Put your ear to the ground

Name: Santos

Where he’s from: Tijuana, Mexico

Genre: ruidoson

Most Like: Maria Y José, Los Macuanos

Sounds like: A dance party that’s at least six feet underground

For awhile now, the dark ruidoson productions of Tijuana’s Santos have been bubbling under. But, as he prepares to release his sophomore album Shaka de Tijuana on Tropic-All this month, we could soon see him bubbling over over at last. Having heard a bit of the release, we can tell you it might just top his super saucy debut La Sombra de Satan. That’s right, the man is coming back with more and his latest cumbia/techno collisions seethe with all the heat of his previous material.

We’re rooting for Shaka Tijuana so hard because, while Santos can get a crowd in TJ riled up like nobody’s business, and puts out a steady stream of choice remixes, he hasn’t got as much attention as his ruidoson brethren. Don’t get us wrong, Maria Y José and Los Macuanos deserve all the love that comes their way. We just want to know when it’s going to be Santos’ turn.

He’s absolutely the most club friendly of the circle, and his taste for murky production and dirty, hypnotic beats give his tracks a signature sound that is as unmistakable as it is seedily alluring. Take this creepy haunted house of a banger that will invade your skull, for example. Just don’t let it put you in trance. You might wake up someplace shady.