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It's A Trap! 7 New Songs That Will Capture You

Watcha Clan lead singer Sista K.
Courtesy of the artist
Watcha Clan lead singer Sista K.

This week on Alt.Latino, we examine some stunning new vocalists, starting with Candelaria, a Bay Area group with a rendition of Dawn Penns' hit "You Don't Love Me Anymore." The original is a molasses-slow reggae song, while this version takes on a darker, more threatening tone — and we love it.

We also showcase the melodic growls of Y La Bamba's Luz Elena Mendoza. I listened to the group's last album, Court the Storm, so many times, I rendered the CD unusable. (Yes, I still use CDs.) On that record, Mendoza's voice is great, but on the new Oh February it's absolutely haunting.

A great vocalist can do wonders for a song, as Mil Jinetes' version of "Intentalo" by Mexico's 3Ball MTY indicates. "Intentalo" was more or less the "Gangnam Style" of the Latin music world, in that it went viral and was inescapable throughout 2012. (Although, to be fair, "Gangam Style" was annoyingly persistent throughout Latin America, as well.) When I saw that the Chilean band had recorded a cover of "Intentalo," I almost didn't bother to listen. But it's everything a good cover should be: The original is still recognizable, but it's reformulated in surprising and beautiful ways. Under Cristóbal Briceño's firm but emotional voice and a lovely arrangement of Andean strings, what was originally a club hit about getting it on is now about daring to fall in love.

As always, we look forward to hearing from listeners — so many of our new musical discoveries come from you. What great vocalists are you loving these days?

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Esta semana en Alt.Latino tenemos unos vocalistas realmente increíbles. Comenzamos con Candelaria un grupo de la bahía del norte de California, cuya version de "You Don't Love Me Anymore" (originalmente por Dawn Penn.) La version de Penn es un reggae lento y lleno de pena — pero la vision de Candelaria es mil veces mas oscuro y agresivo — nos encantó.

También esta semana disfrutamos de los melódicos gruñidos de Luz Elena Mendoza, la cantante de Y La Bamba. Escuché su ultimo album, Court The Storm, tanta veces, que terminé rayando el CD (asi es, sigo usando CD's). En ese disco, la voz de Luz Elena es muy bonita — pero en esta última producción, es simplemente espeluznante. Si eres fan de las vocalistas excepcionales, entonces te recomiendo el disco Oh February.

Un gran cantante puede cambiar totalmente una canción. Por ejemplo, la versión que lograron los Mil Jinetes del hit "Inténtalo." La canción "Intentalo," de la agrupación mexicana 3Ball MTY, fue un fenómeno implacable en el 2012. Tanto asi que cuando me enviaron el cover que hizó esta banda chilena de dicha canción, por poco seguí de largo sin escucharla. Pero se trata de un ejemplo de que es un buen cover: aun se puede reconocer la versión original, pero reconstruida de una manera sorprendente y bella. Con la voz firme pero emotiva de Cristóbal Briceño, y un fantástico arreglo de instrumentos andinos, lo que originó como una sexy canción de discoteca, se convierte en un muy sincero pedido de amor.

Como siempre, nos encanta saber de ústedes, nuestros oyentes. Muchos de nuestros nuevos descubrimientos musicales nos llegan a través de ústedes. Cuentennos: ¿Que nuevos vocalistas nos recomiendan escuchar?

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Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.