On our Radar: New music by Saso, Colectro, Mula feat Tittsworth & Dave Nada, plus a perreo mix by Bembona
30 September, 2020What can be said about 2020 that already hasn’t been lamented ad nauseam?
This COVID-19 saturated (cursed?) year is one that took live music and dance floors away from us, for the most part. But as we enter a new season here in New York City, where I type this very story, artists, musicians and DJs from around the world have continued to pump out work that feeds our very souls. And, so, we provide the following tunes as a respite.
DJ Bembona’s ‘Pidieron Perreo’ Mix
Bembona (real name: Xiomara Marie Henry) gifts her fans the first installment to her “Pidieron Perreo” mixtape series. This sonic historical journey through Perreologia, all from a Black, Nuyorquina, Boricua-Panameña lens, is sure to make you shake it.
Mula, Tittsworth, Dave Nada: ‘Somos Quienes’
Dave Nada and longtime collaborator, DJ and producer, Jesse Tittsworth, of Hermanito teamed up with the Dominican ‘future music’ trio MULA once again for their Moombahton Massive 10 Year Anniversary collection, which features various artists. “Somos Quienes” contains Mula’s dreamy vocals over fast paced and fun beats, and our friends at KCRW called it one of the best songs of 2020 so far. We tend to agree.
Colectro: ‘Como Tú No Hay Nadie’
A champeta-tinged urbano love song from Colombia’s Colectro? Yes, please.
The band has been practicing a form of musical expression dubbed coletera since 2005. As they told us 2012:
“It’s a blend of music from the Caribbean coast and an ensemble of many tastes all emanating from the music and folklore from our land—the Caribbean. That’s the common thread among our band members—we go through life immersed in this music, using it as a language.”
Their music is always passionate, with lyrics about ‘el vacile,’ or odes to women and the folklore of the cultures that inspires them. “Como tú no hay nadie,” has pure romantic lyrics (“there’s no one like you”), and while the track contains traces of champeta, a more modern urbano sound is prominent.
Saso & DJ Guari: ‘Suéltate’
This summer in New York City kind of felt like kind of a cheat. Outdoor concerts and festivals were canceled, and in their place, underground street and park parties planned on the sly. The Bronx-based Saso encapsulates that natural New York City street summer energy in his latest track, “Suéltate.’
A collaboration with DJ Guari, the song’s video shows the good folks uptown in the Bronx, where one could say New York City summer energy is bottled and distributed, involved one classic street party, meat on the grill, fire hydrant water on blast, and more.
“Sin Saso no se cocina [Without Saso, there’s no cooking],” the Bronx born artist brags at the track’s opening. Its chorus, “Pasame la hookah,” brings on a sudden craving for apple tobacco. Watch below.
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