1. Mexican Institute Of Sound-Soy Sauce
2. Zoe-Reptilectric
3. Eydie Gorme Y Los Pachos-Cantan En Español
4. V/A-Salsa Dura Show
5. Don Omar-IDON
6. La Excelencia-Mi Tumbao Social
7. Manu Chao-Clandestino
8. Mexican Institute Of Sound-Piñata
9. Federico Aubele -Amatoria
(Five releases tied at #10)

Mexican Institute Of Sound's latest release, Soy Sauce, takes the number one spot from April’s big seller, Zoe. Soy Sauce has received great reviews and much support on public radio, not to mention the Anglo crossover appeal. All the exposure has helped M.I.S.’s overall catalog sales. Their previous release, Piñata, took the number eight spot as well. Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos’ Cantan En Español is at number three, thanks in part to the fact that this album seems to be a perennial Mother’s Day gift.

May also brought to Los Angeles the 11th Annual Los Angeles Salsa Congress and with it, many Salsa fans from all over the world. I had the pleasure of helping people from Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico and some peeps from all over the U.S. Some of the Salsa enthusiasts even made last minute trips to Amoeba just before heading to the airport on their way home. Now that’s some determination, if you know L.A. traffic! Among those releases was La Excelencia’s brilliant Mi Tumbao Social and The Salsa Dura Show compilation, featuring deep Salsa jams put together by Nick Aguirre, host of one of the most popular Salsa internet radio shows in the world, Nick Aguirre's Salsa Dura Show.

A few new releases hit the charts as well. Reggaeton icon Don Omar's much-anticipated new joint, IDON, came in at number five and Federico Aubele’s third release, Amatoria, came in at number eight. Fans of Aubele’s music should know what to expect-- dubby, down tempo electronica with Spanish guitar, sultry female vocals and Tango influences. Also, along with Aubele’s new CD, there are a few new 12” remixes of previous released songs, such as "Maria Jose" from 2007’s Panamericana.

Lately I have been doing interviews for the Amoeba website, mostly for the "What's In My Bag?" section. In the last few weeks, I have interviewed Camilo Lara from Mexican Institute Of Sound, members of Zoe, and Gil Cerezo of Kinky & Chico Sonido. I have enjoyed talking to different musicians about what they are listening to these days. My conversation with Camilo Lara lasted beyond the time we interviewed him for the segment. We discussed the future of music and how the internet has leveled the playing field, which is great for indie bands from Mexico. We discussed his audience in the U.S., who he describes as "mostly Anglos who listen to music on NPR or public radio, world music enthusiasts and Mexican nationalists who check out every band from Mexico..." Finally, we discussed his somewhat unusual day job as the Chairman of E.M.I. Mexico. He once dropped the band Zoe from Sony after their first record didn't do so well, only to resign them once they became bigger as an indie band. Sometimes you are just too ahead of the curve.

I found him to be an interesting person and quite knowledgeable about music in general. Check out my segment with Camilo below:

     
Out June 26th -

Hip-hop en Español via Spain.

A Spaniard's lisp
never sounded so cool!






Out July 26th -

Electronic cumbia, rock and mambo via Mexico.

¡Que chido!







Out now  -

Greatest hits + three bonus tracks from Cuba's best hip-hop group.

A must have if you missed the boat on their previous releases!