Los Angeles musician and She Shreds founder Fabi Reyna has led Reyna Tropical since the late 2010s, beginning as a duo, and sadly becoming a solo project since the passing of partner Nectali “Sumohair” Diaz in 2022. After a series of singles and EPs, Reyna Tropical is set to release its debut album, Malegría, on March 29 via Sylvan Esso’s Psychic Hotline label.
“I’ve always wanted to have a home—a place or a sound or a person to go to—because I think our people, who are severed from our lands and our histories and our stories and our communities, have for generations not really known where to go,” Fabi says of Reyna Tropical’s objective of connecting to their heritage and past through tropical sounds and rhythms. “There are times on stage where I can feel that my movement isn’t my movement. I can feel that I’m being moved by and I’m speaking for other people. I know in my body when my ancestors are there, when a decision is ours.”
The first single from Malegría is “Cartagenia,” which mixes loop-based dance music with a wide variety of Latin music and sounds of nature. It’s pretty irresistible, especially in the cold winter month of January. Listen below.
Renya Tropical will celebrate the album’s release with shows in Los Angeles (Masonic Lodge on April 4) and Brooklyn (Public Records on April 6).
Malegría:
1. Aquí Te Cuido
2. Radio Esperanza
3. Cartagena
4. Goosebumps
5. Lo Siento
6. Singing
7. Conocerla
8. Movimiento
9. Suavecito
10. Ñeke
11. La Mamá
12. Malegría
13. Pajarito
14. Puerto Rico
15. Mestizaje
16. Cuaji
17. Queer Love & Afro-Mexico
18. Conexión Ancestral
19. Guitarra
20. Huītzilin
