Born in Bucaramanga and based in Bogotá, Francisco Corredor—aka CRRDR—has emerged as one of the organizing forces behind what he calls Latin America’s “post-pandemic club music”—a generation of “internet kids, freaks, and nerds” connected online and transforming local genres into club-heavy, no-limit bangers. From Mexico City to Buenos Aires, Corredor and his contemporaries fall under the inexact banner of “Latin Club,” which CRRDR has reappropriated as “Latin Core.”
Around 2015, Francisco Corredor began attending parties in Bogotá’s underground nightlife. At that time, the scene was dominated by rough, outward-looking sounds. That meant American and Euro-inspired music either reproduced locally or booked from out of town. “There was a huge hardcore scene—and not only electronic hardcore, but punk rock and metal,” CRRDR says. “Bogotá is a city that has always been involved with fast rhythms.”
But once the pandemic hit and everyone was stuck in their bedrooms CRRDR, like many, began his own experiments in production. His first EP of 2019 _N.LOG_, recorded live with a Korg Volca, a Kaoss Pad, and TR-8, is a vicious blend of new beat and acid punk. “I started making music for fun—to experiment and discover a part of myself,” CRRDR says. “I focused on experimental music, ambient music, and sound design.”
Things quickly began moving in a new direction. In 2021, CRRDR’s song “Rompe Rodillas” put a club spin on Puerto Rico’s perreo music (perreo being a synth-y, sexy form of reggaetón). His 2019 Edits EP is “fully loaded with neo-clubbing sounds” and deconstructed reggaetón. It was followed two months later by “FIN,” an abstract fusion of salsa, dembow, and breaks. These tracks mark the beginning of CRRDR drawing on a wide range of Latin American genres, all of them infused with the spirit of internet styles like nightcore and global cybertech. No genre was off limits: guaracha, champeta, cumbia, aleteo—all of it was mixed with music from the more radical end of the rave spectrum, like happy hardcore, gabber, or hard tech. “I started seeing this same pattern with other artists in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico,” CRRDR says, “But it didn’t have a tag or genre. It was just deconstructed Latin Club.”
After the pandemic, when clubs in Bogotá started opening back up, it was tough for CRRDR to get gigs. Bogotá’s techno gatekeepers preferred purer sounds. And though the city loves fast music, CRRDR and his friends couldn’t get booked because they were playing guaracha. “I was tired of the techno scene. It was too much, too pretentious,” CRRDR explains. “The [establishment] didn’t understand us. We have this saying here: ‘Nobody is a prophet in their own land.’” So, CRRDR, alongside fellow hardcore producer Aleroj and friends 2AT and Nacidmento, launched their own collective and party series called Muakk. Not only were these makeshift parties new terrain for Latin Core, they were also a safe space for the budding queer scene that cottoned to the music’s offbeat, internet-informed aesthetics and sped-up sounds. This was soon accompanied by the creation of the label Trampa—a merger of Aleroj’s Perro Perro movement and CRRDR’s Mothership—where the team could curate this emergent music and give visibility to artists from Honduras, Chile, Peru, and elsewhere via a series of compilations.
Trampa isn’t alone: NAAFI (No Ambition And Fuck-all Interest) in Mexico City has been uniting producers for extreme bootlegs since 2014, when the first PIRATA compilation was released. PIRATA 666, the sixth installment, is packed with sped-up, shredded insanity. There’s also the now-famous TraTraTrax, Bogotá’s own Putivuelta, and the women-led Club Felinas.
And that’s just half the story. The internet kids behind the Latin Core movement are similarly inspired by meme-savvy collectives like Poland’s Wixapol, the Angel’s Gun Club in Naples, Croatia’s low-income $quad, and the “uwu” language of anime.
There’s a meme that CRRDR shared in which a Latin American person points to a chart depicting a color-coded selection of South American electronic sub-genres: UwUaracha, merenguecore, raptor house, and dozens more. The European looking at the same chart sees only “Latin Club.” It’s this lack of awareness that has inspired CRRDR to continue his work, go on tour, and “democratize Latin Core worldwide.” UwUaracha, perreocore, speed dembow—this mission is to use the Latin Core platform to broaden the awareness of the rich Latin musical culture, while opening it up for a new generation of progressive youth.
Today, Latin Core is coming from every direction. And the revolving door of these supportive collectives are pumping out extraneous sounds non-stop. Putivuelta has a saying: “no todo lo feo es paila”—not everything ugly is bad. A nice disclaimer for those who need to brace for the extreme sounds from these DIY movements. With that in mind, here’s a taste of the baddest, ugliest sounds from the disparate community of Latin Core artists.
CRRDR
“Soba que Soba”
It’s hard to choose a single track from CRRDR’s prolific discography to highlight. Some are over-the-top, shameless, and extreme, while others are more meditative, smooth, and faithful to their root sound. There’s a bit of baile funk, champeta, and reggaetón in CRRDR’s work, but it’s the guaracha influence that reigns supreme—or rather, the “UwUaracha,” as CRRDR has jokingly called it. (Don’t know “uwu”? We’ve got you.) The Desacato EP is UwUaracha to the max—an overwhelming avalanche of experimental techno, guaracha, and cybertech.
Brenda,
“Prendida”
Another Colombian producer “exploring Latin music,” Brenda has mastered the fusion of techno bass and dembow/reggaetón rhythms. “Prendida” is a relentless club banger with meticulous production and chopped vocal samples—a trend that continues through his extensive catalog, which includes everything from Doja Cat and Skrillex edits to Latin megaflips and DJ tools, all cooked with “Latinx love.”
Lyo XS
“Prudencia”
Lyo XS is an artist based in Mexico City who has appeared on Muakk compilations, partied with the LATIGAZO collective, and toured all around the world. Lyo XS is also a talented visual artist, combining surreal futuristic design and Latin American symbolism—as on the cover of this release, a deep combo of Latin bass and speed dembow.
Lukrø & Cardozo
“Sigue”
Lukrø & Cardozo are a duo on Mexico City label HYPERSONICS who combine underground music, internet culture, and digital art and design. “Sigue” is an example of the subtler breaks included in global club music with the ever-present sounds of dembow and reggaetón—this time with a touch of perreo.
Carlycore
“Pakemeden”
Carlycore is a “breakcore girl” from Lima, Peru who, like CRRDR, started dropping heavy productions in a post-pandemic world. This track, from the wryly named compilation HOE-VID 19, dropped in September 2022, and mixes sped-up dembow and DIY EDM for a purely Latin Core experience.
Nicola Cruz
“Acelera”
Colombia label TraTraTrax has been doing a lot of legwork consolidating the Latin Core sound in its many forms—whether it’s by giving new life to raptor house pioneer DJ Babatr from Venezuela, or by expanding into new territories. They do the latter here, with celebrated Franco-Ecuadorian DJ and producer Nicola Cruz offering a first take on industrial dembow.
Clementaum x Rattlesnakke
“AIII”
Argentinian singer, composer, and performer Rattlesnakke teams up with Brazilian DJ and music producer Clementaum on this wild mashup that’s featured on Berlin compilation International Chromies Vol. 14. It’s a beautiful blend of baile funk vocals, UwUaracha bass, and a Darude “Sandstorm” riff. CRRDR also appears on the compilation, as does Mexico’s DJ Fucci, Dominican producer DJ Sosa RD, and several others, offering a nice preview of the Latin Core scene.
Benfika
“Posición”
Carlos Martes, aka Benfika, began making ethereal electronic music on Mexico label Infinite Machine back in 2015. While the artist’s more recent releases have shades of ambient techno, there is a clear turn towards club-centered beats inspired by reggaetón rhymes. Benfika is also a member of Tijuana’s budding collective and party series LATIGAZO, carving a space for hardcore music in the hyper-populated border city.
Bitter Babe & Nick León
“SMS_229-305”
Another two-for-one from TraTraTrax, this time with Colombian selector and producer Bitter Babe and Latin inspired, Miami based artist Nick León. The combined project, Fuego Clandestino, “leads into the depths of a 2050 illicit perreo party in Miami.” It exists between heavy club music and post-reggaetón rhythms, a percussive and futuristic cut from the Latinx frontline.
Wost
“MASSIVV (SPEED MIX)”
WOST is one of Latin America’s more recognizable DJs. He’s appeared on the Boiler Room tour circuit and has had tracks featured in EA’s FIFA 20 as well as in ads for Apple and Adidas. Born in Venezuala, WOST is now based in Colombia’s party city of Medellín. Originally appearing on Low Income $quad’s compilation LI$036, this sped-up version of an already sped-up track is even more techno, more baile, and more Latin Core.
Cimarrón
“La Señal”
Cimarrón is a producer from Argentina and a frequent guest on compilations from Muakk—another production offshoot of Trampa and CRRDR. “La Señal” is an epic, internet-informed riff on Daddy Yankee’s reggaetón throwaway of the same name.
syntrovert
“Brújula”
From the Chilean city of Valparaiso comes syntrovert. As the name implies, syntrovert is a reclusive figure, known originally for deconstructed Latin interpretations of drum & bass. But on the Ediciones Oceánicas EP, syntrovert “recycles and reconceptualizes ideas connected as nodes in the unconscious audio-digital ocean.” “Brújula” is a mix of Latin kicks and oceanic melodies from Chile’s Pacific coastland.
DJ Fucci
“Chile”
Pablo Ramírez, also known as DJ Fucci or Aladar, is a producer from Mexico City and a co-founder of WVWV Records. On this release, Fucci explores the Mesoamerican agrosystem known as “milpa” over the course of four tracks: “Frijoles,” “Chile,” “Maiz,” and “Calabaza”—beans, chili, corn, and pumpkin. With its Mesoamerican melodies and the soft glow of the internet sub-niches, DJ Fucci’s sounds are as inspired by nature as they are by online esoterica.
Siu Mata & Amor Satyr
“Jiggy Bow”
The duo of Siu Mata and Amor Satyr have made a name for themselves in the underground by mixing dembow, reggaetón, and baile funk with slick techno. Their EP Speed Dembow is a go-to for any DJ looking to introduce Latin genres to the European 5 AM club crowd. Whether under their own names, or in their work together as Sexapil, Siu Mata and Amor Satyr have been slipping Latin genres into their electronic sets for ages.
Sykors
“MACUMBINHA RAVE DO SYKORS 170BPM”
Skykors, whom CRRDR named as the Latin Core ambassador of Brazil, is one of the more fearless baile funk experimenters, combining ghetto tech, techno and, on this track, psytrance. “MACUMBINHA RAVE” is a rare example of psyfunk and the limitless capacity of the baile kick—this time fused with acid bass.
