< Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Elsa y Elmar, Julieta Eugenio, Esteman and more

FELIX CONTRERAS, HOST:

Just a quick warning - this episode contains explicit language.

ANAMARIA SAYRE, HOST:

I'm just stating for the record, everyone, you might hear some little birdies.

CONTRERAS: Why would we hear little birdies? Where are you?

SAYRE: I am - I'm on the road, Felix. I'm on the road again.

CONTRERAS: We're going to change your name to Carmen Sandiego.

SAYRE: I've had quite the nutty morning, Felix. My flight was delayed, like, nine hours. We were in Austin together. You left. I stayed, for whatever reason. And they just casually delayed my flight nine hours. So here I am on this weird bench outside with my swimsuit drying and my coffee. At least I have coffee. And I went swimming this morning, Felix, and I have so much chlorine in my eyes I can't even see (laughter).

CONTRERAS: So much drama to start the show.

SAYRE: But (laughter)...

CONTRERAS: So much drama.

SAYRE: I think it's finally time we let everyone know how chaotic my life is. I think it's important that people are fully informed.

CONTRERAS: Yeah, somebody's got to know because it becomes a burden, and it'd be nice to share that burden with other people.

SAYRE: The good news is with great chaos comes great music-listening opportunities.

(LAUGHTER)

CONTRERAS: Nice segue. From NPR Music, this is ALT.LATINO. I'm Felix Contreras.

SAYRE: And I'm Anamaria Sayre. Let the chisme begin.

CONTRERAS: And let the new music begin. Because that's what we're doing - new music today. You're out on the road. I'm here in Washington, D.C. But that doesn't stop us from presenting new music. And I got to say, we are coming at this this week from completely different directions.

SAYRE: I...

CONTRERAS: Our choices could not be more different.

SAYRE: I will say, I listened to your picks. And I was like, oh, this is going to be whiplash for people. But that's OK. That's the goal - to confuse, disorient, excite.

CONTRERAS: I would rather look at it as reflecting the entire variety of Latino music expression. That's how I look at it.

SAYRE: I - that - just - yep. What Felix said.

CONTRERAS: OK.

SAYRE: (Laughter).

CONTRERAS: You go ahead and start because...

SAYRE: Oh, my God.

CONTRERAS: ...I really like this track.

SAYRE: You're letting me go first this time?

CONTRERAS: Yeah, I like it.

SAYRE: OK, well, this is very exciting then. So this is from a band called the Lara Project. I've been a big fan of these guys for a while. They're a brother duo from Venezuela. This is the track "Extraños" off of their new album, "Sobrenatural."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXTRAÑOS")

THE LARA PROJECT: (Singing) Perdón una vez más por no haberte cuidado...

CONTRERAS: Yeah, and it really stands out because the song features Auto-Tune as the lead vocal. Right?

SAYRE: Mmm-hmmm.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXTRAÑOS")

THE LARA PROJECT: (Singing) Extraño el Saint Laurent y el Chanel de tus labio’. Eh-eh… Extraño besarte, lanzarte billetes de cien. Es que eres arte pa' retratarte en MET. No puedo olvidar al verte bailar. En mi cuerpo sensaciones que hasta duelen.

SAYRE: There's this conception of what Auto-Tune is and what it means. But more and more, you know, we're seeing people play with it in these very artistic ways. And they did this a lot on this record. And I will admit, on every song, I'm not in love with it. But on this song in particular, the way that they paired it with these really cinematic, beautiful strings, like, to me, it came together and it was like this perfect marriage of like something that's really artistically, tastefully contemporary. It's electronic, and it's acoustic. But it's very seamless. Like, it almost has a little bit of this 2000s pop feel to it at certain moments, but then really, like, grandiose and eccentric. I really love the way it came together here.

CONTRERAS: I remember hearing Auto-Tune used in Cher's song "Believe" back in 1998 when I lived in Miami, and I'd go to breakfast on Miami Beach and all the party people were just coming home from the club and walking around with boomboxes, and you could hear that autotune all over the place. I think she was one of the first artists to popularize that and use it as a lead instrument. It's gotten so much criticism over the years as like a crutch, but in this case, it's actually a tool in the tool belt. I really - I got to say, I like it, man.

SAYRE: I do love that. The Auto-Tune concept is really fun to me because people love to be, like, Auto-Tune police about things. They're like, oh, I hear Auto-Tune. I'm like, if you hear it, they probably meant for you to hear it.

CONTRERAS: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

SAYRE: They're like, got 'em (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

CONTRERAS: Exactly. OK, here's that whiplash we were talking about. I'm trying to think of there's some musical connection, but let's just hear the music first, and then we'll decide if there's a connection and then hear the story behind it. We're going to hear some jazz saxophone. This is Julieta Eugenio from Argentina. This track is called "Breath I" or "Breath Uno," and the album coming out in late March is called "Stay."

(SOUNDBITE OF JULIETA EUGENIO'S "BREATH I")

CONTRERAS: "Breath I" and "Breath II" or "Breath Uno" and "Breath Dos" are are a duet with Argentine keyboardist Leo Genovese. They're the first tracks that are released as singles from this album. Not to stretch the metaphor too thin - although, you know, I got to say that the guys in the Lara Project using autotune as the lead voice speaks to tone, speaks to tonality, speaks to a sound that'll identify someone. And I think it segues nicely into Julieta Eugenio's solo saxophone sound where you hear her tone - a nice, big, breathy tone that really falls into the jazz tradition of so many tenor saxophonists.

Like I said, she is from Argentina. And I got to point out that Argentina has a place in jazz history, because one of the great jazz saxophonists of all time - as far as I'm concerned - is a guy named Gato Barbieri, who was from Argentina. He played from the late '60s to his death in 2016. And Julieta is another example of this vibrant jazz scene to come out of Argentina. And it's notable, because she's using a saxophone trio - that's saxophone, bass and drums.

(SOUNDBITE OF JULIETA EUGENIO'S "STAY")

CONTRERAS: So there are no chord instruments, right? Sometimes you need the chord instruments - guitar, piano - to give a direction - a musical direction, a chordal direction of where the notes should go in terms of musical theory. This saxophone trio is not an easy thing to do, and very few people have taken it on. But I really think that she pulls it off with this - in this record and in her last record as well.

SAYRE: Oh, my God. She more than pulls it off. I mean, there's something so lovely to listen to. It's one of those songs that really takes you somewhere, I think. And that's what I love about the fact that you say, too, that Argentina has such a place in jazz history, because there is something almost that takes me there - that feels very personal about what she's put out here. And I don't know, it's really, really beautiful. And it's visual in many ways, too.

CONTRERAS: Great, great track. Great album. "Stay" is the name of the record. It's coming out on March 29. OK. Let's just turn this big boat around a little bit. What's your next track?

SAYRE: So building off of that with a very similar track. This is the track "Noches De Verano," and it's from the artist Esteman, featuring one of our favorite Puerto Rican artists, Villano Antillano. It's a little bit of a shift, but it's amazing.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOCHES DE VERANO")

ESTEMAN: (Singing) De día pisábamos fuego, en la tarde ardía el cielo. Pero en la noche tú y yo éramos uno en las calles de Madrid. Cómo poder olvidar lo que vivimos en cada madrugar. Mirándote, reflejos de la luna en tu piel. Cómo nos tocamos, noches de verano.

SAYRE: So this is actually one of - I didn't realize I was doing, like, Colombia show today, but this is - Esteman is one of the artists - one of two I'm bringing today, who is really kind of making a name for this more, like, dance-y (ph), electronic-y (ph) pop coming out of Colombia. Obviously, Colombia - in many ways at this moment - is known a lot for reggaeton. It has these huge artists on the map who are doing that. But he's really forging a space in the more alternative, pop-y (ph) scene for doing this kind of really fun, funky dance music.

I love this track from him - one, because it features Villano Antillano, which is an extremely unlikely pairing in my book but actually, I think, makes a ton of sense. I mean, his list of collaborators before this has been, like, Carla Morrison, Li Saumet from Bomba Estéreo - these more kind of alternative, more electronic - or, like, kind of indie in Carla's case. But Villano is not that at all. But she is, one, a person who is forging a space in Puerto Rico outside of the dominating reggaeton sound there.

And two, they've both been incredible advocates and icons in the queer communities in their respective countries. So it's really beautiful to see them come together not only with this amazing track, but also in the imagery. Esteman is known for having this very kind of fun, elaborate, colorful dance moves, imagery, colors. And they came together and got to do that. So I am especially excited to see how he performs this, 'cause he's wild to see on stage. And I cannot imagine how he's going to dance it out to this one. So it was a really fun track to listen to.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOCHES DE VERANO")

ESTEMAN: (Singing) Cuando caías yo te tomé. Cómo nos besamos, noches de verano. No te haga' el loco. Cómo poder olvidar lo que vivimos en cada madrugar.

CONTRERAS: And I want to remind listeners that Villano Antillano played an incredible Tiny Desk during Latino Heritage Month last year. So go to our website and check it out.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOCHES DE VERANO")

ESTEMAN: (Singing) Cómo nos tocamos, noches de verano...

CONTRERAS: You are listening to ALT.LATINO. We are listening to new music. I'm in a jazz mood this week, OK. So I'm going to do...

SAYRE: You're always in a jazz mood, Felix.

CONTRERAS: That is true. That is very true. There's an album called "Familia," and it's by this trio, Rodrigo Recabarren, Pablo Menares and Yago Vazquez. Rodrigo and Pablo are from Chile. Rodrigo is a drummer. Pablo is a bassist. Yago is a pianist from Galicia, Spain, that upper northwest corner of Spain. They've been together as a trio for a decade. They live in New York, but what they've been able to do is they're part of this movement that's, I guess, being called the Pan Latin jazz scene or movement.

They're moving away from the Afro Cuban, Afro Caribbean-based Latin jazz that was started back in the 1940s that has pretty much dominated Latin music, Latin - pretty much dominated Latin jazz. But now the last maybe 20, 25 years, it's starting to really expand out. And these guys - they're using folk rhythms from Chile, from Galicia. There's some stuff from Argentina on this album. There's all kinds of different sounds and rhythms. And this track is called "Santiago." Check it out on it. This is their take on a cumbia. See if you can hear it.

(SOUNDBITE OF RODRIGO RECABARREN, ET AL.'S "SANTIAGO")

CONTRERAS: So I think you can hear that while they're not exactly duplicating the cumbia rhythm or cumbia beat from Colombia, they are interpreting it or approximating it, with the drummer almost doing like a marching military thing on the snare drum. But it's the bass that's holding the (imitates bass pattern). And on top of it, the pianist just really just laying all of these beautiful melodies on top. The whole record is an amazing display of this Pan Latin movement that's happening. And yet still within the jazz piano trio tradition that's such a big part of the history of jazz, going back to Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, et cetera. it's really a remarkable expression of what musicians from Latin America - how they're interpreting jazz these days.

SAYRE: It's so interesting, Felix, because when you sent this pick, I admittedly did not hear cumbia. I didn't - I - if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have guessed it. But there is something like in the groove of how it moves that now that you say it, now that you say it and you define it specifically, I'm like, oh, yeah, I get exactly what you're saying with the snare drum. But there is something that you can almost perceive, like, in the back of your mind - you're like, oh, there's something a little bit bouncier to me about this than your typical smoother jazz track. And I love that there's such a subtlety to it. And it's so ingenious, really, to be able to work it in that smoothly.

CONTRERAS: It's a big step away from the clave-based, you know, (imitates clave pattern), like mambo, cha-cha-cha, or the (imitates drum pattern) of a straight-ahead jazz thing, They're bringing in all this other stuff, they and a lot of other musicians. They got my ears, man. They got my attention.

(SOUNDBITE OF RODRIGO RECABARREN, ET AL.'S "SANTIAGO")

CONTRERAS: We'll be back with our exploration of new music right after this.

(SOUNDBITE OF RODRIGO RECABARREN, ET AL.'S "SANTIAGO")

SAYRE: And we're back to our exploration of all the good new music out there. OK, so it's my last track, which I'm extremely excited about. This is from artist Elsa y Elmar, the track is called "Entre Las Piernas." And this is coming off of an album that will be released later this year.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ENTRE LAS PIERNAS")

ELSA Y ELMAR: (Singing) He intentado ser perfecta. Siempre on. Caminando sobre cuerdas, en zapatos de tacón. Puta, pero tierna. Loca, pero atenta. Todo me recuerda que no tengo fuerzas pa' toda esta mierda. Que ya no soy esa. Y yo. Con esta sangre que me corre entre las piernas. Me hace dulce, me hace eterna. Soy tan suave tan violenta. Insoportablemente perra.

SAYRE: OK, so I'm really jazzed about this track, Felix. This is...

CONTRERAS: Jazzed?

SAYRE: Yeah, jazz. I know you hear jazz and you're like, oh, jazz?

(LAUGHTER)

SAYRE: No, not that kind of jazz. This is from Colombian singer-songwriter Elsa y Elmar. She came out of the gate swinging with a 2019 Best New Artist nomination at the Latin Grammys and then a 2023 Best New Artist nomination at Premio Lo Nuestro, so she's been an artist that there's been a lot of energy around from the beginning. She went to Berklee, she's always been a really gifted songwriter, singer, very promising.

And this song feels like a pivot moment for her. It feels like a very grown-up Elsa to me, with this gorgeous ode to an exploration of femininity. It's like she's loving it, she's projecting it, she's maybe questioning it. She's airing her grievances with it, complicated feelings about it. So thematically it's very sophisticated, stylistically she's really hitting this stride with this fun kind of rockera sound that has a lot of funky contemporary production choices. This is Julian Bernal who's producing for her. He's done all kinds of stuff in Mexico City. It's almost like a little pop punky, a la maybe even, like, Olivia Rodrigo, with these electric guitars rocking out on the chorus.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ENTRE LAS PIERNAS")

ELSA Y ELMAR: (Singing) Con esta sangre que me corre entre las piernas. Me hace dulce, me hace eternal.

SAYRE: She really hits it on the nose with the actual theme of it, which she explores. I really felt, honestly, seen by this song.

CONTRERAS: The three tracks you brought in, Ana, explain how they're different to me, right? I've heard them. I hear heavy electronic instruments, mainly keyboards. I hear very subtle vocals. I have very distinct rhythms. And a couple of them had, you know, what they call the drop, where it just - it builds up to it but then it takes off with a more intense feeling. But for people who are not used to this music or are not listening to it on a regular, how do you describe the differences? Because I don't hear a lot of difference between the three, are they pop? Like, what are those differences? Because I don't hear it.

SAYRE: There is obviously some synergy between them that I think is created by what is, like, de moda with production right now, right? Like, a lot of these, like, mixing of synthetic sounds with more alternative, rocky instrumentals. Like, that's very much something I think a lot of people are experimenting with right now. That being said, I think, if anything, it's the expression that feels really distinct to me. For example, if you look at this Elsa y Elmar song, yes, it is about identity just like the Esteman and Villano Antillano song were. But to me it is this really beautiful, nuanced exploration of what it means to be a woman.

I mean, she said that she woke up one day and was like, wow, it occurred to me, like, why is it that I'm making explanations for the fact, you know, that I have a period and I have to walk around being a woman? There's so much weight that's carried with that. And everything that she says in the song - you know, she says, “Con esta sangre que me corre entre las piernas. Me hace dulce, me hace eterna. Soy tan suave, tan violenta, insoportable perra. Estoy mal y no me pesa. Me he cansado de ser buena. Solo quiero respirar, siento si eso te molesta.” Which is, basically, with this blood that runs between my legs, makes me sweet, makes me eternal. I'm so soft, so violent, unbearably b*****. I'm bad and it doesn't weigh me down. I'm tired of being good. I just want to breathe. I'm sorry if that bothers you.

And I do think there's something to be said here about what's happening in the larger Latin music space. There's this reggaeton beat that we've all grown to know and love. Now we have this explosion of regional Mexican music. And to me, the third piece are these kind of, like, indie alternative pop. It is pop, but it's identity pop. It's exploratory pop. It's really an expression of the personhood for a lot of these young artists, of growing up, of what it means to have a distinct experience.

And this contemporary production, the synthetics, it's a vehicle for that. And I do think they play with it in different ways. You know, Elsa went a little rockier. Lara Project did the autotune piece, as we talked about, goes a little more cinematic with the strings. So to me there is a distinctness in how they sound, but more importantly, it's the distinctness of experience that's being expressed.

CONTRERAS: Thank you so much. That was brilliant. Can I just say that (laughter)? No, because it helps.

SAYRE: No, I'm glad you asked. Yeah.

CONTRERAS: Thanks to you, I think people like me, who are coming to this without that experience, are going to be able to appreciate the differences.

SAYRE: And I love that you ask that because I want people to hear what I hear in this and that - and the validity of the experience, you know, and the validity of this music. And I think with the dawn of so much, you know, synthetic incorporation, especially with the way that people do production now, I think it's harder sometimes especially, you know, Felix, for you, who's used to - you know, the jazz expression that you're used to - it's such a different manifestation of what makes this music unique.

CONTRERAS: And now we're going to do a little bit of a sonic whiplash, but not really, because this track also has to do with identity, the things that we've been talking about in the music. This is from a band called Hurray for the Riff Raff. The lead singer is Alynda Segarra. The band is from New Orleans. They kind of live in the Americana scene. But since about 2017, they've been exploring Alynda's background of growing up in the Bronx from Puerto Rican heritage. This track is called "Hawnmoon." We'll play a little bit and then talk about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAWKMOON")

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF: (Singing) In the bus, I sleep all day. In the back I am, uh-huh. Everybody wants to know my name. I give just a sliver to them, uh-huh. That's the way, that's the way I've been taught I am. Any day, any way, I drink a fifth before 3 p.m. Little girl with a buck knife and a fake ID...

CONTRERAS: I got to say, before we talk about this song, I want to direct folks to our website because the video that goes along with this is pretty fantastic. It's sort of autobiographical. It's about a trans woman that they met early in their life. I've always been fascinated by Alynda. I met them whenever they were already into the process of being seen in Americana, and then they transitioned into wanting to know more about their Puerto Rican heritage. Like I said, grew up in the Bronx, listened to a lot of different stuff. And the way it's resulted is not in ways that you expect. There aren't a lot of, like, Puerto Rican rhythms and all that, but it's there, the sensibility, some of the references, and in a little bit of the music. It's still very much as you can hear kind of country, folk, Americana thing. But I think Alynda is one of the most fascinating songwriters out there in terms of discovering identity and discovering all of that through music.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAWKMOON")

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF: (Singing) And you'll never know the way I miss Ms. Jonathan. She was beaten in the street and then I never saw her again.

SAYRE: I loved this record, Felix. Like, really did love it. Like, there's something about their style of folk that I just find really comforting. I think you hit it on the nose where you said exploring identity through their music specifically, like getting more interested in their Puerto Rican identity and then coming back to the music. And you don't necessarily hear it like in the way you would expect to. But the authenticity, I think, is what's key here. And we've talked a bit about Latin country music, Felix, and kind of what makes it distinct. And some of that is as simple as an authentic expression of what is a true identity, to be both Latino and to also be born and raised in a country tradition. And I think they're a perfect example of that, where it sounds almost like an exploration because it just feels so real and raw and true to who they are. And I just love that. This one line, this lyric, I - it's like I want to frame it. I'm becoming the kind of girl they warned me about. Like, oh, my God, that - talk about that songwriting capability. It's just - it's pretty brilliant.

CONTRERAS: It's another example of being able to trace an artist and watch that artist come around. It's a fascinating trail. There's all these little breadcrumbs of identity and musicality along the way. Always have been a big fan of the band. Hurray for the Riff Raff is the band. The album is called "The Past Is Still Alive." It's already out, so you can go check it out on your streaming services, or maybe even actually buy a CD, help them out, huh?

SAYRE: Oh, my God, a vinyl, perhaps, Felix?

(SOUNDBITE OF HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF SONG, "HAWKMOON")

CONTRERAS: OK, Ms. Carmen Sandiego, where in the world are you? Hopefully you'll eventually make your way back to D.C. God knows where you're going to be next. We just can't keep up with you.

SAYRE: A couple quick pit stops, and then I'm back.

(LAUGHTER)

CONTRERAS: It's always a pit stop. You have been listening to ALT.LATINO from NPR Music. Our audio producer for this episode is Joaquin Cotler.

SAYRE: Our digital editor is Hazel Cills.

CONTRERAS: And the woman who keeps us on track, keeps the trains running, keeps it all together is Grace Chung.

SAYRE: Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR music.

CONTRERAS: And our jefe-in-chief is Keith Jenkins, VP of music and visuals. I'm Felix Contreras.

SAYRE: And I'm Anamaria Sayre. Thank you so much for listening.

CONTRERAS: Thank you. Thank you for listening.

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