Producer, radio host, and guitarist Daniel Ortuño is one of the main voices behind the quiet but active music scene in Costa Rica. He hosts Findependiente, a radio show that exposes genres and music movements overlooked by other radio stations in the area. But Ortuño is best known for producing albums for local bands Las Robertas, Niño Koi, Zòpilot!, The Great Wilderness, and (alongside Vito Petruzzeli and Adrian Poveda) the Si San José (2011) compilation, an audio documentary of the Costa Rican indie scene.
As the San José-based producer has hopped from project to project and style to style over the last five years, he's maintained the air of an outsider. With his band Los Waldners, he channels his vagabond emotions into something universal and inviting. Of course, he couldn't accomplish this without the help of singer Luis Carballo, bassist Gustavo Quiros (Keep The Gap), and drummer Andrea San Gil (formerly of Lolita Piñata, and TGW). First single from their upcoming album due in February, "Ella Usaba Vestidos" delivers a jangly, fresh, and compact pop song with sturdy melodies and arrangements that emphasize the endearing edge of Carballo's' vocals. Download the track via Bandcamp.