JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Thousands of independent artists submitted to this year's Tiny Desk contest with dreams of playing at NPR's office. The contest brought in entries from every genre imaginable. And this week on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, we're highlighting some of the best. Here to share the best Latin entries is Felix Contreras, host of Tiny Desk and Alt.Latino. Hey, Felix.
FELIX CONTRERAS, BYLINE: Hey, Juana. OK, so the first thing I want to talk about is this song called "Última Noche" by the band Thee Almighty Majestics. And that's T-H-E-E, OK? They're from Southern California, and the sound is pure 1970s Mexican pop. Check it out.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ÚLTIMA NOCHE")
THEE ALMIGHTY MAJESTICS: (Singing in Spanish).
SUMMERS: I love this. The sound is so fun. Tell us about them.
CONTRERAS: OK. I'm so into these guys because they're part of a movement in Southern California that's a throwback to the sounds and songs of '70s Latin pop. And I got to tell you, at the time, when I was listening to it in the '70s, I thought it was so cheesy.
(LAUGHTER)
CONTRERAS: But I'm so into it and so into this band if you 'cause watch the video, they're wearing these cool little outfits. They look so cool. I want to be a member of this band so I can look as cool as they are.
SUMMERS: We love a '70s fashion throwback.
CONTRERAS: Yeah. Right?
SUMMERS: What you got next, Felix?
CONTRERAS: OK. The next I want to share is a shoutout to a Puerto Rican artist named Ed Harvest. It's called "Me Toca Despedirme De Ti."
(SOUNDBITE OF ED HARVEST SONG, "ME TOCA DESPEDIRME DE TI")
SUMMERS: Some really strong rock vibes there, Felix.
CONTRERAS: OK, that's Puerto Rico's hidden secret, OK? 'Cause they have such a variety of sounds. They're known initially for salsa and then eventually reggaeton. You know, think Bad Bunny and all that. But they have such a strong rock tradition. They're punk rock, straight-ahead rock like this. And this band is a perfect example of that 'cause there's elements of Afro Caribbean stuff, but this is a straight-ahead rock band.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ME TOCA DESPEDIRME DE TI")
ED HARVEST: (Singing in Spanish).
SUMMERS: OK, this is a band I definitely want to check out. Felix, I wonder, though, do you have one favorite Latin entry that maybe rose above the rest of the crop for you this year?
CONTRERAS: OK, my favorite this year was called "Cubahia" by the group Ivan Llanes & Friends. Watch this.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CUBAHIA")
IVAN LLANES AND FRIENDS: (Singing in Spanish).
SUMMERS: This is great. Tell us about this band.
CONTRERAS: OK. Ivan Llanes is an amazing percussionist and vocalist and band leader. He's a side man with a lot of other projects. But this particular group - you can hear at the beginning. It's all percussion. I'm a percussionist. I went crazy over the beginning, but the rest of the song is this amazing example of contemporary Cuban music, like what we call salsa with funk and all this other stuff thrown in.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CUBAHIA")
IVAN LLANES AND FRIENDS: (Singing in Spanish).
CONTRERAS: Man, this band is just - it's incredible. It was my favorite of the year this year.
SUMMERS: That's NPR Music's Felix Contreras, talking about the best Latin entries to this year's Tiny Desk contest, Felix, thanks.
CONTRERAS: You're welcome.
SUMMERS: To watch all of these and more, visit npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CUBAHIA")
IVAN LLANES AND FRIENDS: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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