Dawn, album by ALBA Musik. Powerhouse vocalist Bárbara Martínez and master guitarist Albert Alabedra have blended the rhythms of flamenco with salsa, pop, funk, blues – you name it, in a hypnotic 7-song album that will keep your energy up all day. Stream on Spotify. Spanish
Earthquake, single by Kris Angelis. Angelis does it again. The award-winning songbird gets a little crazy with a punchy clap beat, soaring gut-grabbing vocals, and a hook that won’t let you go And she has put out a dance version. Stream/buy on Bandcamp.
Desde Lejos, single by Ley Line. The four women of Austin’s fast-rising multilingual folk fusion group sing a poetic samba about the far distance (desde lejos in Spanish) good works can travel. Beautiful, hypnotic, unique. Stream on Spotify. Spanish
Bring Back Samba, album by Gafierira Rio Miami. The 10 men and 1 woman of this high, high-energy band pump out Gafieira (a type of samba danced in pairs) with a big, band sound that is impossible not to move to. They are happiness with musical notes. Stream on all major platforms.
“¿Dónde se llora, cuando se llora?”, single by Francisca Valenzuela. Singer, songwriter, model, businesswoman, activist – she seems to have it all, yet Valenzuela has produced a song that explores the private grief of the public façade of adults. Powerful, so powerful. Her voice, composition, soaring arrangement, and simple question almost stops your heart, while they start your tears. Stream on all major platforms. Video on YouTube. Spanish
All Love Begins with You, single by Dessy Di Lauro. You can’t move forward until you love yourself – we are our own beauty standard, is the message of DiLauro’s solo project. Half of the hep hep jazz duo Parlor Social, DiLauro uses her unique, almost painfully beautiful voice to carry her message. Put this one on repeat. Stream on Spotify.
BONUS
Untitled, by Raquel Denis . Rising young singer in English and Spanish. Check her first song out on Spotify.
