Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by DJ Chilly and Albina Cabrera, hosts of El Sonido on KEXP, in honor of Latinx Heritage Month, is "Guanaco" by Terror/Cactus, from the 2020 self-released album Confluencia.
Local producer Martín Selasco was born in Buenos Aires and raised in Miami, and he brings these influences to Seattle via his electro-cumbia project Terror/Cactus. His latest LP Confluencia is an auditory journey through the spectacular landscapes of South America, combining mesmerizing rhythms and psychedelic guitars. In an interview with Ballard Vox, Selasco talked about how his Latin American roots permeate his music:
Music has always been a way for me to connect to my cultural heritage. My parents moved to Miami from Argentina when I was just a baby, but with most of our family still in Argentina we’d go back and spend at least a month there every summer. This created a sense of nostalgia in me and that of belonging to something that was far away. At the same time, Miami is a huge hub for Latin American immigrants, especially from South America and the Carribean, and so I was surrounded by tons of Latin music – salsa, cumbia, merengue, reggaeton, etc. On top of all this, both my dad and my grandpa ran their own record labels. I was exposed to tango, Argentine folk, and Argentine classic rock from a young age, and this music heightened that sense of connection and nostalgia with regards to my home country.
Fast forward to Seattle, I don’t think those feelings ever left me. I carry a lot of other influences now, having lived most of my adult life on the west coast – electronica, garage, psychedelic, etc. When these new influences merge together with those of my Latin roots, that’s where things get interesting, and it’s what I try to explore with Terror/Cactus.
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Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
