Taking its name from the Andean foothills outside of Medellín, Colombia, where Austin’s Kiko Villamizar grew up, Aguas Frías offers an urgent and modern take on Latin folklórico. Despite a label affiliation with the boundary-pushing Peligrosa DJ crew, Villamizar’s sophomore disc remains a traditional affair with occasional psychedelic flourishes. The Miami-born multi-instrumentalist explores myriad styles from South America and beyond, but you won’t need to differentiate a bambuco from a bullerengue to enjoy these cool waters. “La Quebrada” soars flute, rumbles percussion, and shuffles a cumbia rhythm, while the call-and-response title track – accompanied by a stunning, drone-shot video in the Colombian countryside – shows off the singer’s pipes, which shift from a deep and rich tone to a soaring, high-pitched grito. Pipelines and petrol companies land in the crosshairs of anti-colonization cumbia “La Muerte,” and aching ballad “Yaku Kawsai – A Song for Standing Rock” honors the Lakota resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline its author joined last year. With Aguas Frías spinning a second stellar offering in three years, Kiko Villamizar establishes himself as one of the most exciting emerging artists in Austin.
This article appears in April 28 • 2017.