American collective Los Cenzontles will brighten your day with a fusion of Mexican and Cuban variations of son called “Matanga.”
Los Cenzontles Deliver Charming Son Jarocho Crossover Song “Matanga”
Category: Single reviews
Reviews of single recordings
Jono Heyes and Beehive’s Striking Alchemy of West African Beats with Euro jazz
Jono Heyes and Beehive, New Zealanders, create an astounding web of sound that crosses West African rhythms with Euro jazz on “For Toumani.”
Deeply Satisfying World Fusion by Eunice Keitan
“Cobalt Sea” by multinational singer Eunice Keitan is deeply engaging global fusion of the best kind, and its blend of marimba and gamelan is only…
Amelia Rivera Revisits Beloved “Los Aretes de la Luna” Bolero
Guatemalan vocalist Amelia Rivera does a jazzy cover of the much-loved Cuban bolero “Los Aretes de la Luna” that lacks nothing in authenticity or style.…
Trickster Is Still Kicking
A big, funky, layered sound makes “Still Kicking” by the U.K.’s Juergen Pichler (a.k.a. Trickster) a song to both dance to and give some serious…
Colorful Canadian-Estonian Reggae Vibes
Canadian/Estonian artist François Marius has another reggae winner with “Rasta Dance (Starry Night).” The Van Gogh-inspired color scheme of the video is likewise something to…
A rich Shout Out to the Orisha Ochún
Blessed with Afro-Cuban roots and based in Canada, a female duo called OKAN gives a melodically and rhythmically rich shout out to Oshun (an Orisha…
Ingenious Afrobeat Encounter with Reggae
America’s Well Grounded harnesses a minimal Afrobeat-meets-reggae groove to propel “Humble Me,” a tune of self-examination that’s dance worthy and lyrically wise.
Pan-Lusophone sounds by Cacha Mundinho
Netherlands-based band Cacha Mundinho mixes layers of Lusophone influence and jazz rhythms on the delightful “Flor de Cereja.”
Latvian Cross-cultural Mix by DJ Bestixxx
You likely wouldn’t expect music from Latvia to be an intriguingly chill mix of hip hop with acoustic textures and sounds borrowed from Celtic and…