casa Latina
3
HASTA LA RAÍZ
Natalia Lafourcade (Mexico, 2015)
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The lead single of Lafourcade's fifth album was a clear indication that she finally achieved a fully matured style that was rich and meaningful. Hasta La Raíz takes classic latin genres like bolero and huapango as a base for a song that celebrates the Mexican traditions and identity in the form of a traditional serenade with more contemporary arrangements. Her songwriting is at the front of the track, with verses that evoke the deep Mexico by taking us in a journey through rivers, jungles, beaches, mountains and sugar cane fields. It is a love song for her land, her ancestry and her identity.
Also listen: Natalia Lafourcade feat. Los Macorinos - Tú sí Sabes Quererme /// León Lárregui - Como Tú
2
TORO
El Columpio Asesino (Spain, 2011)
By 2011, El Columpio Asesino already was making great alternative rock for almost a decade, but their real break-trough came with Toro, the wildest road trip from Spain to Berlin, full of images only apt for adults, in between taking lines of speed in the highway and having sexual encounters in public bathrooms. Taking a heavy influences from Pixies, it is dissonant and discomforting, but at the same time it is highly addictive, a dark restricted shoegaze bassline builds the tension in the background, and it explodes in a literal climax of loud moans and finds an epic liberation in the final guitar solo.
Also listen: El Columpio Asesino - Diamantes /// Lorelle Meets the Obsolete - Sealed Scene
1
MALAMENTE
Rosalía (Spain, 2018)
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Malamente not only brings freshness to flamenco, but mixes it with one of most important post-millennial trends: trap, but also subverting the negative connotations of it (misogyny, glorification of violence), to challenge at once past and present, the old and the new. With rhythmic claps as the backbone of the song, her voice is sensual and effervescent, with hard accents breaking the song and giving cadence, opposing the vocal curlicues traditional of flamenco singing. Clever, innovative and forceful, she drew the attention of all critics towards Spanish language music and is slowly taking over the whole world.
Also listen: Rosalía - Di mi Nombre /// Rosalía - Milionària