This girl could be Mexico's answer to Regina Spektor. Or maybe the piano-pop Spektor is America's answer to Natalia Lafourcade. In any case, the two are tied-together by their plucky instrumentation, their air-filled vocals, and their moments of weird, real emotion hidden in the madness of their

When you first see Natalia Lafourcade (La-four-KA-deh) in person, your instinct is to protect her from all the world's ills. You mind your language. You cover your cleavage. You dismiss thoughts of sex, drugs, drug wars, and wars on drugs. Despite four albums and a world-weary list of

Most musicians are grateful for their fanbase, but only our favorite Mexican folksy pop singer Natalia Lafourcade is showing thanks by giving them a piece of her fame. Not only did she ask her fans to submit remixes of her music, but she's putting the best tracks on an album slated for release in

Mexico's folk-pop leading lady Natalia Lafourcade is rewarding her legions of Japanese fans with a special tour documentary. The sweet-voiced chanteuse has a web series coming out one video at a time documenting her recent visit to Japan -- where they really, really love her BTW. The very intimate

French site La Blogoteque's Take Away Show films present interesting artists from around the world performing songs in unexpected places. There are so many great ones -- a recent one with Argentina's Onda Vaga is pretty special -- but sometimes the intimate style of the short films really matches

It's been lauded, remixed and put to weird YouTube videos. But now, Mexican folk pop sweetheart Natalia Lafourcade has made her real, bona fide music video for the hit track "No Viniste" (or "you didn't come"). You can watch it here! The video is on her new album, which is a remastering of her

Am I posting this remix of "Look Pon Me" just so we can run another stylicious picture of Natalie Storm? No. That's merely a perk. This Jay Fay remix of our No. 1 Jamaican dancehall crush's hit is a beauty in its own right. There were some fine remixes made for MixPak records last year...

MTV Iggy fave, Carla Morrison, has a set of sweet, airy pipes that angels would covet, that sirens would sing for. And when she covers a track, she gives it sweetness and light. Last time we brought her on MTV Iggy to showcase a cover, the curvy twenty-something was singing a Manu Chao track ("La...

Mexico’s Carla Morrison gives the angels a run for their money with “Compartir” (or “to share”), a soft, lilting canción that had us glued to our seats for the entire 4:24. Simplicity is something to covet these days, and the bluesy pop singer does it effortlessly. No scene changes, no autotune,

A conversation about Atlas Sound (aka Bradford Cox) begins and ends with Marfan Syndrome. But the beginning (he has it, it's a genetic disorder of the connective tissue, it SUCKS) and the ending (the music he makes) are two points that are gloriously far apart. The distance is measured by the power

I had heard that all official inaugural balls suck. You put on a fancy dress you don’t have (which means you put on a “fancy enough” dress and feel self-conscious). Your heels kill and you can’t get to the drinks.

Juana Molina's subtle, playful, if not odd albums have been captivating the world for more than a decade. She started as a comic actress in Argentina in the 80s, then ditched the screen for a guitar in the 90's so she could play shoegaze, folk, experimental ambient and quiet hints of electro. It's

Gambian kora player Jali Bakary Konteh's track "Combination" is cool to begin with. The son of a traditional West African griot, Konteh brings the twenty-one-stringed harp lute into the modern world with the simmering afrobeat compositions on his debut album Konteh Kunda. But, after visiting

I was pretty nervous to move back to Bangkok, my hometown, from New York City and four years of college. I came for a great job, knowing that I might have a few shocks readjusting to life in a country where a handful of ruling elites run the show, and the majority of its...

It just HAD to happen, didn't it? Rebecca Black, the teen Internet sensation behind "Friday" -- which is making a very undeserving production company very very rich -- won't go away. France's remix king NEUS (New Experimental for Universal Sound) refurbished the track into stuttery, electronic

Bad Veins is comprised of Ben Davis and Sebastien Schultz, who gained a nice push from Spin, Tripwire.com, and yes, even NPR for their tremendous songs that are both melancholy and aspirational at the same time. The Cincinnati, Ohio duo are joined onstage with their reel-to-reel machine,

Mexican singer Carla Morrison was always making music -- a shy fan of Ella Fitzgerald, Lola Beltran, and Patsy Cline she gradually learning to conquer her natural stage fright by playing in small venues in her native Tecate. After moving to Phoenix, Arizona to study music she came back home,

Stuck at work for a few more hours before the holidays? Need some pounding club beats to underscore you dreams of freedom? Italy's Fare Soldi (or "make money") has just the thing. In fact it has many things. The duo has been dropping cheeky disco house track upon cheeky disco house track in the

Cuando ves a Natalia Lafourcade en persona, tu instinto es protegerla de todo el mal que existe en el mundo. Te importa como hablas. Te cubres el escote. Te olvidas de los pensamientos sobre sexo, drogas, y de la guerra contra las drogas. A pesar de sus cuatro álbumes y su experimentada lista de...

On the surface, '90s alternative and cumbia seem like a musical/cultural odd couple. You definitely wouldn't dance to them the same way. But they are both pretty hotttt right now, so there's one connection. And Kurt Cobain might have a had a hidden affinity for South American rhythms.