October is a great month for music for the Ultimate Ears Artists to Watch program. This month we feature music from Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, Brownout, Miike Snow and Radio FreQ.

Amazon.com just released their top 100 albums for the World Music genre and Andy Palacio’s album Watina was listed as the #1 pick. It is a huge honor to be featuring music from this legendary album on our program this month. Andy nearly single-handily helped revive interest in the musical traditions of his Garifuna peoples. This music is a link to culture and a bond of common humanity.

On that same note, Grupo Fantasma have released a new album under a different name. This time around, they are calling themselves Brownout and the album is Aguilas y Cobras. It is amazing. Plain and simple. A perfect blend of funk and soul but told through the traditions of Northern Mexico. Again – this is music that is a direct link to culture. This is art defined.

From Sweden, we are giving a peak into the minds of the super-producers Miike Snow. They are the ears behind some of the biggest pop-culture hits of late and their foray into being the talent instead of just producing the talent has been met with great reviews and fanfare.

And lastly, we are showcasing local music out of LA. The electronic band Radio FreQ bring that underground LA party sound right out of the warehouse and into your speakerbox. With music like this, you would hardly ever know it is fall.

And while each of these artists is completely different and they represent multiple genres and geographies, each one perfectly represents their own place and time. From LA to Belize – music is the link.

Until next month, enjoy!