Corpus Christi, TX-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist Horacio Olivera, best known as El Dusty has developed a reputation as the pioneer of a revolutionary, new subgenre he’s dubbed nu-cumbia, which meshes contemporary production techniques with classic Latin music — in the form of chopped up samples from beloved and legendary songs. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may recall that I wrote about “Cumbia Anthem,” a club-banging collaboration with Dominican twerk producer, Happy Colors. “Cumbia Anthem” meshed woofer and tweeter rattling 808s, tons of trap-inspired snare drum, and a glitchy and incredibly chopped up sample from Colombian cumbia star Andrés Landero’s “Bailando Cumbia.” Although it’s incredibly modern, it the track retains the sound and feel of a classic cumbia song –while being larger than life and anthemic. But interestingly enough, it also represents a growing movement among Latino youth and Latino artists — a movement that’s committed itself to being futuristic and yet making sure that there’s a vital and necessary connection to the rich past that has informed and inspired it. And in some way, it also serves as a modern take on a classic sound.
El Dusty’s latest single “Orale” is a slickly produced trap song with woofer and tweeter rattling bass, hard-hitting drums, stuttering drum programming, staccato synth stabs, airhorns and twinkling electronics that’s not just a marvel of modern production, it’s a song that possess an enormous, crowd rocking sound that’s both club and festival-friendly. While “Cumbia Anthem”‘s Latin influence is overwhelmingly direct, “Orale” is much more subtle and indirect — but no matter, both songs reveal that the Corpus Christi, TX-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist is an up-and-coming talent with a unique take on a high-octane crowd pleasing sound.
The recently released official video is a hallucinogenic rush featuring both animation and a trio of adorable puppets trying to get to a party that El Dusty is spinning. Intergalactic travel in a souped up Cadillac to Planet Corpus, a surreal acid trip and a puppet El Dusty spinning on the 1s and 2s are among some of the hilarious visual highlights.
