Today's Top Tune

KCRW’s Global Beat: Mexico recently highlighted emerging artists from the Gulf state of Veracruz, which included music from Vico Diaz, a master of the leona, the guitar-shaped, four-stringed fretted instrument that acts like a bass, played in that region. A composer and explorer of traditional Mexican music who seeks out elusive new sounds, Diaz brings us a tropical, jazzy “Sapo,” or “frog,” replete with the instrument of Chiapas, the marimba.

The convergence of legendary Grammy- and Oscar-winning producer/artist T Bone Burnett, master drummer Jay Bellerose, and composer/keyboardist Keffus Ciancia brings together a holy musical trinity. From the booming opening notes, you can feel the tribal trance that speaks to a larger truth on “I’m Starting A New Life Today.”

We recently warned you about Lava LaRue on 5 Songs To Hear This Week . West London rapper Lava La Rue cut a chrysalis 5-track EP, “Hi-Fidelity,” about creative transition. The multi-hyphenate talent hits hard on “Don’t Trip.”

If you were at Thee Sacred Souls show at KCRW’s Summer Nights at the Hammer, you know they deliver. Recorded in Riverside, their self-titled debut album is an ear-catching, heart-grabbing love fest. We like to sway to “Easier Said Than Done.”

A shapeshifting free spirit with an old soul, Dora Jar, pollinates the airwaves from the point of view of a “Bumble Bee . ” C heck out a perky pop song from this LA based singer.

Hailing from New Zealand, singer Marlon Williams infuses his pop-inflected song “My Boy” with Maori strums and a new backing band.

“The urge to turn every song on the planet into a Māori strummer descended on me like a fever sometime during the long and winding tour cycle of ‘Make Way for Love,’” Williams says. “So writing it into my artistic life became the only way to get the fever to lift.”

R&B singer and record producer Steve Lacy wrote, produced, and played just about all of the instruments you hear on his album “Gemini Rights.” Known for his guitar prowess with The Internet and his work with music legends Kendrick Lamar and The Weekend, this Compton native delivers a sonic love journey on “Amber.”

North London best friends and co-conspirators Sorry are anything but as they get ready to debut new songs, including “Let The Lights On” from their forthcoming album “Anywhere From Here,” on their first-ever North American headlining tour with a stop at Zebulon on Dec. 2.

Abby Hwong is an LA-based non-binary artist who goes by the moniker NoSo, a nod to their Korean heritage. Using music as a palatable and poetic tool to express difficult feelings is at the heart of their fittingly-titled debut album “Stay Proud of Me,” which features the vibey track “Honey Understand.”

Tomorrow night, KCRW’s Summer Nights continues at Grand Performances, where New Orleans-based African American producer and percussionist ÌFÉ will hit the stage. ÌFÉ sees his live electronic musical project as an extension of his spiritual life and works in tandem with his lifelong dedication to African diaspora percussion. We hope to experience “Heart Full of Love” al fresco on Saturday night.