In celebration of the first day of Latinx Heritage Month / Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re highlighting some of our favorite artists and bands that just so happen to be of Latine heritage. For years, Latinx have been overlooked when it comes to indie music, these artists are some of the most underrepresented in this expansive genre, but that’s been changing. While mainstream music media and brands are finally getting on board, we here at Grimy Goods have been about it since day 1.

Grimy Goods is a first generation Latina-American owned independent music platform, with an amazing crew that is also of Latine and POC backgrounds. We’re thrilled to continue to celebrate our sisters and brothers from Latine roots and beyond. Press play below on these five incredible Latinx indie acts you need to hear.

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Soltera

Fueled by a desire to bring communities together, make people feel deeply and get them moving all along the way, Los Angeles based musician, performer, DJ and film maker — Soltera drums up saturated, bouncy house/dance tunes that combine hypnotically rhythmic beats, sultry vocals and a fluttering of experimental sound.

The Colombian-American artist Tania Ordoñez, started self-producing her own music in 2018. Drawing on the heavy use of synthesizers, drum machines, and anything else that helped advance her darkly entrancing electronica, Soltera released her debut EP Sin Compromiso just last year. Its wildly cathartic and vigorous soundscapes offer a space in which fans can rage to completion whatever emotions they feel the need to purge. 

Visit Soltera’s website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.

Aroe Phoenix

Born in Los Angeles and raised for most of her adolescence in México, Aroe Phoenix is a  a trilingual singer-songwriter whose precious voice adds to the mystique of her altogether fresh take on R&B. With a talent for mix R&B with modern pop in ways that affectionately and intensely reflect the overflowingly emotional worlds inside of her. 

Aroe Phoenix just re-released her Alba EP. hese new versions were remixed and remastered by Cesar Mejia at The Shelter Studios in Boyle Heights and feature songs like the upbeat pop track  “Cansar en Paz,”, which was the first song of Phoenix’s that caught our attention. Her latest single “Space+Space” is a glowing attempt at introspection that’s warmly lit by the Los Angeles artist’s warm vocal bathings. Over simmering beats and buoyantly spacious soundscapes filled with scattered cries and lush tones, Aroe Phoenix cuts through a thicket of personal epiphanies.

Visit Arie Phoenix’s Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements. Follow Aroe Phoenix on Spotify.

Wild Heart Club

As the vehicle for producer and singer/songwriter Kristen Castro’s retro-gleaming creations, Wild Heart Club started as a coping mechanism for a two-fold breakup of a relationship and her band. Stuck inside like everyone else during the pandemic, the Mexican-American artist found catharsis by retreating into the dually digital and analog conjured dreamworlds of her sleek indie-pop, and when she finally emerged it was with her debut album Arcade Back in Manitou.

With silk, delicate vocals — Castro take you on a delicious ride full of dazzling melodies and of course her lush vocals that feel like a warm embrace. A little bit of Cocteau Twins, and a sprinkle of Fleetwood Mac, Castro enraptures her listeners with brilliant crescendos and lyrical emotion that touches on everything from heartbreak to hope and moving on. We can’t wait for this Portland-based artist to play a show in L.A.

Visit Wild Heart Club on their website, Facebook, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.

Lucys

Originally a four-piece bedroom pop band formed in 2017, the metamorphosis of the band Lucys has left it a solo act, spearheaded by original and only remaining band member Mono Hai. Despite a heavy transformation and a pandemic, Lucys has persevered to make laid back, vibe establishing tunes that are poised to break your heart, then put it back together again.

Fleeting, wispy and with an air of impermanence, Lucys drums up the edges of emotions, touching on the passing nature of existence captured via snapshots of a person’s life. His debut album, I know it will end, but I don’t want to let go, constructs narratives about love, loss and finding, or losing, your way through life. Lucys latest single “AL!RGHT,” a dulcet collaboration with Andy Phantom oozes with sexy love vibes that you just can’t deny.

For more on Lucys’, make sure to follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Asi Fui

Led by singer/bassist Tatiana Velazquez, Long Beach locals Asi Fui dropped their new 4-song EP, Gold, this past April boasting a dynamic sound from dream pop as heard in their infectious title track to Afro-beats and big band sounds as amplified in “In a Daydream.” With their new EP originally written in 2019, the band went back to the drawing board after the coronavirus pandemic struck the world. Taking time to experiment with their sound and add a new band member.

Consisting of Velazquez, Mazza, drummer Ryan Reiff and guitarist Miguel Vasquez, Asi Fui creates atmospheric music that blends a variety of genres and tones including Afro-Cuban beats, psychedelia, and indie rock. The band’s name comes from a Spanish saying Velazquez’s grandmother used to write on her photographs along with what she was doing at the time. It’s meaning; this is how I was. The simple phrase has become a guiding post for the band as they grow, weather life’s many surprises and react to any given moment.

For more on Asi Fui, make sure to visit their website, Bandcamp and follow them on Instagram