So yesterday I headed to the beach to bop up and down Collins, checking out some of the hotel parties for WMC. I hit the Raleigh for a penthouse party given by AX, where the Belvy was flowing like sweat on the pool deck at the Shelborne, which is where…
The quintessential folk music of Portugal, fado typically features dark tones and lyrics that pine over loss, depict loneliness, and mourn the difficult experiences of the poor. It was historically adopted on the streets of Lisbon, though whether from the sailors or Africa, its true origins remain contested. Still, it…
You might not have heard the name Xiomara Laugart, but you probably should have. And when you do, you’re in for a hell of a treat. Xiomara Laugart, colloquially known as “La Negra,” boasts one powerful voice. All at once, it bears the singular qualities of the old troubadours singing…
Ultra remains all about dance music, but as the festival has expanded, so has its definition of the genre. As always, some of the biggest names on the bill are the best club spinners in the world. But this year’s edition will showcase a number of acts that cross genres…
Industry insiders or civilians who just happen to be fans of Latin music may find themselves wanting for panels and performances specifically addressing their interests during Winter Music Conference. But there is an event for them. Though it is not exactly a WMC sanctioned event, it has all the right…
Since their inception two years ago, the Ting Tings have enjoyed unbridled success, laying siege to charts and hearts in both the UK and the United States. So much so, that even a reporter could become nervous when speaking for the first time to one half of the British outfit,…
Santigold isn’t pop. She isn’t electro. And she sure as hell isn’t hip-hop or R&B, despite what some narrow-minded critics have implied. It’s a position she continues to defend, though just listening to her music should allow her to rest her case. Rather her music is a blend of underground…
The Sydney, Australia-based duo the Presets has been dubbed, variously, industrial, psychedelic, techno, and dance-punk, among various other genres. There’s some truth to all of those, though none is 100 percent accurate. Imagine if Trent Reznor produced New Order’s latest album, and you’ve got the first inklings of it, but…
Fans of Latin music, the time has come once again for artists and industry folk alike to descend upon the city for a whirlwind of performances, parties, glitz, glamor, bling, and enough media ops to get ravenous media whores Heidi and Spencer drooling like Lindsay Lohan in the Miami-Dade evidence…
San Francisco duo CyberSutra is fairly new to the dance music scene, but producers Scott Binder and Nathan Heal have wasted no time in making their presence known. Blending the hard edge of electro with the melodic expanses of trance, they incorporate unique vocals by some of the top vocalists…
Fedde Le Grande is a busy man. When he’s not collaborating with international music icons or wrapping up his latest record, he’s touring the world, jetting from his home in the Netherlands to remote locales. To say his 2006 single — the homage to the mecca of techno called “Put…
Cuculand, the solo debut by Yerba Buena frontwoman CuCu Diamantes, is at once a breath of fresh air and a nostalgic whiff of a more glamorous time. The Cuban-born singer/composer’s disc shimmers with the glitz and glamour of an era when catching a show meant dinner jackets and hair tonic,…
Things are tough all over — and that’s not just the name of a Cheech and Chong flick. And while the U.S. economy continues to freefall, the talking heads on the 24-hour news network of your choice barrage viewers with an unrelenting shitstorm of news so abysmal it makes drinking…
Even if you’re neither Cuban nor into Cuban music, you’ve no doubt heard of the Buena Vista Social Club, originally a members club where musicians would meet in Cuba during the 40’s, but better known for the rediscovery in the 90’s, championed in large part by American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder. …
Perhaps you woke up this morning, mouth tasting like the lining of a birdcage only with the texture of sandpaper. You used a nearby crowbar to pry open one eye. When you eventually made it to the bathroom you saw those eyes are not only bloodshot, but toting more baggage…
In case you didn’t notice it, Mexican rockers Jaguares canceled their Miami show, scheduled for last Saturday night at the Fillmore Miami Beach. If you didn’t notice, then you probably didn’t have tickets. Or, if you did and you still didn’t notice… give me some of that shit.Disappointed concertgoers found…
Hector Lavoe wasn’t just a Puerto Rican singer with giant funky gold-rimmed glasses, a violent marriage to a crazy woman named “Puchi”, and more money in coke than Neville Isdell (he’s the CEO of Coca Cola, in case your subscription to Forbes is on hold for non-payment). He was a…
There are few celebrity figures so peerless, few personalities so much larger than life, few faces so recognizable they transcend cultures. American history boasts some: Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe. Latinos who fit that steep bill? There aren’t many. Santana. Julio Iglesias. Dezi Arnaz, perhaps. And, of course, the…
Jaguares are no less than rock royalty in their native Mexico, as well as throughout Latin America. Lead singer Saul Hernandez and drummer Alonso Andre formed the group in 1995 after their band, Caifanes, a late-’80s outfit credited with pioneering Latin rock, broke up. A few cast changes in their…
Monte*Rosa was born a long way from his current home in Miami — in Baranquilla, Colombia, to be exact. Though his life and career have set him on a long road with many miles behind him, he hasn’t lost touch with his roots. The sound of his native country is…
All you street festival lovers, I know you know what time it is! Last week I asked and none of you answered. But I know that’s purely a matter of laziness, because who doesn’t love street fairs? Well, the granddaddy of all street festivals is fast approaching and it’s celebrating…
Modest MouseSunday, March 8th 2009Revolution Live, Fort LauderdaleBetter than: Their performance at this year’s Langerado. Or anyone else’s for that matter.Modest Mouse has got to be the loudest band ever to shun the use of distortion. There’s no humming fuzz, in fact, I don’t even think they use overdrive, other…
