This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at BU chapter.

By Maria Ordoñez

In the past few years, the music industry has seen an incredible explosion in the popularity of Latin music. Artists like Maluma, J Balvin, and Luis Fonsi, who have been household names in Latin America for years, are now being heard on American radio and even reaching the Billboard top charts. And so, this new taste for Latin music has given young Latin artists in-the-making an opportunity to share their music and grow like never before.

As a matter of fact, just over at the Berklee College of Music, you can probably find sophomore MarkL, an aspiring Spanish artist, in the studio working on his beats. It seems like there hasn’t been a time in his life when he wasn’t working on his music in some way, whether it be singing Basque songs as a kid or playing orchestral percussion. So, it’s no surprise that about a year ago, he decided to move to Boston to pursue a career in electronic production and film scoring. But, his real dream? Making it big as an artist, and maybe even winning a Grammy… or two.

Since coming to Boston, MarkL hasn’t wasted any time working towards that dream. His first move was the creation of Coyotl Records, which he describes as “a cultural association and record label [meant] to support urban music and new artists.” He started it in collaboration with some friends who were inspired by their own struggle of having no proper way of making and producing their music. And so, under Coyotl Records, he got started on his first album: Tándem.

After a long summer of crafting his album, he released Tándem on October 12th. It’s a mixtape-style album made up of 8 songs that explore his personal experiences with love, lust, and making a name for himself. From “Puñalada Trapera” to “Royal Jungle”, Tándem is a blend of Spanish and English, smooth vocals and clever rap, and Latin beats and hip-hop infusions. It’s the type of album that’ll make you want to dance and put you in your feelings, all at the same time.

From here, there are only bigger and better things in store for MarkL. He’s already working on several new singles and collaborations with other artists. And for early 2019, he has something big, special, and a little controversial planned. To find out what that’s going to be and keep up with his music, check him out on social media: