The Weekly Coos

Tainy was one of the first significant producers I started to follow within Reggaeton. Since then, he has had a consistent pouring of production and has easily transitioned through eras with evergrowing musical ambitions that have shown us Tainy can do more than we know, which is precisely so on his album Data. We hear him shifting away from what his usual artists aim form – though sometimes sonically overlapping with past beats – and has them fine-tune and work with the artistic direction he goes with here. Tainy is finally letting the chains loose and producing something more experimental, elevating the predominant Latin sounds to new heights. He’s taking what one thinks about when they hear Reggaeton and shifts the conventions, whether through a beat switch or his direction of the music, like how he opens on a low note before hitting you with a wave of fantastic synths, drum patterns, and remarkable performances. Unfortunately, after an onslaught succession of music, it starts to peter out; it’s typical for producer-curated albums to do so, but the balance scale wavers heavily on the good.

Data is like those albums from producers, curated to fit an aesthetic or thematic direction, yet this doesn’t feel as contrived and more focused instead of rushing it like a DJ Khaled album. You hear its significance beyond the surface layer – features and amount of tracks – as soon it turns the bend from the first track to the second, but that isn’t to say the album is perfection from beginning to end. It does suffer from the occasional lapse into more typical reggaeton flare, especially with who’s on the song, thus leaving it like some Latin albums, where you’re just picking the heaters you’d likely hear at the club and love. However, the first track, “obstáculo,” is far from a club banger, instead opting for an interpersonal song that establishes a humbling sense of being and striving, specifically through the struggles and naysayers. Myke Towers delivers the verse, and his toned-down approach brings more dimensions than most of the tracks from his album earlier this year, La Vida Es Una. Continuing his presence in the following song, “PASIEMPRE,” the dynamic shift of Data starts here, and where one would begin picking apart the keepers for future spins – a good thing for Data, there are many keepers.

The first keeper is “PASIEMPRE,” but beyond that, it’s one of a few highlights, especially as it pushes boundaries sonically and doesn’t shy from being different than a more apropos Reggaeton beat like that of “En Visto” and “LA Baby.” “PASIEMPRE” is more of a Latin Hip-Hop Trap production that’s taking influence from the melodic Trap of the south, incorporating some high-energy drums, in turn giving the featured artists a platform to bring their best flows, and there is no disappointment there. As well, it doesn’t forget about its Latin roots, bringing it into the fray with the chorus; it’s when it gets to the last 90 seconds, where it shifts into a more experimental atmospheric complexion, kicking in some futuristic subtleties, which in this album’s case, leaning more into the Electronic music genre. It’s here, the music begins to take a different sense of being, allowing itself to play it loose and keep stacking so you’re not hearing many redundancies. It’s what kept these ears glued to the music, as each step towards the final track is another unique adventure, especially hearing how the weaker songs are in comparison to others.

The negatives of the more typical reggaeton songs are more so comparatively, as they shift from some of the futuristic aesthetic, delving into Tainy’s safe space. We hear how great that can be, especially on the third track, “Todavía,” with icons Wisin Y Yandel or “Buenos Aires,” where the mood shifts to balance the elevated presence of club bangers with something slightly slower. Though some are good on their own, they don’t always feel like they belong with the others, as it never gets quite impressive, even if the featured artists are delivering some decent heat. Yet, the production is the lead protagonist of Data, specifically as it continues to take command of the stage through all its featured artists who bring their form of dynamism to the verses, at times having these performers equally shift away from their comfort zone, like the beautiful Latin-Pop song “mañana” featuring LA Band The Marias and rising star Young Miko. It doesn’t find itself latched into a route of a typical trap beat, instead using the percussion to offer a balance beam for Miko to deliver a smooth verse. And what it comes down to is whether it’s effective for what it aims to do or not.

Reflective of its album cover, Data shows us Tainy working alongside other producers to grow and explore different palettes as he did with Arca on “PASIEMPRE.” From it, we get some fantastic beat switches and different overlays to amplify the impact of its respective features, like on “FANTASMA  AVC,” where the beat switches from a nuanced reggaeton beat into something incorporating more drum-n-bass elements or “Mojabi Ghost,” which sees Tainy and Bad Bunny giving us a track that takes influence from the synth-wave-pop of the late 80s and explores it through Latin drum patterns. The featured artists are another definitive highlight, especially for fans of these artists, like myself, who can sense what one’s A-game as opposed to a more haphazard verse that does the bare minimum. Like with the first song, that constant stays strong, even when the songs aren’t up to par with what is significantly hitting, like how “Sci-Fi” with Rauw Alejandro does Electro-Latin Pop more cleanly and smoothly as opposed to “si preguntas por mi,” which takes from other reggaeton songs on the album, and tries to blend the two, but is ultimately as dull as the first half of “La Baby,” which don’t do much for me.

Fortunately, Data ends on a high note with production and features that will have you at the edge and enjoying what you’ve listened to. It’s such a fantastic trip and hearing growth, but more so, musical ambition has left me with a positive note – one that has this album stuck on repeat. It has a flair for perreo and more, allowing it to deliver the best of both worlds and amplifying the magnetic talent behind many of these performers, and that’s more than enough to make this better than many of the producer/DJ lead/curated albums as this has a foundational direction. Though it may not be the best album I’ve heard this year, it’s one of the better ones, and I’m here to preach its greatness all summer long!