De Musica Ligera - The Best for Last

“Latintronica” is a musical genre that can succinctly be described as electronica fused with traditional Latin music. Perhaps one of the most known exponents in recent years of “latintronica” is the Tijuana-based group Nortec Collective. For the past fifteen years, the members of Nortec have earned critical praise for their unique mixing of electronic and techno sounds with elements of Mexico’s Tambora and Norteño musical traditions.  Yet as the cliché goes, “All good things must come to an end” and that is the case with Nortec who will disband this year.

Prior to retiring Nortec will release one final album on September 16th, which possibly not coincidentally is Mexico’s Independence Day.  Entitled Motel Baja, the album is the final entry in Nortec duo’s Bostich + Fussible Border Trilogy and includes collaborators like the Tom Tom Club and Wolfgang Flur of Kraftwerk.

"We really enjoyed working with Nortec Collective. Their sound is filled with freshness and vigor," observed Tom Tom Club's Chris Frantz.

The first single from Motel Baja, “Camino Verde” was released earlier this month and you can listen to it in the embedded video at the top of this post.  On Wednesday another single from the album was released.  “Room Service” was described by Fussible (real name: Pepe Mogt) as “one of those romantic songs that you’d hear in a Tijuana hotel room” that blends the “classic norteño sound of Mexican music from old times, but still has the electronic edge characteristic of the Nortec sound.”

“Room Service” can be heard by clicking this link to The Onion’s A.V. Club. 

Motel Baja can be pre-ordered via iTunes.

De Musica Ligera: Tunes of ‘08

2008 is about to come to an end but before that why not enjoy some primo songs from the past year? Juanes, Sergio Mendes, and Julieta Venegas were a few of the great artists who released new and exciting music over the past year. The wide range of tunes released this year by Latin American/Latino musicians can satisfy just about every musical taste as evidenced by some of the exceptional songs below:

• Aterciopelados – 28 (Don’t forget to revisit our interview with Hector Buitrago!)
• Banda de Turistas - Todo mio el otonio (Very poppy, 60s- tinged music from an underrated Argentine band)
• Breeders - Regalame Esta Noche (Kelley Deal may not be fluent in Spanish but her emotion cannot be ignored in this ballad cover)
• Calexico – Absent Afternoon (Calexico’s music has a great Mexican folkloric sound which must be heard)
• Juana Molina - Un Dia (Sweet, slightly eclectic music from an excellent South American chanteuse)
• Nortec Collective - Akai 47 (One of the best representatives of the “latintronica” genre)
• Pistolera – Guerra (Great song with a political message from this New York-based band)
• Plastilina Mosh – Party (Do you remember Summerstage, Maegan?)
• Sonido Del Principe - El Principe (A Dutch DJ puts a modern tinge on tropical cumbia music)
• Yma Sumac - Bo Mambo (This isn’t a single from 2008, but its worth noting that the Peruvian singer died in November)
  

Image- daylife.com (Colombian rockeros Aterciopelados were one of several great musical groups with new albums and music in 2008)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, yousendit.com

Juanes, Nortec Collective get Grammy nods

Nominations for the Grammy Awards were announced in a glitzy, overhyped ceremony live last night.

Rapper Lil Wayne led the field with eight nominations, closely followed by Coldplay with seven and three artists including Kanye West with six. In addition, John Mayer received five nominations and the Jonas Brothers even got a nod.

(Despite such choices I haven’t totally lost my faith in humanity…yet).

Colombian Juanes- who dominated the Latin Grammys last month- was nominated for Best Latin Pop Album. That same category also included Mexico’s Luis Miguel (he’s still around?) and Argentine Jorge Drexler (who I thought would be snubbed).

Speaking of snubs, there were some surprise non-choices made in other Latin music categories. Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Kany Garcia won best new artist at the Latin Grammys but was shut out last night. Mexican rockeros Cafe Tacvba won two Latin Grammys but didn’t get a nod in the Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album category. (Nortec Collective and Locos Por Juana were deservedly picked in that category).

You can check out all the nominations here; could Lila Downs or Gilberto Gil upset Youssou N'Dour in Best Contemporary World Music Album?

Image- AP (“Singer Juanes accepts the song of the year award at the 9th annual Latin Grammy Awards on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008 in Houston.”)
Sources- Chicago Sun-Times, New York Times, Reuters, AP