Month: January 2012

New Music: Daphni

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Daphni – Ahora

Nice thick beats and an echoing Eastern-sounding sample start this song off right. But when the harmonizing melody and house beats start, I’m ready to fly away with the music. Where will it take me? Ah, the break at 1:20, it feels like I’ve just flown through a fuzzy musical cloud! Nice get away, this song.

Due to the technological availability of computer music programs, a lot people are doing electronic music these days and while their beeps, bumps and drops may sound nice, many seem to be missing the arte (as we say in Flamenco) that goes with it. Some people might call it soul or depth, perhaps it’s just good old fashioned talent. This song keeps it simple, with just a bit of tweaking and nods to the sample. Daphni also adds in heavy dizzy drums and high hats punctuated by double echoing beats at just the right moments. If you don’t like electronic music, you might say “Eh, sounds like everything else” but to those of you who do like electronic music, who do listen intently, you know what I mean, right?

By the way, Daphni is a side project of Daniel Victor Snaith, best known for the band Caribou.


Daphni – Ahora (Margot Remix)

New year, same old thing!

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It’s the new year and I’ve nothing but old ideas for this here blog! Yeah! Expect more random videos, old family photos and meandering essays on Los Angeles neighborhoods and happenings. Random updating and frantic postings followed by long weeks of inactivity are in store, so stick around.

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Best of Banda 2011

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I listen to a lot of the local Banda/Norteno/Ranchero/Cumbia stations here in Los Angeles – there are quite a few! My favorite station is La Rockola 96.7 from Santa Ana, unfortunately their signal strength is not always reliable way up here on the Eastside. La Rockola station seems to have a “no Grupero or sappy love song” policy (unless it’s Pitbull or Aventura) which I quite appreciate because nothing gets on my nerves more than a sappy Banda ballad. Despite this, there are a couple of Banda ballads in this bunch, the vocal styles overcome the deficiencies of the genre.

I like the fast stuff, the music you can dance to, double beats, twiddling accordions, big tamborazo sounds and snappy tuba rhythms. The weird thing about Spanish radio is they never tell you the name of the song or the artist’s name. You are just supposed to KNOW. Where you find out, I’m not quite sure. The swapmeet? El Mercadito? Letreros on light poles announcing the latest show at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena? I’m saying this because there are songs I would have liked to include here but didn’t include for lack of information. For instance, there’s this song La Rockola plays about a “Toro Loco.” Anyone?

Below is a small offering of some of my favorite Mexican tunes from this year. The lyrics are horrible, I’ll just say that straight off the bat, all bling bling (lumi lumi), show off-y, bad ass womanizing drug dealing kinda stuff. My dream for 2012 would be a feminist and political themed detournment of Banda. Now that would be something!


Banda Los Recoditos – A Toda Madre
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