New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Toy Selectah, of Mad Decent and creator of Control Machete, and
Camilo Lara, of the Mexican
Institute of Sound, have led prolific careers out of creating beats, rhythms and music that have made them stars in their native country of Mexico and beyond. Now, the two are joining forces to release COMPASS, a super collaborative project featuring more than 100 artists from around the world. �This project has been a mystical quest trying to prove that there is only one dance floor across the globe,� Lara told Billboard magazine.
Produced by Lara and Selectah and mixed by Selectah and Frank �El Medico� Rodriguez, COMPASS is set for release on August 26 on Six Degrees Records (call for review copy of the album). The first single from the album is �Canta Sim Medo,� a Brazilian funk track featuring Brazil�s Mercurias and Bruno Morais.
On COMPASS, Selectah and Lara called on a global pool of collaborators and friends to create a mix of eclectic musical elements that come together with a synergistic dance floor appeal. Artists include Toots Hibbert (Toots & the Maytals), MC Lyte, Cornelius, Eugene H�tz (Gogol Bordello), Rob Birch (Stereo MCs), Kool A.D. (Das Racist), Gael Garc�a Bernal, Emicida, Maluca, Kelli Ali, Tiombe Lockhart, Nina Sky, Tanto Blacks, Crystal Fighters, Bonde do Role, Mercurias, Bruno Morais, El Dusty, and others.
COMPASS was recorded at Red Bull Studio locations in New York, Los Angeles, London and S�o Paulo, in addition to recording stops in Kingston (Jamaica), Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Mexico�s Monterrey and Mexico City. Along the way, Red Bull Media House produced a five-episode web series called �Red Bull Studios pres. Compass� chronicling the album�s creation, which fans can expect around Compass� release. The web series will be exhibited exclusively through Red Bull channels.
�This project is a little like good tequila,� says Toy. �Each tequila brand comes from a specific region and you can taste the difference.
Music is similar: all these artists represent where they come from.�
�It doesn�t matter if you�re are rich, poor, white, black� We wanted to show that if you put all these genres in the same place, it could work at the same time and that they can co-exist,� says Lara.
Lara is best known for his work as a DJ, producer and for his electronic music project known as Mexican
Institute of Sound (MIS) and his recent Mexrrissey � Mexico Goes
Morrissey project. He has collaborated with the Beastie Boys, curated a radio station for Grand Theft Auto and also worked with Toy on a Los Angeles Azules album with a song that was #1 on the Mexican charts for 79 weeks.
Selectah, known for his command of mixing music, is Monterrey's pride and joy, particularly for his work in Urban
Music through Control Machete, Celso Pi�a,
3BallMTY and
Major Lazer which pioneered the hybrid sounds mixing Mexican soundscapes with modern touch. Toy is also deeply involved with Diplo�s Mad Decent label.
�It was incredible to see 90 artists coming to the table so wanting to collaborate, fulfilling the mission of this project to bring artists together in the name of great music,� says music veteran Colin Finkelstein, CEO at YEBO Music, who was instrumental in making sure the album became a reality. �The project has a lot of Toy and
Camilo in it, but it�s also very contemporary and a lot of people showed up to be part of this because of
Camilo and Toy.�
