Alla (Latin Rock)

The brainchild of founder and Chicago indie scenester Jorge Ledezma, Alla released its 2008 debut, Es Tiempo, after years of hard work. Ledezma resurrected half-finished songs from his previous project Defender, known for its hallucinatory improvisations, and reconfigured them with a new sound in mind. He brought his brother, drummer Angel Ledezma, on board soon after, and four years into the production process (which involved trips to Sweden to record string parts, among other things) he found vocalist Lupe Martinez, whose ethereal voice perfectly complimented his vision. The group marries indie rock, avant garde sounds, Brazilian tropicalia and the '60s psychedelic movement into a seamless, breezy entity.