Records from a diverse community of Latin musicians in the Americas and around the world can be found on Bandcamp. Each month, Maria Barrios will cover the best in cumbia, Afro-Latin dance music, Latin soul, bossa nova, and everything in between. March’s edition features a standout effort from Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas, salsa music from Venezuela, dark beats from Mexico, and much more.
Amaro Freitas
Y’Y
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Inspired by his stay in Manaus, a city in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas transcends on his fourth full-length album, Y’Y. On Y’Y, dreamlike avant-jazz compositions create a meditation on nature, our presence on ancestral lands, and the spiritual world that keeps communities together. Using a prepared piano (a concert piano with small objects between its strings), bird sounds, soft vocalizations, and percussive accents, Freitas builds music that, like the Amazon River, feels vast—with songs ranging from ethereal (“Viva Naná”) to ominous (“Dança dos Martelos”). Freitas’ Y’Y is an exquisitely crafted album—a free-flowing ode to Brazilian land and a testament to the country’s forward-thinking musical tradition with collaborations from A-list musicians such as guitarist Jeff Parker, harpist Brandee Younger, and drummer Hamid Drake. One of the most memorable records of the year.
Various Artists
INF003: Discomoda Salsa de Venezuela 1964–1977
2 x Vinyl LP
Highlighting the catalog of music company Discomoda (one of the first record labels in Venezuela), Discomoda Salsa de Venezuela 1964–1977 compiles the best salsa tracks by Caraqueño groups like Los Satélites, Los Megatones de Lucho, and Los Kenya. Emerging from the orchestra and big band scene that dominated the city in the early ’60s, and taking a cue from New York styles like bugalú and salsa dura, Venezuelan salsa had its prolific run—with Discomoda becoming one of the top-selling record labels in the world. Nods to Cuban rhythms such as descarga and guaguancó and humorous, puffed-up lyrics about being the best salsero, or even the best lover, populate the tracks on Discomoda Salsa de Venezuela 1964-1977. This compilation speaks to a particular moment in time: a melding of Afro-Caribbean music and South American swagger that undoubtedly made its mark.
Chicano Batman
Notebook Fantasy
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
On Notebook Fantasy, their fifth album, long-running Los Angeles band Chicano Batman dreams big. Teaming up with famed producer John Congleton (who has worked with St. Vincent, Sky Ferreira, and Erykah Badu, amongst others), the band delivers a slick release; all glossy synthesizers, glam rock guitars, and clever pop melodies. Soul vocals, giant guitar riffs, and California rock sensibilities (think something outlandish, like “Santana meets HAIM”) shine on the record’s clear, stadium-ready mixes—in Congleton’s hands, the band’s talent soars. Standout tracks like “Notebook Fantasy” and “Beautiful Daughter” speak to Chicano Batman’s musical prowess. Elevating what the group started with past hits like “Black Lipstick” (from 2015) and “Freedom Is Free” (from 2017), Notebook Fantasy makes for a danceable, fun-loving, and sophisticated listen.
Thee Sinseers
Sinceerly Yours
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP
Self-described as “East L.A. soul and R&B,” Thee Sinseers is a nine-musician ensemble based in California. Complete with a brass section and multiple vocalists, the group’s style could be described as half Chicano soul, half Daptone Records. On Sinseerly Yours, their debut album, the group achieves an impeccable collection of compelling songs. Polished vocals, smooth saxophone arrangements, and straightforward lyrics about love and romantic loss make for a sleek tracklist, with singers Adriana Flores and Joey Quiñones delivering unforgettable performances in “It’s Such A Shame” and “Sinseerly Yours.” So good it can be played twice.
Various Artists
Ansonia Records Presents – Salsa Con Estilo – Dance Floor Gems from the Vaults: 1950s–1980s
2 x Vinyl LP
Capturing “the popular sounds of the Caribbean, Spain, South America and beyond,” New York label Ansonia Records left its mark on the Latin American diaspora. With a catalog spanning over three decades that includes Puerto Rican folklore, Afro-Cuban rhythms such as guaracha, son montuno, and much more, the label is a crucial archive of the rich exchange between immigrant communities and the sounds of their homelands. Split into two parts, one showcasing the styles that made the roots of salsa, and the other, the heavy hitters that rode the wave of the music’s peak in the ’70s, Ansonia Records Presents – Salsa Con Estilo – Dance Floor Gems from the Vaults: 1950s–1980s is a perfect introduction for those not familiar with the label. Memorable performances by trombonist Mon Rivera and larger-than-life party legends Gilberto Sextet and Frankie Figueroa (who was known as “Mr. Style”) are prime examples of the big salsa sound of the era. Other highlights include “Papa Upa,” where pioneer Arsenio Rodríguez dazzles with a tres solo, and “Que Corto Es El Amor,” where Puerto Rican maverick (and TV personality) Myrta Silva nails, with bravado, the classic “Que Corto Es El Amor.” This compilation documents a vital part of Latin music history: salsa’s inception and its endless appeal.
Opuntia
Mercurio
Vinyl LP
Based in Mexico City, Opuntia is the solo project of producer Camila de Laborde. On Mercurio, her first album, Laborde explores dark electronic textures, delicate vocalizations, and spaced-out beats. Chasm-like and expansive, the songs on Mercurio vary in tone and intensity. From the fragile, twinkly embellishes of “Meketer” and “Hold,” to the sharp synthesizers on “Low Machine” and the sampled dog barks in “Howl,” the music on Mercurio (Spanish for “Mercury”), changes forms: ranging from quiet, dreamlike compositions to obscure tracks where lovelessness and desire rear their heads. An engaging debut, Mercurio finds its home, comfortably, in the interesting stream of experimental releases of the last two years. If Maria BC, Stefana Fratila, Lucy Liyou, or Estrella del Sol ring a bell, you will find yourself right at home in Opuntia’s melodies.
Mueran Humanos
Reemplazante
Vinyl LP
“Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again,” wrote New York poet Frank O’Hara in 1957 in dedication to Russian-Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. On “Desastre Personal,” the opening track of Reemplazante, Argentine-born, Berlin-based duo Mueran Humanos touches on that feeling—the calamity of the self, and how it might be tied to art, love, and creation. “Watch out and welcome to my personal disaster,” howls vocalist Carmen Burguess, assuming the role of both the actress and the tormentor with the same ease she’s been displaying since the band started, back in 2007. Their debut single predicted their musical path by way of transfiguration. Since that release, the band has continued to employ the jagged, brooding basslines brought forth by Tomás Nochteff, vocals drenched in reverb and echo and harsh, industrial drum beats—Mueran Humanos creates their metallic sound, where songs flow between redemption and horror. “Innocent and sad I look at you from above, you don’t allow yourself to hold my joy,” the duo sings together in the album’s title track. In Reemplazante, Mueran Humanos remains fearless and beautifully enmeshed—for better or worse.
Banda Filarmónica San Francisco De Lachaqui
La Mejor Fiesta
“Peru Huayno, very rare,” reads a cryptic description on Discogs of La Mejor Fiesta, by Peruvian orchestra Banda Filarmónica San Francisco De Lachaqui. With no liner notes or context for the release, I was able to find out, through YouTube footnotes, that the members of the band (17, to be exact) hailed from a rural community with pre-Hispanic roots, and were directed by bandleader Samuel Fuertes Villar. Hired to play parties, funerals, and religious festivities, the band earned their keep, with tracks ranging from cumbia (“La Naranjadita”) to the band’s free take on a happy birthday song (so far from the one Americans know, I tried to search for “Peruvian Birthday Songs,” to no avail). Relentless horns, triumphant percussion, and a contagious energy that never falters create the unique music (and memory) of Banda Filarmónica San Francisco De Lachaqui. It would be great to know more.
Salsa Suprema
En La Conquista Del Mundo Latino
Vinyl LP
A native of San Agustin, in Caracas, Afro-Venezuelan singer Larry Francia started his career at age 12 as a backup singer in a local salsa orchestra. Information on Francia’s background is scarce but Salsa Suprema’s first album, En La Conquista Del Mundo Latino, is proof of his power and natural charm as a bandleader. Covers of Sonora Matancera’s “Que Corto Es El Amor” (the second in this list) and Arsenio Rodriguez’s classic “Papa Upa,” showcase effervescent, free-flowing performances; all earnest vocals, polished guajeos, and mind-blowing trombones. Born out of a chance meeting between Venezuelan record collector Miguel Álvarez and Francia (who met right before Francia passed away, in 2023) the reissue of Salsa Suprema’s En La Conquista Del Mundo Latino is a beautiful testament to Francia’s short-lived but memorable career as a salsa singer.
