Mr. Pauer

Miami-based DJ Mr. Pauer (aka Toto Gonzalez) calls his music "electropical." His alias a Spanglish riff on "power" and Gonzalez makes big dance music that lives up to his moniker. Born in Venezuela, Gonzalez grew up with cumbia, salsa, merengue and more sounds of Latin America, but electronic bits and pieces, rock'n'roll, funk and dub were also part of his musical youth. Like an upbeat Ikonika, the bleeps and beats of tunes like "Cucu Perucu" and "Mente De Mente" are elements that sound yanked out of videogames. The only track with vocals, the cumbia-rife "Cumbión Del Sur (Featuring Itagui)," illustrates how Soundtrack's melange makes a lot of sense; it's accessible and educational music that shows the range and power of South American sounds. It combines the electronic with the tropical in a way that will most definitely move dance floors from his home base in Florida to far beyond.