This week in El Sonido we'll be traveling to South America, Europe, the Pacific Northwest and then all around the world discovering a wide variety of folk, electronics and gritty rock and roll.
To kick it off I'm going to offer up two complete KEXP live performances from one of my absolute favorite artists from the Northwest (originally from Colima, Mexico and now living in Portland), Edna Vázquez. Her live set on El Sonido from the fall of 2014 brought me to tears with her passionate performance and her general spirit for life. She's very candid during the interview about her life story, expression and being yourself. And her singing... my goodness, you feel her. She's a jewel. We had her back on KEXP in July of 2015 with a live Pickathon performance, acoustic with cajon in the woods. Both sets are outstanding. Make sure and give her albums a listen, including her new one Sola Soy.
Next up we'll head south to check out a great new remix from the Buenos Aires-based Colombian/Argentine duo Lulacruza who've been live on El Sonido before and mentioned in a previous blog post here. They've got an amazing blend of South American folk and electronics and are perfect foder for some dope remixes. Ecuadorian producer Nicola Cruz made quite a splash in 2015 with his incredibly organic flavor that drips with the sounds of the Amazon and beats with the heart of the Andes. His debut full-length Prender el Alma is a hypnotic fusion of tradition and future and made my top ten of 2015 list. He's a natural choice to remix Lulacruza's "Uno Resuena," and I'm honored to debut the result, released in partnership with Black Swan Sounds. Cool, crisp and liquid.
As a change of pace we move next to the Brighton/Amsterdam-based Afro-Venezuelan/Portuguese group Fumaça Preta. I adore their heavy rock, voodoo psych groove and happily recommend checking their latest 45 single on Soundway. The A-side, "La Trampa," is a Venezuelan slang opera from hell while the flip, "Apelo," is a twisted cover of Paulo Bagunça's Brazilian classic. Murky magnificence that you can get down to.
To finish things off I've got a brand spanking new mixtape to share with you. "Los Bajos Vibran En Mi Pecho" is an official KEXP Music That Matters podcast that's full of some of my favorite Latin electronics from 2015, featuring different styles from all around the globe. Download available here.
Chilly hosts El Sonido every Monday night from 6-9 PM. Follow Chilly on Twitter and El Sonido on Facebook and Twitter.
“We carry it now as a badge of honor,” says Miguel Ramirez, percussionist of Los Angeles group La Santa Cecilia, “to say that we are immigrants or children of immigrants.” After the band had stopped by KEXP a few months earlier to perform live I reached out over the phone so we could talk a bit mor…
