Houston’s music scene feels like things are on the rise in more ways than one. It seems like there’s always a new artist popping up, shows are starting to have better attendance, and artists are creating their own imprints to further the landscape here. While you may know producer George West, you may not know that he recently started his own digital imprint, FEELS THO Records. While West will use it to help further his push into the music industry, the first official release on the imprint comes with Cumbia producer, GUALI. Raised in Mexico and spending time between there and Houston, the producer has been pretty elusive for a good minute now. Even after I heard about him, I’d be lying if I said I’d caught a glimpse of him in the flesh. On his new single, “Verano Frio,” found exclusively here, he takes the Cumbia sound and adds his own twist to the genre, making it like nothing you’ve heard before.

 

 

The title, which means “cold summer,” is anything but chilly. In fact, with the opening percussion and trippy chopped vocals, it’s pretty safe to say that the track is definitely a hot one. Clocking in at a couple of hairs under the four minute mark, the slow jam definitely offers up a new take on the over half a century based genre. Complete with these stabs of spacey synths and bells that seem to appear like ghostly apparitions, GUALI takes the traditional form and turns it on its head. It’s almost like taking the whole chillwave vibe and placing onto something else and thus creating a whole new sound, as these claps from nowhere help finish off the track.

While GUALI doesn’t appear to have any live dates coming anytime soon, he’s definitely an act to keep an eye on. You can follow the producer on Instagram here, on Spotify here, and on Soundcloud here. While we all wait to see what the hard-to-pin-down producer does next, “Verano Frio” is definitely your best bet at relaxing during these turbulent times in Houston.