“People love that feeling of getting the chills, of feeling something,” Geovanni Flores of Los Primos Del Este tells Apple Music. That sensation serves as a litmus test for the lead vocalist and songwriter of North Carolina’s popular norteño con sax combo, a visceral indication that a song has the potential to become a hit or otherwise resonate strongly with their growing audience. He describes that as part of the process behind the ambitious but cohesive Dulce Amargo. “More than anything, the approach was trying to go back to our roots while also evolving our sound at the same time,” says bassist and co-founding member Ariel López. Coming off their twin 2025 efforts, Luna De Miel and AMOR DE SUBIDA, the group had a strong foundation to work from, yet made it a point to incorporate different styles and twists uncharacteristic of their chosen genre. ”We want to bring the people along with us with our growth,” López says, “We want them to stick around for a long time.” Learn more about some of their favourite songs from Dulce Amargo below, in the artists’ own words. “LINDA SONRISA” Geovanni Flores: “I always think about the positioning of the tracks. I wanted to make sure that the album started off strong, but also smooth, and then let it flow throughout the whole album. The reason I actually chose that one was because, at the beginning, it gives a suspenseful type of vibe. And then, boom, the beat drops. I feel like that’s going to make people bop their heads.” “MERECES MEJOR” GF: “I would go around asking each one of these guys [to] tell me what’s happened to you, what girl has done this or that to you. They start explaining to me their stories.” Alejandro Tellez: “You can see how life can relate to the song for real, how many experiences you’ve had before in life.” GF: “[Juan Luis] has an interesting way of recording. He sits down in front of the console, and he has his accordion plugged in right there. He’s literally just recording himself doing the music, so he’s his own engineer.” Juan Luis Hernández Rubalcava: “The way I create melodies is I try to [make] people feel what I was feeling during the moment. And I go over it and over it; I have loops of recording myself recording sometimes.” “MI REINA” GF: “That track came out of nowhere. One of our other guys that’s in the group, [requinto player Erik Altamirano], he pretty much ended up coming up with the beginning. He let me hop on it and then we just came up with that whole track right then and there.” JLHR: “It gets really personal.” “MEJOR SIN TI” GF: “I’m 24 years old; I still consider myself pretty young. So I guess it is that type of maturing where maybe you do want a heartbroken song, but you don’t want to feel that heartbroken. You want to feel better about it, like, ‘I’m going to surpass this.’ And let her know that, too—that you don’t care, but you wish her the best. You get older and you can learn to forgive, you can learn to just forget.” “SENTIMIENTOS” Ariel López: “Clearly, on this song, the accordion stands out the most. It’s obvious the sax isn’t involved. But it was part of us trying to stay true to the Primos del Este music, but also explore other types of styles that go along with it. In the intro, you hear the drums going crazy, very uplifting, and then boom, it chills out. We have a lot of instruments and, wanting to go global as they say, you got to really pay attention to each instrument, make sure it’s not overwhelming.” “TREMENDA” AL: “When we first came into this genre and we dropped the song ‘No Es Mentira,’ that was the blueprint for the group as to what we envisioned. And the whole approach to this one was like, let’s make a song that can bring that nostalgic feeling back to how people originally knew us, but let’s also add the newer elements. I think that song is a good representation on where this genre could go without having to fear repercussions.”