NPR Music - Alt.Latino: New Music Roundup

Episode Date: February 12, 2025

'Alt.Latino' hosts Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre are back with six new songs that span the spectrum of Latinidad.Featured artists and songs:• Christian Nodal, "A Solas con la Botella"• Las Trompas de Falopium, "JARRE"• pablopablo, Carín León & Ralphie Choo, "Eso Que Tú Llamas Amor"• The Mexican Standoff & Flaco Jimenez, "Tu Dirás" (feat. Los Texmaniacs)• Amaia, "C'est La Vie"• Angie K, "Red Dirt on Mars"Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Simon Rentner. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

From NPR music, this is Alt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras. And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Let the Chisemet begin. And Felix, do you know what the Chisme is this week? Grammys. Oh, my gosh. This was actually a very eventful Grammy's year, this year, Felix, in my opinion.

Very rarely do the regular Grammys or the Gringo Grammys have as much connection to Latin music as they did this year from what I can gather? Big notable moment for me from the night where the Rauis, we love them, the band Rauai. from Venezuela. We've played their music a ton on the show. We brought them to the tiny desk. This is the first time that they have received a gringo Grammy. Now these guys have been at it for a decade and they've never received quite this level of recognition. So really exciting moment for kind of an off-center Latin alternative group. They won for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Wouldn't have necessarily been what I expected the Grammys to select, but definitely a warranted win. Now they took the stage, they took the platform to specifically speak directly to their Venezuelan community. They've always been amazing about doing that in their music. And now in their acceptance speech too, this just so happened to come on the exact same day that temporary protected status was revoked for 350,000 Venezuelans.

So a contentious moment, a lot of people are talking about the Venezuelan community. A lot of people in the community are looking towards what's next. So this band took the stage to bring hope to talk about cultural things for Venezuela and to really speak to and give some peace about what's on the hearts and minds of people in their community. Okay, next up, notable moment of the night was our girl Shakita. She won the Grammy for the best Latin pop album and she took her platform to dedicate her award to quote all of her immigrant brothers and sisters in this country. She said that you are loved, you are worth it,

and I will always fight with you. She's always been outspoken. She's always been looking out for people from her country and from other countries as well. Sheila E. apparently had something to say from the podium. For her win, in best global music performance for her single Bimbe Colora. She also took the moment to elevate diversity

in the United States, something else that has obviously been a big conversation nationally. We're talking about new music this week. Now that we got the Chisemay out of the way, again, just tons of great stuff. More than enough, tons of enough. I already have things for like the next three weeks. So starting us off, I couldn't help but dip my toes into more Chisemay. The Chisemay that's been going on for the past almost year or so,

or on Christian Nodal. So Christian Nodal, one of the biggest stars in Musica Mexican, he truly did break the genre in a lot of ways. And by break the genre, I mean the modern genre, right? Like this wave of new generation, Corridos Tumbados, Pesso Pluma, etc., etc. Cristiano D'Odal was kind of really the first wave of this young generation. He makes a varietal music that they call mariachi and norteño blended, and he does often do more of a pop sound.

This EPORAEPA This EPI This EP2 is literally what it's called is the second part to an EP he released late last year. He has been the center of so much pop culture conversation because of his separation from artist Kazu shortly followed by his marriage to artist Angela Aguilar. Now, Angela Aguilar, part of the Aguilar dynasty of Musica Mexicana,

one of the biggest dynasties of Mexican music. So she's a big name to begin with. He leaves Kazu is immediately with Angela. The spark notes of all of this chisemay is that they said that everything was cool. All parties involved understood that this is what was happening. Kazu later came out and said she was not informed. It's been a whole mess. lots of drama. The point is

the man is speaking in the music, which is what we love to hear, Felix. Nothing like good music to come out of good chisemey. Okay, so let's get into the music. The song that I pulled is called A Solas Con La Botella Off the new EP, Palcora, Episode 2. Okay, why do I get the feeling

of those And there's wreaking havoc in his romantic life To write these amazing songs. You can just tell from those vocals, no, Felix? Like, there's so much there. Despite the fact that he's poppy, he does stick more to the traditional side And he played some tropical sounds on the record

Like, does all kinds of things. But I chose this one specifically because it's got that mariachi core, Felix. You know what I mean? It's not so much in the sound because he is pretty pop balladie here. But it's in that letter, right? Like the classic, like me with my tragito, here, yorando, like the very just heart-wrenching epic lyricism, which, I mean, now that we know the context, it makes some sense.

That reference to La Votillaea reminds me of that video of B. Santa Fernandez drinking in the bar with the horse in the bar. I'm like, insert any mariachi singer. And yes, that is correct. I'm going to change it up a little bit. But we are staying in Mexico, believe it or not. I have a track. Aren't we always?

No, we're not. For the record, everybody out there listening, we have a wide variety of artists from a lot of different countries and cultures. It just so happens. We have two in a row. Mexico bias. Okay, what I have next is a solo project from this Mexican keyboardist and producer. His name is Yamil Reza.

He's worked with Julietta Venegas, Zoe. He has a project called Las Trompas de Philopium, and the album is called Talisman. And this track is called Jarre. Let's listen to the music, and then I'll fill you in on the references coming out of it. This record reminds me of something. I'm going to show my age and my background. But this reminds me of something a friend of mine said when he was having a drug experience of a certain kind.

And he said, I had a lot of fun while I was waiting for something to happen. I'm going to leave that there. The record is this really cool, like, revisit of electronic music from the 1970s. And the name of the track, Jarre, is referenced to this guy named Jean-Michel. Jarre, who was very, very popular in the mid-70s. He would have these elaborate concerts with lasers and all this other stuff and big, giant crowds. He had like a million people in Russia at one point for one of his shows. The development of the synthesizer in music exploded in the late 1960s.

Like the very first synthesizer, check this out, Anna. You can only play one note at a time. It was called the Melatron. And so you can never play chords is just one note. You can hear it on some of the Beatles records and stuff. Then it got more popular because you're able to play. chords and more melodic sounds, more melodies and stuff. People like Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, and this guy, John Michelle Jarre. That's the reference in this thing.

Let me play a little bit of a record he released in 1976. That was hugely, hugely popular. It sort of established a template for this electronic, also called ambient thing that was going on back then. And I was like, I was in deep. So check this out. This is called Oxygen Part 4 from 1976. I will say that a lot of this music was knocked, it was criticized for being simple, right?

But I think that the criticism missed the point. It's almost like a meditation. There wasn't supposed to be a lot of stuff happening. And it was more just an experience of the textures, the colors, the sounds. That's what this record, Talisman references. Crazy enough, Felix. I weirdly knew that story and know a lot about the initial synthesizer because one of my favorite podcast episodes of all time is actually an episode Invisibilia did

about the guy who was instrumental in the creation of this sound. It's called the last sound. His name is Bernie Krause. And he actually ended up going on this whole journey where he quit everything and went to record nature sounds for the rest of his life. Random tangent, but I really highly recommend people check that out because it's very linked to these initial really cool electronic sounds. Another one of my favorite artists is a guy from Mexico, Mexico City.

His name was Jorge Reyes. He was this progressive rocker, this Prague rocker from the 1970s. He got into the electronics, all the keyboard synthesizer stuff. And it was all within the context of pre-Columbian Mexican music. And it was all of these great chanting. And he field-recorded people talking, reciting their dreams in indigenous languages and mixed it in with all this stuff. I think people associate electronic sound with some.

something that is separated from or really far removed from traditional sound or live instrumentation when in reality, like, I love the way that these things can play off of each other. Big fan of all this stuff. That's why I really like this record, Talisman from the band La Trompas de Falopium. Speaking of synthesizers and electronic, the next track I'm bringing in is a Pablo Pablo song, so very much in the vein of kind of this synthesizer, electronic. bass sound. He's a producer out of Spain. Happens to be

Jorge Drexler's son. I've talked about him before. He's now doing his own project which I really love for a lot of reasons. But this is a new single he released that Felix it blew my mind. It's called Eso Que Tu Yamas Amor and it's

featuring Ralphie Chu and Karin Leon. Oh my gosh. Here we go. I know. I know. I can't describe it until the pedo so that you know I can't even begin to encapsulate what a perfect specimen of a song this is to me feel like I want to sunbathe to this song this is to me feel like I want to sunbathe to this song and cry to this song

and walk down the aisle to the sun. Like, I just want this song in every part of my life because it's so beautiful. And yes, it is a heartbreak song, but you know I love nothing more than beautiful heartbreak songs. Pablo Pablo and Ralphie Chu historically have worked together. They're both kind of some of the leading producers in this kind of cutting-edge Spanish scene.

I know that Carine Leon and Cetengana are close. I actually saw them together at Madison's School. Square Garden a couple months ago. It was very cute when Seteiana came into the show, Karin Leone lost it and started calling out to him on stage. They're very tight. They hung out that whole night. Apparently, Pablo and Karin connected on that tour, so that's where this all started. When I saw that this track was a thing, I was, despite being very big fans of all three of these artists, I was quite skeptical. They have very distinct sounds, especially Karin from the other but the ingenuity of how they put this together is gorgeous Felix

I'm out of my saliva the rastros of the mena with those plastics and desechables in the cross of your cadera me clavast and now saying that me extra you, how you're

that you're you're gonna sit as you metast I'm at words That's how I felt. I played it like 20,000 times in a row, and I was like, I'm hyperventilating by how much I love the three of them together. Wow. Just a while.

Yeah. Ralphie and Pablo's voices were like made in heaven together. I've never heard them sing like this. And it's so perfect and soft and unique. And that's why I wasn't sure how a Karin would come in because Karin's voice is booming. Like I'm telling you, Felix, this is, he is maybe one of the most incredible vocal performers I have ever seen. when he was at Madison Square Garden and he was on stage performing with people, he would literally have to put the microphone, Felix, at his belly button.

Like that's how hard he projects to not drown out whoever was singing with him. So I was like with such sweet vocals and production, what these two Spanish guys bring, I couldn't quite imagine it. And the way they did it where they bring it in on that last verse, it just worked. I'm going to need to take a break to catch up and catch my breath on the beauty of that song. We're going to take a break. We'll come right back with some more music. I know we said we weren't Mexico-centric,

but I've got another song. This was from a band that's called the Mexican standoff, okay? We do play lots of different music. It's just today's kind of Mexico heavy so far. First of all, Anna, do you know what a Mexican standoff is? Of course. What is it? It's when you have two people who are with the guns, right?

Right, exactly. It's a Hollywood device. It's a movie-making device where you have two people pointing guns at each other. Everybody's afraid to shoot for the first one, right? It's a stand-off.

It's called the Mexican stand-off. This trio of singers from Southern California, Fernando Ullibari, Alige, and Nancy Sanchez, they have been making records of these three singers since about 2018

under this moniker the Mexican stand-off. They have a full album coming out this month. This is a single from that album is called Two. Didas. The album's called Ola, Texas. This is the Mexican

standoff. Check it out. They got together to make cultural and political statements back in 2018, and that was during the first Trump administration. Their first single was called Muro or Wall. Each have flourishing careers on their own.

Again, Fernando Ullibati, Alige, and Nancy Sanchez. We've played all of their music on the show over the years. On this album, they made a record with Flaco Jimenez. The great accordion is from San Antonio, along with Max Baca, who is the leader of a band called The Text Maniacs. This record has its roots in Conjunto accordion, but with kind of a modern spin, and the vocals are more polished than we're used to hearing on really traditional conjunto.

Singing, right? It has, like, an old school twang to it with a really, there's something contemporary and fresh and kind of clean. There's some old conhonto that they revisit and redo and, and, and, put a new spin on it. So again, the name of the band is the Mexican standoff. The album is called Ola Texex or Ola Tejas. And this particular track is called Tudidas. We have two more songs to go, man.

You're next. What do you got? So this is from Spanish singer Amaya. This is off of her third album she just released. See Abro Los Ojo No Real. And the song is called Say La Vi. Let me fill you in, Felix on the revelation that is a Maya. So Spanish singer, weirdly enough backstory, she started her career at 10 as a childhood piano contestant

and then moved on to do this reality TV singing competition show and then a songwriting competition or social, she's done all of these kind of interesting performance-based things. She's always been a wicked writer and she's so talented at framing and elevating that beautiful voice of hers has always been very innovative, but in this kind of what to me is like a more traditional indie pop Spanish way. I think in Spain, people tend to lean towards, It's like a kind of rock sound as the first layer of elevated top. But this album, Felix, please listen to the whole thing. Because it really is like on every track at every moment, a different turn.

Categories fail. There's just no way to put this anywhere other than damn good music. Okay? That's the category. I've even heard the rest of the record, and I'm dying to hear it. But I think that that's the beauty of what's happening with you young people these days. Chandra's be damned. This track to me is very much its own performance.

It feels like it's almost separated into different acts, where she gets soft, and then she gets loud, and she gets cinematic, and she gets cutting, and it's like this avant-garde indie pop girl cello, and then you have the light strings under the piano and the voice that makes it kind of breathe and it's just every layer of it feels so intentional to me, Felix. This was thought out and inspired and it's beautiful. I'm starting a collection of pieces of paper where Anna has written, this album is my new obsession.

I should make that playlist coming to you soon. This album is my new obsession. That was Say La Vie by Amaya. We're going to end with something I brought in from a vocalist named Angie Kay. And she's one of the newer voices in country music. Latina country artists with Roots in El Salvador. She's another discovery that I had when we did a show last April with Carrie Rodriguez when I put together that playlist of all these Latino country artists.

She finally has a self-titled EP out. This is a track from the album. It's called Red Dirt on Mars. I'll explain what red dirt is after we hear the trap. The truth. The tears came and shine like the star. Oh, I want to forget her, but I can't get that far. This small town in Georgia is all I've ever known.

The dust and the moon plays a cowgirl to go to burn the brand off her heart. Well, that man on the moon says there's red dirt on Mars. Felix, you and your country music, I swear. It has the same emotional pull as like just every other track on the show this week. Red Dirt on Mars, Red Dirt is a reference to a relatively new musical movement that mixes country, rock, folk, Americana, and it's named after the Red Dirt of Oklahoma where it started. And Wyatt Flottis is part of that red dirt movement. He has some songs that references Red Dirt.

He's from Stillwater, Oklahoma. You know, it's just something that I've been listening to a lot more lately since doing that show is exploring all of these artists. Even going back to Johnny Rodriguez from the 1960s. Angie K, I just can't wait to hear more from her. The track is called Red Dirt on Mars. The title is called Angie K, self-titled. You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music, our audio editor, Simon Rettner.

The woman who keeps us on track is Grace Chung. Suraya Mohamed is executive producer of NPR music. And our hefe in chief is VP of Music and Visuals, Keith Jenkins. I'm Felix Contreras. And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Thanks for listening.