For over 5 years, our team in South Plug has been devoted to supporting and broadcasting Latin American artists and creators from the electrónic music scene. What started as a self-sustained project to develop high quality audiovisual material for electronic musicians in Chile, turned into a fund winning multidimensional platform aiming to professionalize and showcase all those involved in the diversification and enrichment of electronic culture, which has allowed us to connect artists from different corners of the world, and open work opportunities for emerging and consolidated musicians.
Over the years, we have managed to articulate South Plug’s starting point and main goal: to promote representativity of minorities in the electronic culture, especially Latin American musicians and producers who, many times due to lack of resources and/or information, are underplayed in the global scene, which has several implications which we will address later on, on this article.
One of these implications is the multiple attempts to define Latin American electrónic music as one common subgenre in electronic music, which – we have come to notice – is not possible. The diversity that is Latin America is immense, each country having different cultural backgrounds and mixtures. There are, however, several subgenres in electronic music that were born in Latin America as a result of this diversity, and which offer a tremendous opportunity for the industry not only in terms of an enrichment of the scene, but also regarding a huge market that has not necessarily been as thoroughly explored as the European, for example. Throughout this article, we hope to give the reader a sense of this diversity, a few examples of the most prominent subgenres born in the region, along with the massive opportunities that the Latin American area poses. First, let’s get some of our main concepts cleared out.
What do we mean by representativity?
In order to propose a common understanding of what representativity is, we are taking Orgard’s definition, which refers to mediatic representativity as a powerful element in the definition of our actions as a society, due to the fact that nowadays the majority of our symbolic representation process occurs in the media. This phenomenon nurtures the individual and collective imaginary, which refers to the way we perceive, understand and feel who we are, our collective history and the social practices which are the baseline for society. This way, when we are speaking about representativity, we are talking about the degree in which a certain group, sector or phenomenon is represented in the media, which leads to its understanding – in our collective imaginary – in a determined way.
Now we have cleared our concepts, we can address the main question behind our purpose. Is it important for diversity to exist in media representativity? Several investigations have proven it is, its main – and logical – argument being that society is, in itself, diverse. This way, a non diverse representativity of society, leads to a misconstrued representation of reality, or even to a “symbolic annihilation” which is especially devastating for marginalized communities, as we have witness happen for decades to certain ethnicities, socioeconomic groups, gender and sexual minorities, or political sectors.
The music industry, as any other global industry, feeds and at the same time is being fed by the media, who broadcasts and position certain music genres, artists, and collectives in our collective imaginary. According to the latest IMS (International Music Summit) report, electronic music is one of the most heard musical genres in the last years, generating around $1.3 billion dollars a year. This poses as much an opportunity as a responsibility for the media; to showcase the diversity that exists in the scene allows not only electronic culture to grow and to be enriched by such diversity, but also gives work and development opportunities for artists coming from minority groups.
A non diverse representativity of society, leads to a misconstrued representation of reality, or even to a “symbolic annihilation” which is especially devastating for marginalized communities
Latin America in the industry
Let’s go through some data. In the last couple of years there have been many Latin American DJs and producers who have made it into some of the biggest festivals and music charts in the world, however, when it comes to global media, the region continues to have little representation. For instance, in 2021, Mixmag magazine highlighted the best 174 albums of the year, of which only 4 were from Latin American artists (which makes for approximately 2%). Something similar happens when looking at Bandcamp Daily, which only included one Latin American artist (from a total of 39) in their list of best electronic music in the years 2019, 2020, 2021. In the same magazine, the year’s best electronic releases included 12 releases, of which 1 belongs to a Latin American artist. DJMag’s 100 best DJs in 2021 included a 6% of Latin American DJs, percentage that grew in 2022 to 9%, which is an accomplishment, but is still a very low number when compared to, for instance, The Netherlands, which reaches a solid 23%.
Now that we have seen some figures, we can move on to think about what it really means to increase the representativeness of Latin American electronic music. Is it enough to increase its presence in the media, and is there a way to encapsulate the Latin American sound?
As we saw earlier, one of the effects of the lack of representativeness is that the public begins to develop a generalized, usually stereotyped and erroneous notion of what it is really trying to represent. That is why the work to rescue the characteristics and specific identity of each thing, person or place, becomes imperative.
Latin American sound
At a global level, in music a certain Latin identity has been built, which attempts to bring together different countries and cultures and merge them in a single personality. This is not strange when we take into account the history and civilizations that compose it, with a common denominator of struggle and shared paradigms, the adaptation to globality and the challenges it brings.
We could speak of language as a unifying factor, but this would lead to the exclusion of Brazil, in addition to the over 400 indigenous languages of the region.
Then we have to understand that Latin America arises from the mixture and interaction of diverse cultures (historically dominant and dominated), from the diversity given by the native peoples (pre-Latin), from the search to resignify what we are, without denying what we have had to go through, which makes possible and gives rise to the new and unprecedented, without forgetting or leaving aside the local and autochthonous. Quite the contrary, it becomes a place to go to for answers, inspiration, understanding and a sense of belonging.
The result of all this is a culture that is not African, Asian, Indian or European, nor the sum of all of these. Rather, it is a civilization that is the product of the cultural mix of colonization, dependence and independence and that takes a clear position in globalization. The culture and customs that we see today are the result of the commitment of people and entities to take care of, and not let die, what is their own and authentic. Culturally, Latin America represents an example of determination, love and respect, offering in its artistic manifestations a contribution to the modern and homogenized world, to open dialogue and the possibility of interaction between different nations and cultures.
Taking this to the electronic culture, throughout history, music in Latin America has found its own path in each nation, influenced by the aforementioned events and the baggage that comes with them. Generating its own sound in each area, which in turn is already defined by the mixture of rhythms, both local (indigenous) and foreign (Iberian, sub-Saharan, European, Arab and East Asian).
It is not the intention of this article to go through the history of electronic music in the region (where we should highlight the great artists who started the local current in the 50s), but it is important to mention that, although there are artists who have achieved worldwide fame, especially since the 90s, this does not necessarily constitute the Latin sound. Many times they resort to sampling and other resources that although they have Latin elements, they do not respond to a local sound, since it continues occupying great part of the logic that came mainly from Germany and the United States. This does not mean that their work and the way in which they were opening the way should be underestimated, but it is important to differentiate what is the Latin sound from what is the sampling of Latin elements.
The Latin stamp in electronic music is a result of the arrival of styles such as synth pop, electro pop, house, techno, minimal and others coming from Europe and the United States, which interacted with the existing local music, generating a new mix of sounds. This mixture continues to stand out for its characteristic rhythm, and because it integrates elements of genres from the region along with folklore.
Latin America represents an example of determination, love and respect, offering in its artistic manifestations a contribution to the modern and homogenized world, to open dialogue and the possibility of interaction between different nations and cultures.
What does Latin American electronic music sound like?
Currently the most listened genres continue to respond to the global trend, such as EDM, tech house, techno, among others, and the space occupied by certain Latin American artists tends to be cataloged as “world music” – for example – when in fact it should be called “electronic cumbia” or “Afro-Colombian”. To start talking about these genres gives the possibility to understand the origin and influences of projects that, although they could be included within the concept of “world music”, are, at the same time, completely different fron one another in their form and rhythm, even if they are from neighboring countries. By giving more information and detail, we are really seeing the identity of each artist. When we give visibility to that more accurate identity, we are being faithful in conveying their message.
Some of the ways in which people try to categorize Latin American electronic music is as “contemporary electronic music” or “Latin American contemporary music”. These labels become a way of talking about the region and its origin, rather than its music and rhythms.
If we dig deeper, we will see that these terms are the result of foreign electronic music genres, with the interaction of Latin American genres, generating mixtures such as:
- Cumbia
1.1. Techno-cumbia (México)
1.2. Electrónica o Digital, cumbiatrónica, nueva cumbia, nu-cumbia (Argentina)
1.3. Cumbia sonidera (México) - Psicodélica, Chicha (Perú)
- Tropical Bass (Perú)
- Zouk Bass (Centroamérica – Eur)
- Moombahton (Puerto Rico)
- Soca Electro (Venezuela, Caribe)
- Tango Electrónico, Electro Tango, Techno Tango, Nuevo Tango (Argentina)
- Baile Funk, Funk Dance (Brasil)
- Electrónica Étnica Latinoamericana (Chile)
- Merengue Electrónico (República Dominicana)
- Merengue house, Mambo electrónico (República Dominicana – NY)
- Latin House (Latinos – US)
- Electro Latino (Centroamérica)
- Tribal House (Latinos – US)
- Tribal Guarachero (México)
- Tecnomerengue (Venezuela)
- Forró Electrónico (Brasil)
- Electronic Bossa Nova (Brasil-Eur)
- Funk Carioca (Brasil)
- Ritmo dos Fluxos – Ritmo de fluidos (Brasil)
- Electro Vallenato (Colombia)
- Neo Carrilera o Tecnocarrilera (Colombia)
- Latin Ambient, Latin Chill (Ecuador)
- Palenque – Afrocolombiano (Colombia)
- Neo Folklore Latino (Latam)
- Andean bass (Chile – Argentina)
- Electro Hop (Latinos – US)
- Salsa electrónica (Puerto Rico – Colombia)
These subgenres do not respond to a logic of electronic music alone, but have become key variants to give the Latin personality and rhythmic stamp that characterizes the region. Although they are currents that come from previous genres, the change occurs when these styles begin to use electronic components, taking them to new places.
It is important to point out that not all Latin styles respond to the same rhythm and energy. It is because of the same mixture of cultures and sounds that we also find genres more linked to ritual, trance and ceremony, such as sacred music, baroque études, huaynos, pasillos, danzantes, to name a few. Here is where the pre-Columbian culture and native peoples take a more prominent role, resulting in a musicality full of depth and spirituality, which is not necessarily given by the rhythm.
Today we see how this mixture of styles already crosses borders, not only talking about artists with worldwide presence (Dengue Dengue Dengue Dengue), but also about new artists of non-Latin origin, who dabble in the same subgenres: in Holland there is Umoja, and Sonido del Príncipe, in Denmark Copia Doble Systema, from Australia we can listen to Cumbia Cosmonauts, and in New York, Que Bajo, to name a few examples.
Stereotypes vs authenticity
If we could recommend a scene where to find these artists and incipient genres, we would automatically have to talk about the underground, as a meeting place for scenes, styles and people, where creativity and teamwork are freely tested and allowed to take over. Unfortunately, many times this scene works from self-management, by a precarious system and not necessarily as an option, but as the only way out for projects to show themselves to the world. To understand this, it is necessary to eliminate from the collective imagination the image of the glamorous underground of the ’90s, since today the global scene is much more professionalized and generates high quality job opportunities and benefits. The underground takes place below the commercial and massive line. Paradoxically, it is here where many labels and recognized artists look for inspirations, collaborators and connect with new music or their own style, since otherwise it can result in a serial production and not much differentiation.
In conclusion, while we recognize the importance of media representation for minority groups, in this case Latin American electronic music, we also note the difficulty this brings in terms of understanding what Latin American music and sound is. The diversity of the region is where its cultural richness comes from, and the infinite contribution it can make to the global electronic music scene.
We believe that in order to really make a contribution in terms of increasing representativeness, the first step is to desist from attempts to stereotypically define a Latin American sub-genre and begin to showcase artists with authentic projects defined by them, as well as to understand the cultural origins of the music of the region, which invite new experiences within electronic music.
Our proposal, then, is to record and publicize the stories and the people behind the projects, to break preconceived notions and give recognition, along with educating in electronic culture and enriching the global scene. This, at the same time, will contribute to offer alternatives to the underground in Latin America, professionalizing and supporting the system so that the underground continues to be a special meeting place and creativity, but one that is reached by choice, not as a last alternative.
Bibliography:
- Orgad, Shani. (2012). Media representation and the global imagination.
- Gaonkar, D. P. (2002). Toward new imaginaries: An introduction. Public Culture, 14(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-14-1-1
- Shaw, Adrienne, “Identity, Identification, and Media Representation in Video Game Play: An audience reception study” (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 286. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/286
- Caswell, M., Migoni A., Geraci, N, & Cifor, M. (2017) ‘To Be Able to Imagine Otherwise’: community archives and the importance of representation, Archives and Records, 38:1, 5-26, DOI: 10.1080/23257962.2016.1260445
