In 2026, ZZK is celebrating 18 years in typical fashion – with a full year of festivities. We’re throwing a party, releasing five albums and dropping a documentary.

Our Next Show: Cumbia All Day Long – La Cita, DTLA

On Sunday 3/22, ZZK will take over one of LA’s iconic downtown venues, La Cita – bringing Orihuela MSS all the way from Puebla, Mexico. As an architect of the new cumbia wave, his visionary sound catapults his sonidero roots into a digital dimension where global bass, electronic textures and urban energy collide.

It’s the latest of more than two dozen events hosted by ZZK Presents since the label relocated to the City of Angels in summer 2019, with one mission: To shine a spotlight on the spaciest, spiciest, sultriest sounds for a hungry crowd of cultural connoisseurs – after nearly a decade of bubbling up in Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima, Quito, La Paz and Mexico City.

As well as sold out shows including the Meridian Brothers at Lodge Room, the label has produced, programmed and promoted multimedia exhibitions, talks and panels, late night cumbia raves and summer concerts with artists from 11 countries – including LA debuts from Amantes del Futuro, Susobrino, Mula and more.

Putting Mexican Talent on the Map

The headline set from Orihuela MSS at La Cita underscores ZZK’s expansion into Mexico, which began with Son Rompe Pera – the riotous cumbia punks who serendipitously signed their deal on the very day ZZK arrived in LA, before opening their first US tour in the city in 2020. From small rooms in DTLA, Long Beach and Santa Ana to the Levitt Pavillion, Skirball Center, Grand Performances and eventually Coachella, the band has skyrocketed in popularity – and will perform this year at Japan’s illustrious Fuji Rock Festival as well as prepping a third album, produced by Grammy winner Adrian Quesada.

On top of that, Karen y Los Remedios debut LP “Silencio” made the 2023 top albums list on Bandcamp following widespread critical acclaim. Just days after the Palisades and Altadena fires, the group played their first LA show at the sold-out Lodge Room – a deeply cathartic moment at an emotional time for the city. Their highly anticipated second album will come out this fall, with a US tour to follow.

Building a New Branch of the Label

As if all that wasn’t enough, ZZK Culture was created as a platform for Latin American artists, stories and cultures to take center stage – through dynamic events that sit at the intersection of entertainment, education and empowerment.

In 2019, ZZK’s creative director Grant C. Dull got a call from Bogota journalist Pepe Plata, who was in Paris at the “From Kraftwerk to Daft Punk” exhibition. They wondered why nobody had ever approached the history of Latin American electronic music in a similar multisensory format and came up with LatAmTronica, which launched at MUTEK Montreal in 2023.

The following year, ZZK partnered with the Mexican consulate on Reina de Cumbia – a celebration of 21st-century Mexico City cumbia featuring over 100 artists and five venues. Activities included a marimba workshop by Son Rompe Pera, a keynote by Mario Galeano of Frente Cumbiero, a panel with musicians Ima Felini and Pablito Mix, DJ/researcher Tropicaza, journalist Daniel Hernandez and photographer Mirjiam Wirz – and last but not least, a closing fiesta where Amantes del Futuro made his stateside debut.

In 2025, ZZK was invited by the Secretary of Culture in Barranquilla, Colombia to hold a series of events for local artists – including a music industry masterclass and a talk with Indus about their history with the label and international career.

Five Releases Coming Up for 2026

Heavy tropical bass intertwines with the ancestral Afro-Latin traditions of Colombia’s Pacific coast via France, with “Nuevos Rios” – ZZK’s most recent signing, led by regular Quantic collaborator Nidia Gongora. Landing March 27.

On May 8, label veterans Tremor drop their fourth studio album – a new chapter for the digital folklore pioneers from Buenos Aires. In the fall, Italo-Colombian Montoya comes out with his third record on the label, before Karen y Los Remedios release their highly anticipated second album, and the year wraps up with a new EP from Ecuador’s Cruzloma.

Yet Another Documentary: “Ritmos Bastardos”

In the fourth feature from ZZK Films, director Pablo Mensi chronicles the label’s genesis – blending 20 years of archival footage with interviews featuring key protagonists from the early days in Buenos Aires. A ragtag group of artists, musicians and creatives narrate their relentless mission to spread digital cumbia and folklore around the world, encountering many trials and tribulations along the way.

Previous documentaries include “A Musical Journey” (2016), “Sonido Mestizo” (2017) and “Por Los Senderos de Pachamama: Luzmila y Los Pajaros” (2024). *

For more information, album previews or film screeners please reach out to ZZK creative director Grant C. Dull – grant@zzkrecords.com // Learn more about ZZK Records*