Uruguay

Summer season is quite ritualistic within the Uruguayan culture. This is what A.M.I.G.A, a rather eccentric electro-pop female duo, portraits in “Verano 2020”, a song that describes common touristic places like the La Barra scene in fancy Punta del Este, on the context of a summer holyday scenario with cold beer, drinks, beach time and sun screen lotions.

A.M.I.G.A on Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook.

“Juro palabra” is a nice single from Arquero. With deep voices in Spanish and some dance tempos, this rap song is a tangible example of how this gender continues to grow in Uruguay, with syncretism’s and influences that seem to be found naturally.

Arquero on Facebook, Instagram.

Unlike the other songs shown on this list, this one is framed within the mainstream Latino trap sound. And that is great. Javier Cardellino is a producer of local massive cumbia groups for youngsters, like Marama and Rombai. On his new song, Calma, he stands out with an effortlessly sexy voicing, and communicating an ordinary music style, yet original on the excessively non-commercial ethics of Uruguayan hit makers.

Cardellino on Instagram, Facebook, www.

For the rap group Dostrescinco, it’s time for funky music, and this is what we get on their latest single.

This tune is a solid proof that we are talking about two styles of music that are extremely malleable and easy to be mixed in different forms.

Dostrescinco on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter.

Cruzar la noche is the single and the song that gives name to El Astillero´s new long play. This time, Gonzalo Dennis´s voice is powerful enough to fill you with a sympathetic mood, where not a lot of instruments are needed in order to communicate the music.

El Astillero on Facebook, Twitter.

A different wave is taking place in the Uruguayan young musical scene, and it´s coming in the form of hip-hop and it´s sub-genders. Eli Almic is a new promise, as her music proves that today the most interesting new things happen beyond rock.

Eli Almic on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter.

Fattoruso is one of the top ten musicians of the Uruguayan history. “Y barrio Opa” is his latest release, and if you dont know his music, “Candombe Beat Funk” is an excellent opportunity to get to experience his sounds. As the song title says, this tune mixes the traditional candombe beat with some really nice funky groove that is worth the listen.

Hugo Fattoruso on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram.

With a very beautiful and particular sensitivity, En el bosque is a “dream pop” album worth listening plenty of times, certainly one of the best music products of Uruguay in 2018.

Jhona Lemole is a name that has been around for a while in the indie music scene of the country, and this one is his second album.

Jhona Lemole on Bandcamp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.

With a chilled latin mood, Guapa, the new single from the Uruguayan folk-pop singer Juan Wauters, communicates a basic descriptive story of a girl he likes. This time, Wauters comes out with a smooth Caribbean rhythm, but maintaining his genuine and direct style when it comes to writing songs.

Juan Wauters on Bandcamp, Facebook, www, Instagram.

Robot Armies is the third album from the psych-pop band Mountain Castles, hailing from the capital Montevideo. This time, the overall sound of the disc seems to be taken from an early 90´s retro video game, which somehow makes it original and pioneering, especially in the Uruguayan music scene context. The band is known for its subtle fine guitars, and the awesome sleepy atmospheres they manage to reflect on their music. After making many EP´s and albums in English, we can finally listen to them singing in their native language, with their song Chiquita.

Mountain Clastles on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram.

¿A dónde ibas? is the new single from heavy blues rock band from Montevideo, Oro. Finally, after a few albums, we can hear something considerably smoother. This single is a not so up-tempo tune that, however, keeps the roots of Oro blues with their amazing wild riffs and spicy blues solos.

Oro on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, www.

The music of Piel is pretty luminous, with bright, clear guitars and sweet voices. It also has interesting moods and melodies on most of their songs. When they sing they communicate their lyrics very genuinely, with an effective straight forward style and delightful vocal arrangements. Bien por las heridas, their second album, came out this year, and the result is even better than their debut long play. Their song Donde me queres sums up this concepts.

Piel on Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook.

Romina Peluffo stands out for her clear messages on her lyrics. Some slightly psychedelic guitar arrangements and acoustic chords make this single, Obsesa, one of the best tunes of her new album, which also has the same name.

Romina Peluffo on Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram, Twitter.

Eva is the latest tune from Santi Mostafa, one of the most known local rapers. This song carries a heavy mainstream Latino song essence, but it keeps the rap soul of Mostafa.

Santi Mostafa on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Kioto is one of the six songs from Gingkos, the new EP from Trópico Duclos, an indie rock band from Montevideo. Although the tune has an easy-listening music structure, some shoegaze kicks and psych sounds are present all the way through the song and make it special.

Trópico Duclós on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

This is the debut of Viajes en la Superficie. Beautiful and bright arpegios, amazing rythms and nice voices make it one of the most promising materials out this year. Listen here.

Viajes en la Superficie on Facebook, Bandcamp.