LONG — FUIMOS ELECTRIC

The hope of warmer days and uncertain love lies in the glittering chimes and laid-back guitar of 'fuimos electric' by New York band long. We start appropriately enough with an audio walk in the park, what with the spring reverb drums and allegretto bass, the sun-summoning bossa-esque guitar chords. Lilting vocals weave themselves in: “Fuimos al parque / para conocernos un poco más...”¹

Lyrically (in Spanish, in case you didn't notice) the lines shift between statement-of-fact and figurative, such as “me mirabas como el río”² — the poetic contents of the heart wrapped in city-flavoured indie pop packaging.

The song grows in vignettes parallel to the love story told by the vocals – meeting each other in the park, sharing a bottle of wine, not knowing what to say. Before long, we are in a triumphal block party crescendo, crashing cymbals and brass breezily lifting us up and out of the park, out of the moment, to look back on all that has been, joy and more joy still in the unknowable tomorrows.

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¹ We went to the park to get to know each other a little more
² You looked at me like the river

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• 🔔 You may stream the song 'fuimos electric' by long over on Spotify, if you feel like it. In addition, you may see a video for the demo version of the song on YouTube also.

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☟ long Internet Presence ☟
instagram ⚘ spotify

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🐣 OSO LEONE — VIRTUAL U

Both sexual and sexless at the same time, 'Virtual U' by Spanish band Oso Leone pushes robust breathy basslines and cold drum machine beats – the continuous white noise of an icy analogue cymbal giving it a sense of pace as it slowly unfolds – alongside slinky licks of liquid guitar, chords clanging and chorused, warm timeless synths. Naked groove crawls beneath reverse guitars before it falls away and luscious synth chords play ahead of the song's languorous coda sprinkled with a palm-muted guitar riff that drips with retro tropicalia, the vocals – aching throughout, telling secrets the whole time – soothe themselves in a falsetto mantra till the end.

This whole track is a slow and blissful freefall into a kind of contented nocturnal oblivion, a passage of music constantly in flux, each new change in course or sound presenting yet another face of beautifully soft experimental R&B pop. This realm of organic and synthetic merging, each sound caressing the other like dyed oil and water nebulously embracing in a psychedelic light show. And in relation to the track's title, it is touching from afar, this hazy atmosphere of longing yet remaining inactive, waiting and procrastinating, the song's changing nature a reflection of conflict and deep human desire lost online oozing through fibre-optic cables.

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• 🔔 Oso Leone's 'Virtual U' arrives as a single on 16th February via Barcelona label Foehn Records and El Segell del Primavera (the record label associated with Primavera, the festival). It will be available digitally and as a limited edition 7".

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☟ Oso Leone Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ official site ⚘ twitter ⚘ youtube

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🔮 NO PARTICULAR ORDER: DIEGO RAPOSO'S 4 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW IN 2018

Until midway through 2017, the music of Dominican Republic wasn't something that entered into the core consciousness of YES/NO. However it was through continued contact with one of its components that we began to discover the varied and energetic music of this Caribbean nation.

Santiago-based Diego Raposo was happy to introduce himself to us via email. Co-founder of one of the country's handful of independent labels, MITEL DICO – "we work around electronic/hip hop stuff," he explains – he also references other outlets that we should know about. "We got some friends in the east side of the island," he tells us. "Stereoptico, they also do some fun stuff, more around the bass sounds." The city is also home to El Cuarto Elástico, a "really experimental collective."

"Basically we got tons and tons of crazy music," he summarises, "lots of tropical vibes, caribbean rhythms and all that, also super interesting." As opposed to larger countries, where scenes occur in different regions and cities, it seems as though Dominican Republic is a scene in itself. "This is a really small island," Raposo explains, "so we kinda know each other and try to collab and support ourselves."

"Lately that has been happening a lot."

The new year begins. And with it, new music from new artists. That is, new for you. Diego Raposo was kind enough to offer up four of Dominican Republic's most interesting, most vibing artists that you should know for 2018. From experimental to traditional, minimal house to rap, the styles encompassed in this short selection of artists says a lot about the musical temperament of this overlooked country. Read on☟

Dominican Republic is extremely flavoured, in all aspects. Culture, people, architecture, food, music… Lately, we are seeing lots of experimental and independent projects come up in our country, watching them spread into the universe emanating fresh vibes. I’ve come up with this list of four artists to watch in 2018. These are pretty well known in our island, soon to conquer foreign lands; each of these guys have an extremely interesting and distinct sound; living icons, legends on the way.

Boundary

Eclectic electronic sounds, sonic landscapes

'Fabric de Baja Resolución' from 16-year-old producer Boundary's album Fantasmagórico.
Released on 19th May 2017 via experimental Santo Domingo label El Cuarto Elástico.

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Boundary on
soundcloud • bandcamp • facebook • twitter

Riccie Oriach

Dominican folklore music in the year 3018

'Viaje Al Infinito' from composer and musician Riccie Oriach's debut EP Viaje Al Infinito.
Produced by Federico López Schaper and released in November 2017.

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Riccie Oriach on
soundcloud • facebook • twitter

Jordy Sánchez

Grooves expert. Irresistible club music.

'Moment' from Jordy Sánchez's EP Moment.
Released November 2017 via Ukraine-based label Dushe.

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Jordy Sánchez on
soundcloud • twitter

NZA

Rhymes master / iconic flow

'La Desenmoña' from rapper NZA's upcoming album Geometría Sagrada.

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NZA on
soundcloud • facebook • instagram • twitter

• 🔔 See more from Santiago label MITEL DICO on SoundCloud.

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📠
☟ Diego Raposo Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ twitter ⚘ instagram ⚘ beatport ⚘ songkick

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HOLA A TODO EL MUNDO THEY WON'T LET ME GROW

Ah, there's just something glorious sounding about twinkling glittery guitar sounds that I can't help but love. It makes me picture someone playing a guitar that's as small as a pager. Yeah, a pager yo. Not an iPhone, but a pager. That's how cute, how かわいい, this sound just is to me. Simply that.

So these guys are called Hola a Todo el Mundo or as they are otherwise known aka-ly, HATEM (prefer the full-spelled way cause I just picture it as hate 'em and I don't hate 'em). As you might be able to glean from the Spanish name, this band is Spanish - from Madrid in fact, and they have been famous previously for their folksy-indie sound.

But I just don't see it as that. There are many more folky things than this particular song, for example, 'They Won't Let Me Grow'. Since there's an official video, let's watch that instead of some SoundCloud waves go by, eh? Eh?

It's a wholesome number that combines those tinkling guitars with meaty bass to produce an anthemic sound capable of powering a small town, I'm sure. There's something oh-so-sure about the steady slightly offbeat synth bassline that seems to give this song teeth which fuel the loud dynamic as the quiet, guitary part flits its way between these mouthfuls of electronic goodness.

It almost seems to be over too quickly, but for the whole three minutes and twenty-something seconds you're getting a wildly feel-good atmosphere from the music - just makes you wanna listen again and again. Good stuff fer sher.

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Like Hola el Todo Mundo on Facebook
Follow Hola el Todo Mundo on Twitter
Listen to Hola el Todo Mundo on Soundcloud
Hear more Hola el Todo Mundo on Myspace
Learn about Hola el Todo Mundo on Wikipedia