Mexican Institute of Sound - Escribeme Pronto

Escribeme Pronto, taken from the critically acclaimed Piñata, is the latest release from Mexico City’s one-man mariachi Camilo Lara, aka Mexican Institute of Sound. Taking inspiration from all genres, including cha-cha-cha, samba, hip-hop, funk and electro, the remixes in this EP span the entire range of worldwide cultures. While latin and electro aren’t genres you usually hear being united, it works amazingly well. Sparo’s ear-destroyingly bassy mix; IMS’s delightfully computery interpretation; Aldo Vanucci’s toned down version and Playmobil Project’s pseudo hip-hop take on the song are all pretty good, but it’s the original album version and Bonde Do Role’s DJ Gorky’s version that are the highlight here, combining banging, cut and paste drums and uplifting trumpets with flowing Spanish rap and a catchy, sing-along chorus. Anyone looking to inject a little latin into their musical life would do well to pick this up, pronto. [Michael Slevin]