María Emilia Mernes
Cuatro Veinte ("Four twenty"/Argentinian Reggaeton/2022)
Good morning (or evening!) folks,
Last week, we were in Albania, exploring frigid Brezovica and being mesmerized by Era Istrefi’s electronic dance number. This week, we mosey on over to sunny Argentina and listen to the country’s emerging diva in the reggaeton genre, Emilia.
So what exactly is reggaeton? 🤨
Think drums, Latin music, hip-hop, timbales, and a melodic hook. The snares and the kick drum make the basic rhythmic block you hear in this genre, called the “dembow”.1 This is also why Google has the autocomplete question, “why does all reggaeton sound the same?” Answer: the dembow.
The 25-year-old singer has been writing songs since she was 10. In an interview with Billboard, she said she would sing the first song she wrote at family gatherings and then pass her hat around to get paid. She dropped out of university to pursue a career in music and she got her break when one of her cover tracks on Instagram caught the attention of a producer.
Enjoy this recent offering from Emilia. Let me play detective here— she starts off with six doggos at the beginning: the chihuahua, the Border Collie, the golden lab, a dachshund, and two others I can’t identify. The Border Collie makes a run for it. She’s dragged into the studio with her golden lab and she’s holding the chihuahua. What happened to the other 3 dogs?
I need to know if they’re okay.
Exciting announcement on Monday!
I’ve even done a nice voice-over. Be sure to check your inboxes on the 22nd!
Nikhil.
The music theory behind reggaeton is explained wonderfully, in under 2 minutes by Dave Wave on YouTube. Has plenty of examples of classics, including Gasolina.
Not really a fan of the genre, although Rosalía's Motomami is one of my favorite albums of 2022. Enjoyed this song, though! She was new to me.
Closed my eyes and listened and my mind inexplicably saw this as a ballet on stage.