By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone
Musically speaking, 2017 was a year full of musical delights in Latin America. Let's forget the mediocrity of the commercial sphere, where the recordings that stood out and dominated the airwaves showed little difference between them. Let's talk about the true sonic richness of the continent., of the brilliant moments we were able to enjoy amidst the eclectic and rich artistic spectrum, where the good rock and pop made in these parts had spectacular moments, and where fusion and experimentation reached new heights, sounding in every corner of the world.
2017 gave us thousands of hours of sonic delight created in our countries. Therefore, selecting a certain number of songs to present as the best of this year is an unfair, cruel, almost entirely wrong task., But, amidst the prevailing masochism, pleasurable. We've compiled this list of seventeen tracks, selected from the overwhelming amount of music from our hemisphere that we've been able to celebrate these past few days, because they truly resonated with us. We played them on repeat, and in them we found a kind of life-giving spell that helps us create an intense soundtrack to what has happened this year.
Their order has not been established by the conventions of the top lists that circulate around. The songs are arranged to be listened to in the way an amateur DJ would arrange them at a party for friends., trying to give it consistency in its reproduction. This is, below, our selection:
He killed a motorcycle police officer (Argentina) - The eternal nightA simple song amidst a tender sonic hurricane. A clear example of the growth of a group that can easily be considered among the best on the continent right now.
Portugal (Chili) - CarnivalIncluded on this alternative pop group's third album, it comes across as a desperate, poignant, and captivating love song. A thrilling drama that flirts with sentimentality but triumphs over it.
Fito Páez (Argentina) - Black ChristmasDespair in times of Macri's evil. Páez adds protest to his sarcasm and turns it into an anthem of unusual strength, where pessimism, curiously, encourages us to continue the fight.
The Makenzys (Colombia) - The clouds of cinemaMany decades later, rock 'n' roll continues to move the world, and it does so because it occasionally finds outstanding musicians who perform it with respect, defiance, and rebellion, to the delight of fans. The Makenzy carry on this tradition in their own way.
The Spirits (Argentina) - JuiceShame on those who recently said that Argentine rock didn't dare to reinvent itself. This band has a clear formula for returning to psychedelic musical forms, combined with their irreverent and explicit humor in their compositions. This song is a great example of that.
Nano Stern (Chili) - Breathe LessIt has the intensity of a film soundtrack film noir And a socially conscious message that transcends the genre's clichés. Throughout its brief runtime, it creates perfect tension with the use of just the right elements—no more, no less.
Ismael Ayende (Colombia) - Evil SpiritsThat's the direction new mergers are taking, and they're surprising. Here's a curious and effective mix of western music and Andean sounds, which make characters and situations impossible to represent appear in our heads, perhaps only in cave science fiction scenarios.
Manta ray (Chili) - Imperial MarchA fun melodrama, born with a trip-hop soul, then incorporating resonant rock guitars, followed by heavenly choirs and hip-hop moments. It's a wild jumble that manages to confuse us, seduce us, and then, in the end, leave us speechless, demanding answers.
Bitter Flower (Mexico) - CrazyIt's the ideal cabaret celebration of mental derangement. It's as if Edith Piaf were resurrected, shed her French drama, and realized there's plenty to celebrate in this wretched existence, at least in the heart of Mexico City.
Latenaz (Colombia) - InsaneGo into a cheap bar, turn on the jukebox and listen to this voice that delves into the painful love and humor of those who discover in emotional defeat a good reason to smile without worry and keep singing.
Alejandro and María Laura (Peru) - Water of balanceIt's cumbia transformed into a beautiful ballad. It has that spirit of a peasant prayer that keeps making us dance gently, as if telling us that in the face of misfortune there's no other option but to celebrate that there are still minutes left to live.
Lianna (Colombia) - I'll stay here.Soul at its finest. Overflowing sensuality that lifts the listener's spirits and confirms, once again, that this singer has everything it takes to excel in the music scene of our continent.
Ibeyi (Cuba/France) ft. Mala Rodríguez (Spain) - LeavePerhaps the only reggaeton song worth listening to this year. And we don't know if we should even call it reggaeton, because it has compositional intelligence, uplifting lyrics, no misogyny, and definitely a lot of heart in its content.
Tsh Sudaca ft. Mós (Colombia) - RiverThe song title is fitting because during the three minutes and forty-six seconds that the recording lasts, everything flows delightfully, with exquisite coherence and embellishing lyrics that break the usual routine of hip hop made in these parts.
Blond (Chili) - The plantsA voice, affected to captivating extremes, amidst an instrumental maelstrom that plays with oriental strings, sensitive electronics, and reverberating traps, creating an overflowing landscape for our imagination. It's not a song; it's a sonic map traversing a colossal mental jungle.
I Want Club (Mexico) - WaitIt's a pop tranquility that unfolds while creating unexpected loops in our memory. It seems to have been composed in space, as if it were the product of a placid journey between planets, as if it contained the calm before the storm.
Bomba Estéreo (Colombia) - HurtsA beautiful telenovela, almost four minutes long. Li Saumet's voice sounds like an intense plea left on an abandoned cell phone, narrating a heartbreaking story. The instrumental background creates wild fantasies of ancestral dances and delves into the precise atmosphere for an ancient dance choreography.