Dominican producer Mediopicky is a pretty active dude. He's always got something in the works, whether it be a collab with rappers AcentOh, or a solo piece mining the unexpected pureness of Vin Deisel's personality for a beat, the Latin trap artist is rarely found idle. Even during the lockdown and uncertainty of the pandemic, 2020, was a big year for him, releasing the excellent Caribian-fusion banger Pablito LP, but also the decidedly downtempo No Salgas EP. These two albums could not be more different.
The former tempts you to move with a hyper-hypnotic swirl of sweat-tested post-trap crunch while the latter settles into a decidedly cooler persuasion and pace of life. I believe both represent an evolution of his sound, even from the very forward-looking place we found him on 2017's Apatheia: La envidia de Beethoven, but it's the latter that seems to represent the more interesting departure in someways. The reason for this is that while No Salgas is still party music, it is a private party that he is attempting to pump up. A very private party in fact. It doesn't feel like he is trying to drive the atmosphere of a club, but rather the far more diminutive and secluded space, such as a kitchen, living room, bedroom, or even a window balcony. Obviously, he's not moving a mass of bodies her. Two, maybe tops- while they make eye contact from the opposite sides of a coffee table or kitchen island.
Mediopicky stays committed to this intimacy throughout and the exclusivity of the guest list extends to not just to the imagined setting it is projected into, or even just the mixing, but what he is mixing as well. The bassy gargles of "China" could have been sourced from field recordings of the artist himself gulping a soda, and "Cinco g" sees its sparse warm tones wetted with a percolation of tugging whoops and breathy calls that twirl and plie all-around your ears like leaves dancing on the wind.
The temperature of the beats on No Salgas is so temperate, it feels like you don't need to be wearing anything more to enjoy them than a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, even in the dead of winter. This is especially true of the breezy and beachy "t.e.b" another track where the artist's vocals play an important role, imitating the playful, tickling cadence of the ocean's tide. This all works really well for an album called No Salgas as it allows you to indulge in the pleasures of a getaway while perched on an office chair or in repose in the lap of your couch.
I'm completely mesmerized by the cozy purr of this album and love to let it roll through my ears, letting the sunshine from my bedroom window brighten and warm my hair and skin, while its softness grounds me in the moment. No Salgas title isn't a direct order, but I'm still happy to take it as a strong suggestion to put on a kettle of tea and keep it copacetic.
