This week we’re exploring Mexican and South American sounds, like bossa nova, cumbia, musica tropicale with a touch of psychedelia. The sounds are mysterious and don’t take themselves too seriously, while still being expertly arranged and unique for their innovative characteristics, particularly when it comes to genre-bending. The playlist is perfect for al fresco dinners and drinking wine on a porch when the weather is just slightly too humid.
If you’re reading this as it comes out, I’m driving across Colorado to visit a good friend lives outside of Telluride. Forgive me, we’ll have to keep it short this week. Pepe Jaramillo was a staple of the Mexican lounge sound in the mid-century — his piano playing was effortless and simple. The ¡AHORA! compilation by Coco Maria is a must. Maria is a Mexican-born, Europe-based selector and DJ whose taste skews toward the high vibration, genre-defying sounds of South and Central American, Brazil, The Caribbean and beyond. We move on to Célia, a Brazilian singer, whose sound is effervescent, like the lightest of summer’s days. We hop-skip to Germany, where DJ duo Mo’Horizon’s is breaking all of the rules and sampling from every genre they can get their hands. Seriously. Their biography says their music can be described as a mixture of “downtempo, acid-jazz, nu jazz, soul, funk, dub, trip hop, big beat, bossa nova, boogaloo and drum'n'bass,” which reads less as a description and more like a menu of sonic delicacies. We end with Gracias by José José, an absolute star of Latin music, whose song Tranquilo ends up on nearly every playlist I make, regardless of genre.
¡Disfruta!
The weekly playlist
Monday
La Fiesta Mexicana - Pepe Jaramillo (1958)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
¡AHORA! The Latin Sound of Now - Coco Maria (Compilation)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Dose Dupla Célia - Célia (1970s)
Spotify / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Remember Tomorrow - Mo’Horizons (2001)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Gracias - José José (1981)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with
Chile Relleno. An impressive weekend meal!! It’s not super complex, but takes a little bit of care to put together.
Bichi Rosa. A Mexican natural wine full of flavor that is perfect to pair with any outdoor barbecue, like chicken fajitas or fish tacos. Plus, read this nice little write up of Mexican natural wine.
Chilean Poet: A Novel by Alejandro Zambra. “What's the purpose of being with someone if they don't change your life? She said that, and Julio was present when she said it: that life only had purpose if you found someone who changed it, who destroyed your life.”
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.