A contender/titan on KCRW’s Top 30 for several weeks is none other than Icelandic diva Björk, capable of melting snowcaps with her otherworldly, mellifluous songs, winding lyrics, and imaginative costumes. This creative force unleashes a symphony on “ovule,” from her forthcoming tenth album ‘fossora.’ “‘ovule’ for me is my definition of love,” she says. “It is a meditation about us as lovers walking around this world.”

With its flamenco inspired guitars, reggaeton-pop beat, and Spanish lyrics on “Y Tu Te Vas,” the French indie rock band pushed forth a new sound in the Latin arena.

Hiroshima-born, and Montreal-based singer-songwriter Jonah Yano enlisted BADBADNOTGOOD to produce his forthcoming LP. The beautifully langid, slowburning “always” is a jazzy offering written for his younger brother Azusa who was in the throes of heartbreak.

It’s been a while since Jessie Baylin shared a new album. “I had to write myself back into existence,” says Baylin. “I’d been feeling lost, empty, unsure if I’d ever make music again, and I think this album came along to remind me of who I really am, of who I could still become.” Makes sense when you join the chorus on “Time Is A Healer.”

While on tour in the early 70s, guitarist Hank Swarn had been writing and collecting songs. There he started a collaboration with Portland soulstress Shirley Nanette that led to a full album “Never Coming Back” in 1973. The album saw little exposure until now, when Big Crown Records decided to breathe it new life. “People Are Thinking” is a timeless track from the lost treasure.

Based in Sydney, 20-year-old indie pop player grentperez grew up listening to all sorts of music from The Beatles to Queen, which helped him fortify his falsetto. His genre-bending compilation “Trail Mix Tape” is out at the end of the week and features a little gem called “Ego.”

Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo and Barcelona-based legend Manu Chao recently dropped a musical grenade with “Me Duele,” of which Bomba’s founder Simon Mejia says: "This song was created during a wonderful organic collaboration. It's a song about how pain can always find its relief during difficult times and life can come back to its essential beauty."

A first generation child of Mexican immigrants based in the Bay Area, San Cha took a break and stayed at her aunt’s farm back home to reimagine herself, and sees herself as a subversive queer ranchera singer. Now based in Los Angeles, her forceful voice and emotive style are the centerpiece of “Enfrente De Ti” or “in front of you.”

Get acquainted with San Cha and check out her Private Playlist.

Named after NASA’s 1973 robotic space probe, LA’s psychedelic dance trio Pioneer 11 make music for a shapeshifting cosmos. With a new album “Humanoid” dropping in November, we can experience the celestial dreamscape known as “Destiny.”

Nation of Language co-founder Aidan Noell may be applying her master’s degree in history to her solo work. On “Sharevari,” Aidan colludes with LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang to pay homage to and remake 1981’s archetypal Detroit techno track of the same name by A Number of Names , which helped launch the genre.