NPR Music - Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2024 (so far)

Episode Date: June 12, 2024

To mark the halfway point of 2024, Felix Contreras, Anamaria Sayre and NPR Culture Desk producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento run down their favorite releases of the year so far, from a career-defining release from Nathy Peluso, a leveling up from Argentina rapper Trueno, introspective jazz from Melissa Aldana and so much more.Songs featured in this episode:•Trueno, "Tranky Funky"•Kali Uchis, "Dame Beso //Muévete"•Lau Noah ft. Gaby Moreno, "Aunque Suene Bonito"•Carlos Ares, "Amigo"•Angelica Garcia, "Gemini"•Melissa Aldana, "I Know You Know"•Nathy Peluso, "Legendario"•Reyna Tropical, "Cartagena"•Daymé Arocena (feat. Vicente García), "A Fuego Lento"•Akapellah (feat. Al2 El Aldeano, Faker), "Ni Con Money"•The Marias, "Run Your Mouth"•Grupo Frontera, "Me Hizo Un Favor"•Alvaro Diaz, Feid, "Gatitas Sandungueras Vol. 1"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

Just a quick warning, this episode contains explicit language. It's June. I can't believe it's June already. No, it's not. It is. No, it's not. It's June, and it's time for our best of the year so far. Oh, my God. Well, good thing. I'm ready.

Okay. From Imperial Music, this is Alt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras. And I'm Ana Maria Serre. Let the Chiefs May begin. And to help us this week, we have the most amazing, fabulous, wonderful, incredible, our favorite person on the planet Earth, Culture Desk producer, that's her official title. by the way. Look it up in the system. Isabella Gomez-Arivento.

Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Thanks for that super casual intro. I appreciate it. Is that how everyone introduces you? Yeah, everyone actually. That's my full title at the company. Good. That makes me feel happy. I'm glad. I'm glad you're getting the respect and honor you deserve. So. You're first. I'm first. Go ahead. Oh, my God. To what do I owe the honor?

Because that's how I scripted it. I'm in control. All right. Guys, I'm exceptionally excited about this one. Really exceptionally excited. This is Argentinian rap artist Trueno, and this is his new album, El Uplimo Baile. This is the track Tranky, Funky, from the new record. Yeah, bam again, back to the game. The watcho know who's up in hip-ramp.

Yeah, and for a pen, tan and no me be, because I'm going to manh all fucking trend of the train of the train. I got it, I got it. What do you need they got it? No seme with party, party, that here we're parted. So I'm going to the Lvarez From a lot for my

Like a lot for my barrio Okay, so I've decided That I have to throw Like this has motivated me to throw a party this summer Because I think that if I play just this album, it would be like the best party of all time. Like he does such an incredible tour to force of all types and varietals of hip hop. Like he to me is emblematic representative of what is the Argentinian hip hop scene right now. And this record specifically is finally

like the encapsulation of everything I think that it's been building towards. I mean, it's really an homage to all that is. American hip-hop, Latin American hip-hop. He does all these nods through his lyricism, through samples across the record to all kinds of hip-hop giants and greats over the years. And it's so clear that he did his homework. He studied, you know, last record was really this ode to where he's from. He's from La Boca, famous neighborhood in Argentina, very proud of that. But this one, I mean, he goes beyond that he goes to every part of the Southern Cone. He goes to every part of of The Americas, and he does so through, you know, this incredible rapping,

this incredible diversity of sounds. He has jazz. He has old school American hip-hop. He has R&B. He has disco. He has dance hall. He has horns. He has deep electronic beats alike.

I mean, you will find something you like on this record. Felix, I swear to you. I did. I heard a lot of stuff I liked on this record. The tracks that you played for me, something stood out a little bit. A little bit. This is like a level up for Therno. This is a whole other playing feel for him.

See, this is why Issa has the title she has in the system, and your title is just host. Boring, snooze. Okay, thank you for sticking out for me, Issa. Because of that, you get to go next. What do you have? Oh, my God. Okay, so one of my favorite albums of the year so far

has been Orquillas by Caliuchis. This is the last track on that record. It's called Damme Bezo slash Muebete. I had to bring that particular song in because I am a sucker for Merengue, and I think Cali does it so well here. There's like a transition later on in the song where it turns into a merengue typical

and you have the accordion come in and it's just like Finca party music. It's really incredible. This whole album I think is such a testament to the fact that Caliuchi shines her brightest in Spanish. It's incredible to me that she had to fight her label for years for them to let her do what she's doing now, which is fully Spanish or mostly Spanish records.

You know, here you have this batty behavior across Bolero, R&B, do what vocals that she's been, you know, more known for in the past. She's got Amapiano in there. And I mean, her features, I think there's this tendency in Latin music sometimes to feel like you're checking boxes of genres or you're checking boxes of collaborations. But she really knows where to put which voice. Like she's got Elfa and JT from City Girls on this hilarious like Dembo Pereo. She has what I think is the best pop use of Pesop Bluma on this really sort of throwback synthi. song. And I think it's just, I love that it's called Ocilias because it's the national flower of her

native Colombia. And I think this is such a lively nod to Caribbean and Colombian party culture and the culture that Caliuchis grew up in. It just makes you want to have like a shot of Aguardiente as you're listening to it. It's a really incredible record. Okay, I'm going to change the mood a little bit as I'm, as I do very often. I'm, you know, I'm kind of in a mellow mood halfway through the year. Because the tracks that I brought in are kind of mellow. You're always in a mellow mood. I'm going to think about that one.

What is the Grateful Dead? In a good way, of course. Party anthem? Yeah, that's true. That's true. Okay. I brought in somebody that, I think, Anna, you're the one who told me about her. Her name is La Noa.

I did. Yes, she did. Yeah. She is Catalan. She is a multi-instrumentalist. She's a vocalist. This new record is called A-Dos, which is a a series of duet with people like Jorge Drexler, the jazz singer Cecil McLarence Salvant,

even our favorite Sylvia Perez-Cruz. This is a track with Gabby Moreno, and it has some very, very beautiful classical ladies, classical guitar. Check it out. Okay, I am the guy at the satiricine about esoteric stuff, I know. I've seen it. Can't verify it. He pulls me into it. That's why I like Lao Noa so much because of her sonic approach to music.

This album is a sonic masterpiece, and it reflects the art of selecting compatible voices in every aspect of it. And there are so many ups and downs. It's a very mellow record. I'll give you that. But there's a different kind of intensity. But you know what, Felix, it's mellow, but it's so versatile. It's so dynamic. I mean, you're right.

I did bring this record on earlier in the year, but you wouldn't even know it because I brought on an English language track she did with Jacob Collier. I mean, that is how dynamic she is. And so, yes, for her, it's choosing the right voices, but I think she is so capable of building a beautiful song around so many different types of artists. She's such a musician's musician that really, it's just about bringing talented people together. I mean, she herself said that this record was a bridge between symphony and song,

which I think is exactly what you felt, Felix, and probably what you felt, Issa. I mean, that is really very much her. energy around when this record came out. And I think I said this on the episode where I brought her, Silvana Estrada, put this on her story and she said that she was lucky to exist in the same generation and time as love. That is how, I mean, she has that kind of capability and that energy that she harnesses and puts out into the world. She's like Violeta Parra Kor in that way.

I really love that. Yeah. Nice. The name of the tune is Aung K Suen de Bonito, featuring of course Gabby Moreno. The album is A Dos. And please check out her tiny desk concert. It was recorded in February of 2019. It's stunning.

You're not going to be disappointed. Okay, we're going to move on. Anna, your turn. Here we go. Okay, so this is an artist. His name is Carlos Ares. He's from Spain. I just recently discovered him after, actually,

this record had come out, and I was so blown away by it. I had to bring it in today. The track is Amigo, and the name of the album is Peregrino. I feel as though I feel as though with this record he kind of satisfies my younger indie rock-loving soul a little bit I talk about obviously a lot this scene of young Spanish producers

who are really innovative, really kind of no bars, no rules, just making really interesting stuff. And he's kind of like bordering that scene. He's worked a lot with Paola Sendejas, which she's worked a lot with Sipengana, who's worked a lot with Nati. So there's this kind of whole chain of connection here of these Spanish artists who are making really not your traditional stuff. There is a lot in here. Almost borders on like Beirut sounding to me a little bit with like the indie rock energy of it. But he's very versatile.

He's very interesting. He does a lot of different stuff on the record. He plays with beautiful choral arrangements and string arrangements. But I just, something about it felt very cinematic and visual and unfixed in time. And I really, really loved it. It's giving oasis. I love it. It's very like throwback.

Anxy teenager. I love it. And let's just do a shout out to Spain and the variety of music that's coming out of there right now. It's crazy. It's crazy. This is, it's all over. the place and to mix it even much more fun to listen. Okay.

You are listening to Alt Latino. This is our best of the year so far. 2024. Tadda. 2020. We are listening to our favorite picks of the year so far, and we will be right back. And we're back with our favorite picks of 2024. Okay.

Issa, it's your turn. You have the floor. So I'm sticking with this theme of like the girls do it better in Spanish. for this episode. I don't know if that was the theme, but I'm fully endorsing that one. That's my theme. That's what I'm doing.

That's my agenda here, just so you guys are clear. Where do I sign up? That's perfect. I'll demo you a request. This is Angelica Garcia, but this song is an English, disclaimer.

It's called Gemini off her album Hemelho. So I did select one of the songs that is in English, but Angelica Garcia is Salvadoran, Mexican, American, She grew up between East L.A. and Virginia, and she started out doing this sort of like Southern rock bluesy sound. But then her last album, Chacha Palace, which she performed at the Tiny Desk in 2020, was this like explosion of central American chicano identity. And I think this album is such a good parallel to that because it's sort of like an implosion within her.

It starts out as sort of a meditation into, you know, understanding grief and understanding spirituality. And then the second half of the record just sort of explodes. It has production from Carlos Arevalo from Chicano Batman, which I think you can really hear on this track with those drums and that guitar. And I think through all these different sounds, like she's doing cumbia, she's doing like electro pop, she's doing indie rock. Her voice just freaking carries. Like it's really incredible.

She layers these harmonies. She can go from like a falsetto to this really gutter old dark place. I mean, it's a very magnetic record. I really love it. And what's really incredible to me, Issa, is we talked about this record a little bit earlier, or at least a couple of the singles, earlier on in the year. And I almost find it hard to believe that this track is off that same record

because there really is an immense variety and immense difference to what she's doing here. But I will say that pain that you're talking about, that she toys with so much, it's present in her voice throughout me. Like, that is very much consistently, there and something she brings up. And she talks about the spirit and the body as twins on this

record. And I think that this is that exploration of the pain that bridges those things. And every time, every angle that she explores it with feels just as beautiful and just as unique to her. And just as new. Like every single track is just go somewhere completely unexpected, I think.

So that's the track Gemini off Angelica Garcia's album Hemelho. And me being the Spotify geek that I am, I made a playlist I made a playlist of artists like Launa, the artists that we were going to play on the show, Kali Uchis, Angelica Garcia. And when you put it on random, it works so well.

Even though they're stylistically so different, but that's the beauty of it all. It's really, really a lot of fun to put on random. All Latino, the unofficial, we love a good female vocals show. It's true. It's always been the case. A strong female vocalist. Oh, you know, you joke, but almost from the beginning of the show in 2010, it's always a female vocalist who pop out for some reason.

For some reason. You suddenly up to her title again. Stop. All right, Felix. What's your last pick? Take it away. Okay. Still in a mellow mood.

I'm going to drop. Why are you guys laughing at me? I'm sorry. I'm going to drop. some jazz in today. So I'm going to turn to the jazz saxophone. Yeah, you are, Felix. I have jazz saxophone.

Let's go. You're going to whip it off? Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Oh, my God, you guys. That's the record of the year. Stop, stop, stop.

I'm going to keep the way. women artist groove going with Melissa Aldana. Jazz saxophoners from Chile. Her album is called Echoes of the Interprofit. This is a little bit of the track called I Know You Know. Okay, everyone in the room now is looking at me. Like, okay, Felix, you just completely stopped the party. But let me just...

I support you. Okay, but let me just say, you know, I think Melissa Aldana's music is a great introduction for people who are, let's say you're fan of Torano or some of these other artists, it's a great way to be introduced to jazz as a way of expressing emotion that is usually done through lyrics, but in this case, through this very, very introspective and beautiful sound between her saxophone and the guitar.

And I think that that's the beauty of jazz, and that's another way to get all of these emotions that we promote in every other way on the show, but through instrumental music. And Melissa Aldana is part of this young wave of musicians who come from Latin American countries. She's from Chile, who some of them reflect some of their own cultural background, but others just immerse themselves in the tradition of jazz and make a mark that way. And Melissa Aldana is one of those artists in the forefront of that. What emotion do you hear in that exchange between the guitar and the sax?

Contemplation, thinking about bigger things, thinking about our place in life. This whole record is really about looking within, because it's dedicated to Wayne Shorter, saxophonist, Wayne Shorter, who was the epitome of introspective music, but also very expressive. So to me, this whole record is about digging deep within yourself and trying to find out more about yourself

through just listening. There's a camaraderie, there's a communication, there's also an emotion. And the same thing, whether you're in a studio in Argentina, making hip hop or whether you're in a studio in New York making a jazz album, it's still all about communication

and it's all about expressing, getting on the same playing field, and then expressing that so that we can all take it in. Well, it's funny, Felix, because this is also an homage. I mentioned earlier that Trojano's record is an homage to all of these greats

and hip-hop, mostly American hip-hop artist. So it's like, why is a Chilean jazz artist doing an homage to Wayne Shorter? Because he's the goat. Yep, that's pretty much it. Wayne Schroeder was a giant walk in the earth. He passed away in 2023, and he left this trail of fans all over the world. He left this amazing set of music.

And this album is an homage to him and his influence and what he meant personally to Melissa Aldana. And it can change from day to day. I could listen to this six months from now and hear celebration and joy or reverence or contemplation. It just depends on where your own headspace is and what you want to get out of it. Yeah, and I think there's something particular about it being an instrumental track

and an instrumental album. Like, that contemplation comes through way more than if you were listening to a vocalist, in my opinion, or at least that's how I feel when I listen to jazz or when I listen to instrumental music. I think those emotions, I don't know, they just resonate more than if you're listening to somebody's lyricism over it. There was one album that all three of us agreed that was really one of the best of the years so far.

I don't know. Issa, you lead us up. Tell us about this record. The record is Graza by Nati Peluso. I have to admit, I have not historically been a huge Nati Peluso fan. But this album, the minute I hit play, it was, it just blew me away. This is the track Legendario, off Grasa by Nati Peluso. You know, the music of Tia to go to dream. The funny thing about all of this is this record made its way.

It started with Issa. Issa texts me, she goes, you have to listen to this record. I'm not usually a Nati fan, but you have to listen to this record. I listen to the record. I'm like, Felix, I'm trapping you in the car until you listen to this record. I was giving you a right home and we played it. And it got all of us. It really did because that's how amazing this record is.

There's so many stylistic changes, but the through line is her musical vision. Absolutely. And her voice has never been so strong. I mean, literally, but also in that way. I mean, the vision, she's played with things like salsa before. In her past record, she did that, but she didn't quite know, I think, how to paint with it yet in the way that she does it here, you know? Because anyone can play with some of the best sounds, some of the most vibrant things that we have, right? And I do think salsa is one of those, like, you know, choosing to play with, like, old Vincent Van Gogol oil paint. as opposed to like the watercol as you pick up at Michaels or whatever. Like, add a salsa sound into your record and it's going to be something interesting. But then she knows how to really dial it up and paint something beautiful with it. And that's what she did here. And I'm so blown away by all the switchups. What is accentuated here is the rap that that is at her core.

That's the core of this record and that's what carries it. But she does it and accentuates it in so many different beautiful ways. I think it comes back to that idea of it doesn't feel like she's doing salsa by just, you know, checking a box of having done salsa. like there is this cohesion throughout the album, even when she's working with someone like Blood Orange, who you wouldn't expect. I mean, I think this is like El Madrigue Motomami level work.

So it's really exciting to see her bring in, even a collaborator like Dev Hines, who is coming from a complete other corner of the music industry, but there's such synergy in the way that they work together. And I think, you know, Nati's vocals just really, really got me. I am a Nati Peluso convert after this record. And you know, actually, Felix, you're going to like this. She scrapped her whole original record and she was like, it's not my vision.

Because like you said, you can pick up. Her vision is very clear. And she was like, I just made this whole other record and it's not sitting right with me. And you know what's crazy? The legendary Argentine rockero Fito Pai is actually gave her the advice to pay attention to what she really wanted to do. So she actually ended up throwing the songs out. Graza is the name of the record.

The artist is Nati Peluso. Okay, there was so much great music released this year that it's impossible to school. squeeze it in. We did the best we could with these tracks that we have so far. We're going to squeeze in a couple of more honorable mentions. The first album I have is My Legria from guitarist Fabi Reina and her group, Reina Tropical. The second album I have is from Daimé Arocena. It's called Alchemy. It's her high watermark. It's the best, best stuff so far. Okay, my honorable mentions, you know I have to bring in a Venezuelan artist. So when he wasn't beefing with Residenete, Acapela, somehow found time to make this album. Pedro Elias, just straight up hip-hop a really good time.

And then, of course, the Marias just put out an album called Submarine. This is going to be the TikTok earworm of the summer. I'm saying it right now. But again, just a really dancey, fun time. I love the marias. So my first honorable mention, I have to mention the Grupo Frontera record. I think we all loved this one.

It just came out. It's called Hugando Ake no Pasa None. My second honorable mention is Sionara Alvaro Diyaz out of Puerto Rico. This is his record he just released. It's amazing. What an amazing collection of records. What great company to talk about music with. Issa Voma Sarmiento, thank you so much for joining us this week.

Thank you. You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music. Get editorial support from Hazel Sills. And the woman who keeps us on track is Grace Chun. The Great Walking Cutler cuts all this audio and makes a great podcast out of it every week. And our executive producer is Soraya Mohamed. Our hefein chief is Keith Jenkins, VP of Music and Visuals. I'm Felix Contreras.

And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Thanks so much for listening.