If it had to be consolidated and categorized, what, precisely, is the music of Miami? What rhythms and sounds best express the complicated cultural synthesis we so boldly declare as the city’s own dedicated organism? Certainly, the drum-driven ballads of popular Latin American melodies play a part. Also, it should go without saying, the pulse-pounding EDM of European extraction factor into our nightlife scene. But shouldn’t we be more than a cultural hub, an endlessly consuming cultural mishmash? Shouldn’t we have a sound? Answering in the affirmative, Miami-based electronic maestro Kaixen attempts to do just that, influenced by a whole life lived in our sprawling city within dazzlingly distorted walls of sound. “I’ve been in Miami my whole life, so I guess my experiences here have inspired me to create how I’ve felt living here,” says Kaixen, whose latest album, Pecado, includes an impressive selection of experimental collaborators, including alternative R&B bard Native Youth. “My sound’s always changing,” he says. “I can’t be complacent;” @KaixenMusic. Top Tracks: Kllo: “Last Yearn”; Frank Ocean: “Biking (Solo)”; Garren Sean: “Finer Things”; Mura Masa: “Blu”; Blood Orange: “Best of You”
