Similar to her artistic creations, the EP is heavily influenced by her Spanish heritage. Traditional Spanish music alongside America’s long history of Latin pop marks the EP. Her dedication to experimentation and discovery, however, is pushing her beyond generic reproduction of the genre. That is mainly the case due to the tracks’ diversity in style, themes, and music, despite the EP consisting of only 5 tracks. 

Collaborating with producer Lloyd Miller of Spirit Song Studios for the EP, Michellar‘s lyrical focus alongside Miller’s dedication to producing positive and meaningful music, with Miller coming from a mainly faith-music background, underlines songs like Ave Maria. The song aims to take the traditional hymn beyond Christian exclusivity, imagining prayer without and beyond specific religions, making the song a mix between a prayer and metatext on what prayer can be. 

From there, the EP moves to traditional love songs with “Samba with Me” and “If It’s Only for One Night”, the latter a highlight of the EP. With a Spanish version set for release on the 25th this July, the song’s raw simplicity doesn’t hinder the mix of different cultural influences, between country and 70s/80s Spanish Music reminiscent of Julio Iglesias. Both songs share a certain summer-breeze quality that lovingly passes over the listener, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia to a long-gone time, a quality that can also be appreciated in the EP’s cover painting.

Harmoniously, the remaining tracks cover completely different grounds. “The Deep”, featuring Christina Rntd, is an existential interrogation of the self and an affirmation of freedom with a haunting, determined melody. On the other hand, “California Fields” distantly echoes Eagles’ “Hotel California” in both its musical style and its love-hate relationship with the city and the power it holds over all who enter, while adding a layer of ecological awareness that haunts the song, especially in light of the recent wildfires. 

Michellar‘s latest singles have prepared her well for her first EP. Diverse musically and thematically, Michelle also brings to it a history of artistic endeavors that leave their mark on the music’s soulfulness. In this manner, Michellar will prove herself to be as good a musician and songwriter as she is a painter. Light and emotionally sincere, the EP is a fitting soundtrack for our summer nights. 

A vibrant musical collective based in the heart of Houston, Texas, Ritmo Lokura is a band shock-full of talent and of style. ‘Te Lo Digo A Ti’ is the title of the group’s latest genre-defying single. A blend of reggae and latin music, with no small amount of soul, pop, and ska thrown in the mix. The results are electrifying and groovy.

During the song’s relatively normal runtime of little under 4 minutes, the group manage to squeeze in a sizable instrumental guitar intro that’s way too sweet and soulful for words to describe. Right afterwards the song begins to reveal its stylistic acrobatics. With a beat that’s solid and rocking, brushing off against the syncopated, upbeat-heavy rhythm guitar part, funky and tight, the song boldly shows off its lack of regard for conventional genre boundaries. A rather fruity organ part flows through the song, soloing to its heart’s content, adding a rather distinctive flavor to the fresh cocktail of sounds going alongside it. 

With its snappy drums, juicy bass, balanced guitar parts, and rather intricate build, ‘Te Lo Digo A Ti’ flows with extreme ease. Adding the rich latin vocals and ultra-charismatic horns to the mix only makes the song that much more special. A stunning release from Ritmo Lokura. 

Based in Derby, The United Kingdom, Antonia Dwyer is a 22 year old artist whose heritage is mixed between Spanish, Jamaican, and British, and she uses every ounce of her family history in her music. For her latest release, titled ‘Veneno’ (Spanish for venom), she is accessing her Spanish roots for a Latin flair that comes in form of a delicate acoustic guitar rhythm part that gives the song a particular character, she is also accessing her Jamaican side for the blazing rap section and it’s fragmented flow, while the economical mix and the fantastically punchy production keeps everything very smooth, flowing, and exciting.

‘Veneno’ is a wonderfully put together little piece of R&B with a spicy latin flair and a rap section that makes the song x10 more interesting. Antonia Dwyer is an up and coming artist that you should keep an eye for.