What is the sound of Los Cumpleaños? The avant-tropical post-truth NYC quartet play classic era Cumbia, Porro, Son Caribeño, Salsa Criolla, and Colombian Bullerengue, filtered through synth-y psychedelic sound waves, a heavy low end, and a kind of joyful, irreverent, and contagious cheekiness. The vibe is retro-Latin pitched through a kaleidoscope; fun-house mirrored; Macondo-like. The band cites influences ranging from Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Sun Ra to Flying Lotus. The band’s late night set at last year’s Barbès in the Woods festival had everyone flying.

Habbina Habbina shreds Mediterranean surf rock, inspired by all kinds of things but certainly the guitar stylings of Aris San and Dick Dale. Israeli-NYC guitarist Amit Peled (A-WA, Ramzailech) is joined by bassist Ran Livneh (Anbessa Orchestra) and Cem Misiliorglu (Sessa). Their repertoire includes retro-Mediterranean-hits, James Bond soundtracks, Umm Kulthum, and Britney Spears. They’re a brand new project – you’ve probably never heard of them before, so here’s a snippet.

DJ Bongohead (Peace & Rhythm) connects the dots between the Lat-Am and the Mediterranean with his eclectic vinyl selections.
The Planetary Party is a monthly series at the Drake featuring dance music from everywhere by live performers + DJs.