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Diego Bernal-”Summer’s Over (Interlude)“

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After checking out the their sampler a few days back, I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with San Antonio based electronic label Exponential Records. Seeing how I was raised in SA and still have friends there, I should probably get angry at someone for not telling me about them sooner. One of the standout tracks from the Texas compilation is Diego Bernal’s Damn You, from For Corners. For Corner’s is 19 tracks of gritty, dirty sample laden, break-heavy, electronic goodness.

Here’s more about Diego and the project from the back of the For Corner’s Album:

There’s a whole other territory nestled deep within the heart at Texas…a City within the city at San Antonio. You can try tracking it on your iPhone but chances are that there is no listing tor “San Anto.” The street corners are lined with palateras, taquerias, and every variety of mom and pop shop imaginable. This is the setting of Diego Bernal’s story and the source material for his music.

Although Bernal claims San Antonio as his home town, he spent much of his childhood traversing from home to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to California’s Bay Area. Along the way Bernal soaked up the sounds- from the Latin harmonies of Trio Los Panchos and the R&B of Bill Withers and Joe Bataan to the jazz of Charlie Mingus and McCoy Tyner. It was also the golden era of hip-hop and Bernal soon found himself infatuated with beats and production.

Bernal was born to parents who were educators, activists, and intellectuals- a former migrant farm’ worker and an education reformer- so it only makes sense that he is now an attorney for a national civil rights organization… oh, and makes some soulful beats on fhe side when he’s not fighting for justice and equality.

“For Corners” is Diego Bernal’s love letter to Ihe music, cultures, era and people that nurtured him. The music is dusty and layered with Latin soul, from the triumphant blasts of horns to the laid back groove of lowrider melodies. It is a call to return to the simplicity and integrity of hip-hop’s best moment and an invitation to enjoy a slightly different kind of southern comfort. Not so much dirty south as directly south.

Great story and great album. Go download it now!

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Diego Bernal For Corners

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