Prezident Markon’s New Singles Round-Up (Joan Sebastian & Sinego, Hyldon, Julia Mestre, Los Pirañas, Alex Cuba and more)
20 February, 2025Spring is in the air. You can tell by the number of singing birds and the proliferation of new singles from around the Latin world.
El León Pardo: “Cumbia Especial”
Last month, I selected “La Perica” from Viaje Sideral, the second album by the trumpeter and player of indigenous flutes who is or was a member of the UK/Colombian Mestizo project. There’s another single out now while we wait for the album’s imminent appearance. It’s another dazzling chapter of the album’s titular space voyage.
Edison Machado: “Janeiro”
“Long lost albums” can flatter to deceive, I’ve found, but Far Out’s discovery of a double album of Brazilian jazz from 1978 by drummer Edison Machado and his group Boa Nova is a worthwhile resurrection, especially for jazz fans. The lead single, a long funky piece in the vein of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the soul-jazz combos of Horace Silver and “Cannonball” Adderley, is representative of an enjoyable, foot-tapping album that’s built around tight ensemble playing and crisp solos. And dig those suits, man.
Joan Sebastian & Sinego: “Secreto d’Amor (La Noche)”
What might to some seem sacrilegious – souping up heartfelt regional Mexican ballads for the dance-floor – actually turns out rather well. This is the first of a series of such “re-imaginations” by the Latin DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sinego of four of Sebastian’s classic numbers. It came out appropriately enough on Valentine’s Day and somehow manages to conserve the inherent passion of the song. The others will follow throughout the year and the collected EP will be available in the summer.
Los Pambelé: “Cannabis”
We have Fruko to blame or thank, depending on your stance, for this chunk of riotous organ-led Colombian salsa. It’s backed on a 7” single by a terrific complementary helping of Peruvian cumbia/rock by Los Darlings de Huanuco, “Marihuana”. A weed-tastic reissue by Vampisoul that carries a government health warning: over-indulgence can damage your health.
Pambelé: “Mujer Perfecta”
The first single (I believe) from an album that I’ve just reviewed for Songlines. Great vocals, great gaita, great guitar- and ensemble-playing all add up to a toothsome taste of a very nice first album from this Afro-Colombian septet. As you might guess from the title and the video, the single is a paean to female solidarity.
Alex Figueira: “Monumental Bowl”
I suppose if anyone’s going to write a number about a monumental bowl (perhaps for an oversized portion of muesli), it’s going to be this maverick Venezuelan bandleader based in Amsterdam. His Latin sextet’s Fruta Madura was given five stars and a slot in Songlines’ “Top of the World” compilation a while back. This beguiling piece of anarchic psychedelic electronica comes from Figueira’s forthcoming Colliding Layers on the aptly named Jazzaggression Records.
Hyldon: “Favela do Rio de Janeiro”
The latest Jazz Is Dead collaboration with Brazilian musicians is number 23 in the series, this one an album co-written by producer Adrian Younge with Hyldon, revered by Younge as a pioneer of the “Black Rio” movement for “the way he mixed the sound of The Beatles with that of Marvin Gaye and Tim Maia.” Hyldon says of the single, “There’s no place like Rio, and the favela ‘bailes’ are the best!” Judge for yourselves.
Julia Mestre: “Sou Fera”
Still with Brazil, here’s the first single from the upcoming solo album by another constituent part of the brilliant Bala Desejo. Like Dora Morelenbaum before her, it’s courtesy of Mr. Bongo and, based on this single, it should be a sunny, joyful delight. Produced by the artist herself, it’s essential listening in these dark times.
SUX: “Just One More Drink”
From chalk to cheese – courtesy of The Shorts’ Andreza Michel’s solo project, SUX. She, too, is a Brazilian singer, but this is dark and moody with echoes of groups like The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. A song perhaps for a barfly at closing time, desperate for one more dose of alcohol to anaesthetise the soul.
Los Pirañas: “El Nuevo Prometeo”
On a similar punkish trajectory, we shift our focus to Colombia and one of Eblis Alvarez’s many projects. Here the artist better known as Meridian Brothers hooks up with friends from his teenage years in a power trio of guitar, bass and drums. The single is the first from their new album due next month, Una Oportunidad más de triunfar en la vida (One more chance to succeed in life). It’s out on Glitterbeat, which in itself should give an idea of its off-kilter aesthetic.
Rita Donte: “Zunzun Baba”
Newly signed to the estimable Ansonia Records is one Cuban-born singer currently based in Mexico. Consequently, the single and the album it’s taken from, Ritual, also due next month, display classic Cuban influences with a Mexican twist. Here, the singer’s lovely voice is hitched to traditional percussion and choral voices with quietly stunning results.
Calle Mambo: “La Peregrina (live)”
I guess a new live video equals a new single. In any case, it’s well worth recording that this dynamic outfit will be touring Europe, starting in Montluꞔon, France on the 12th April. And even more to the point, the song and the performance are full of the joys of spring (as one might say).
Lateena X Bony Fly: “Diva Night”
And now for some dancehall rhythms from… Switzerland. Well, the Jamaican-born Lateena Plummer labels herself the “Dancehall Queen of Switzerland” and the forthcoming album, Wicked Girl Era, will appear on the out-there Swiss label, Bongo Joe. Lateena wants “people to feel free, feel alive again, feel empowered, and feel their inner self and inner beauty.” I’m not quite sure whether this covers all those bases, but in the capable hands of producer Bony Fly the single certainly gives it its best shot
F.A.V. y Tino Amor: “Cute”
Here’s another Valentine’s Day release, this time from the Costa Rican duo F.A.V. and Tino Amor. Their fusion of cumbia, pop, hip-hop and electronic music serves as a vehicle for a song about the emotional vertigo of falling in love. And yes, it is rather cute in its lovesick, lolloping way.
Pantéon Rococó: “Cha-Cha Love”
Back in November I featured the first single from the forthcoming new album by this Mexican band that has clocked up almost 30 years together. The second is the title track from that album and it’s a veritable eruption of the horn-driven ska that characterises their signature sound. It’s produced by Mike Pellanconi, who’s better known to lovers of ska and reggae as Prince Fatty.
Alex Cuba: “El Día Más Triste”
Time now to slow down the pace with the new single from the Grammy-winning Cuban-Canadian singer songwriter, Alex Cuba (this month’s “front cover”). It’s rather nice and certainly enhances his burgeoning reputation as one of the Caribbean’s leading songsmiths. It is I’m told about transforming hurt into understanding and it also happens to mark the tour of the U.S. that he has just embarked on. I’m also flabbergasted to learn that the next album, due in the autumn, will be his 11th.
David Lindes: “Jardineiro”
Somehow, our Mr. Cuba finds the time to produce other artists – such as this singer-songwriter with Guatemalan roots who lives in Salt Lake City. Listening to it, you can discern Cuba’s touch and understand why he was attracted to this minstrel’s music. It’s a rather lovely foretaste of a forthcoming new album entitled Peace With A Lion. Could be a good ‘un.
Francisca Valenzuela: “Nada Para Ti (Acústico)”
The ‘Frisco-born Chilean singer’s latest single is an acoustic version of a song from her Grammy-nominated album, Adentro. In fact, it was previously only made available on the deluxe vinyl version. A song about love, loss and self-discovery, it seems to my ears to better suit this restrained stripped-down reinterpretation.
Allexa Nava: “Cycles/Circles”
The Peruvian-born saxophonist and flautist has made a mark for herself on the contemporary UK jazz scene – and listening to her debut single, a track from her imminent EP, No Language, one can well understand why. Her work here on the alto sax is assured and quietly distinctive, while the slightly spacey accompaniment keeps you attentive throughout.
Jarliama: “Little Trumpet”
Still (very loosely) on a jazz kick, this frothy morsel of electro swing comes from an Italo-Mexican singer based in Olbia, Sardinia where the video was shot (in Cagliari). It’s very sweet and quite harmless.
Carolina Oliveros: “Asfixia”
Just before I run totally out of steam, here’s something rather splendid from a singer born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and based in Brooklyn. This is her first single as a solo artist; she’s rather better known for her work with Combo Chimbita among other outfits. The single is the first track of an album that she co-produced with Jacob Plasse of Orquesta Akokán fame.
I’m flagging. I’m off. All things being equal, there’ll be more to come in March.
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