Costa Rican duo F.A.V. and TinoAmor collide with producer Barzo on “Mi Barrio”, a track that pulls cumbia apart and rebuilds it under new pressure. Leaning into the slowed-down sway of cumbia rebajada, the song grinds together distorted bass, jagged percussion and punk urgency, without losing sight of its roots. F.A.V.’s production stitches together distorted basslines, jagged percussion and grimy samples, while Tino Amor’s half-sung, half-spoken delivery sketches sharp, unfiltered images of neighbourhood life: the warmth, the noise, the anger. Barzo’s production sharpens the frame rather than smoothing the roughness, giving the track the grit it demands.

F.A.V. and Tino Amor first crossed paths after solo runs through Costa Rica’s underground, connecting over a shared instinct to bend tradition until it says something new. Since 2023, they have pushed a restless sound that drags cumbia through hip-hop, punk, pop and electronic music, drawing acclaim — and some resistance — from a scene still catching up. Their style, sometimes called “brain-rot sonidero”, doesn’t aim to represent anything neatly: it’s chaotic, political, and deliberately hard to pin down. Barzo, long established as one of Central America’s most inventive electronic producers, brings a different sense of control to the chaos, without draining its momentum.

“Mi Barrio” is the second glimpse of F.A.V. and Tino Amor’s forthcoming album AZÚCAR, a record as a living, restless language for protest, identity and movement. Released via Lácteo Cósmico, the track feels wired to its environment: messy, stubborn, and full of life. Rather than smoothing out the contradictions between past and present, F.A.V., Tino Amor and Barzo hold them open, letting them bleed into every corner of the sound.

You can stream, listen and get your copy of the single HERE