Rico Rica and Chicloso released the collaborative track “em0boy” a few weeks via Barcelona label AUX1. The video above (created by Esfera Permanente and Sanperseus) is a fascinating look into the visual world of both artists, who share influences from Latin music traditions but work in a hypermodern idiom. We decided to do a short Q&A with them to get a bit deeper into the universe around the track. An EP featuring three remixes came out April 29 – including one from our fave DJ Weed who is a part of Naca Worldwide.
How did the two of you meet and how come you decided to work together on this track?
C: We had seen each other at events, DJ sets, but we really got to know each other during Skrillex’s show in CDMX two years ago. We went for dinner together afterwards and Sonny [Skrillex] was looking to connect with local underground producers.
RR: We were supposed to link up at Chicloso’s studio. That didn’t end up happening but I still went to Chicloso’s house and we started showing each other demos – I really liked this one in particular and the project was called “emo”.
Rico Rica, since you’re based in Canada now – do you feel that there is the same passion for Latin music there as we’re currently experiencing in Europe?
RR: I haven’t been in Europe for a couple of years now, but in Canada they’ve really gotten into guaracha and latin club since 2023. I remember playing Bala for the first time here back in 2021 before anyone knew what it was – now so many DJs from any background (especially Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern) incorporate guaracha into their sets.
It’s interesting to see the impact of globalization on the genre and there are a lot of discussions going on about appropriation – if the right people are benefiting from it. That’s another conversation, but overall I think Latin music had its peak worldwide last year and now we’re kinda moving away from wanting to classify ourselves inside the “Latin” tag and showing that there are a multitude of sounds and subgenres that just happen to be composed by Latin American artists.
The title ”em0boy” immediately has me thinking of the Ayesha Erotica song of the same name. What do you associate with the term emo in 2026?
C: It’s something very nostalgic – it still brings us back to that era in the early 2000s. We’re adults now and older but we’re reminiscing of that era that we experienced in our youth, and holding on to that feeling. I am really into Ayesha Erotica and am happy you’re bringing this song up! I often play edits of her songs in my sets, she’s had a big resurrection the past couple of years and I think the two songs live in a similar universe.
RR: I like to think of my own concept of emo as “emo costeña/o” with a twist of gyaru influence. I don’t think the traditional emos would approve or agree with it, it’s probably more adjacent to scene or Harajuku – but I’ve never been a purist and like mixing the different influences I’ve had in my life.
Your new single has a similar sound to stuff being labelled ’digicore’. How do you react to your music being pigeonholed?
We had never heard about digicore before hahaha.
We don’t pay much attention to being categorized, we don’t get bothered by it but we’re definitely not trying to fit into a genre. There’s so many people coining new genres every day, it’s hard to keep up with it. We definitely understand that at the end of the day we need to pick genres to put our music under for it to get discovered by the right audiences. For ”emob0y” we went with goth experimental, emo rap, latin pop and a hint of jersey club.
Photos by Abraham Mora
HMU by Jamaica Imán & Esfera Permanente
Styling by Rico Rica
Listen to the 4-track EP below.
