- The debut EP from Latress adds some '80s glitz to the Montevideo sound.
- The seemingly endless supply of techno coming out of Montevideo is both fresh and recognizable. If you know what you're looking for, it can be pretty easy to trainspot the electro-tinged techno with eerie chords that put the city on the map. But almost every year new producers arrive to push the envelope, whether it's Michelle's sharp acid lines or Stonem's skeletal tech house. This is down in large part to a close-knit scene where stalwarts like DJ Koolt and Two Phase U continue to mentor up-and-comers. Enter Latress. A Nicolas Lutz disciple, her debut 12-inch Serpientes Y Escaleras brings hi-NRG glitter and EBM chug to the Montevideo sound.
Latress first popped up in 2020 on the B-side of Lutzifer 01. Odds are that you missed the ultra-limited pressing, but if you managed to snag the 12-inch (or just caught the YouTube upload), you should have been floored by "Ánima Ácida" with its pitch black melody made groovy over a chiming triangle. And while there are plenty of Uruguay's trademark Jack-O-Lantern chords and ominous synths on Serpientes Y Escaleras, it's the drumming that keeps things funky. The offbeat snare on "Serpientes Y Escaleras" adds an EBM shuffle while the chunky drum rolls on "Hypnotical Beat" land like a much-needed punchline under the nail-biting arpeggio.
Latress has recently relocated to Berlin, where she joins a growing cohort of Montevideo expats living abroad, like Z@P and Luis Malon. I mention Malon as the two share a propensity for '80s references in their production. But where Malon favors the darkness of industrial, Latress channels the campiness of styles like Hi-NRG—the synth work and oscillating bass on the title track would work on a Jazzercise video. Serpientes Y Escaleras lands on Phonotheque Recordings, the label arm of the fabled club. It's a fitting label for an EP that announces the arrival of another force from the Montevideo underground.
TracklistA1 Serpientes Y Escaleras
A2 Non Scape
B1 Hypnotical Beat
B2 22322-11