lisbon bass and principe discos aka post-kuduro
This mix selects tracks from an emergent style of electronic dance music formed over the past several years in the inner-city, suburbs, and slums of Lisbon, Portugal. Often referred to generically as Lisbon's "underground” bass music and ghetto tech, this elusive yet rapidly developing sound takes broken beats inspired by UK jungle, ghetto house, and grime and injects them with the powerful sound of Kuduro.
For those who don't know, Kuduro is a form of dance music that blew up in Angola during the mid-2000s. With super-charged beats and an eccentric cast of artists and vocalists, Kuduro quickly established itself as one of the most pervasive African electronic music styles of the 21st-century. Closer to house music than rap, but way more abrasive than the former, Kuduro has since commanded a significant influence on music globally. From South African house, to German techno, to UK trap, to international bass music in general, Kuduro "brings the noise" of open and filled out sounding precussion to electronic music composition. For a sample of its sound, just throw on any M.I.A track, the deep and pulsating drums and bass you hear are a direct product of Angolan electronic music.
And since Lisbon bass music finds its origins in this genre, it is no surprise that this mix mostly features young Angolan-Portuguese and Angolan immigrants who came of age just as the Kuduro sound began to make its way across Africa and into the burroughs, street corners, and clubs of immigrant communities in Lisbon. Importing the craze via youtube videos, travel, media sharing, and transcontinental radio, and merging it with various European electronic dance music styles, the artists below have used Kuduro to create an innovative sound that is dark, repetitive, uncomfortable, and deeply digital/computerized, but also dancy and club ready.
While these artists are not necessarily new--in fact, many have been putting out music since 2012-13--the micro=genre is only just now starting to gain attention on international music blogs and audio sharing platforms as well as find its way onto club scene dance floors outside of Lisbon. This is largely thanks to the independent record label, Principe Discos, which has released 15 eps over the past two years, including 6 within the last month, all featuring this intriguing strand of Angolan-Portuguese, post-Kudura electronic dance music. All the artists below are signed to this label, which claims to bring you "new sounds, forms, and structures with their own set of poetics and cultural identity."
Peep these 15 tracks and hear for yourself:
| 0:00 | "O Tempo Da Vida" - DJ Lycox - Tá Tipo Já Não Vamos Morrer |
| 3:02 | "Powerr" - DJ Nigga Fox - O Meu Estilo EP |
| 6:26 | "Sentimentos" - Nidia Minaj - Danger |
| 9:31 | "Arruda" - Niagara - ímpar |
| 14:29 | "O Vento Uma Verdadeira Amizade" - DJ Maboku, DJ Lilocox, DJ Firmeza - B.N.M. / P.D.D.G |
| 17:01 | "Hino Da Noite" - DJ B Boy & Puto Márcio - Tá Tipo Já Não Vamos Morrer |
| 19:41 | "7 Maravilhas (Damas Da Cor Do Pecado)" - DJ Télio - Tá Tipo Já Não Vamos Morrer |
| 23:13 | "Bit Binary" - DJ Marfox - Eu Sei Quem Sou EP |
| 27:38 | "De Love" - DJ Nigga Fox - Noite E Dia |
| 31:44 | "Grito Das Crianças" - DJ Lilocox - Malucos De Raiz |
| 34:25 | "Somos Todos Malucos" - DJ Firmeza - Cargaa 2 |
| 37:44 | "Afro" - Blacksea Não Maya - Cargaa 1 |
| 40:41 | "Limite" - Nidia Minaj - Danger |
| 42:44 | "Camrate (feat. DJ Estraga)" - DJ Big Vado - (2014) |
| 45:24 | "Helcome" - DJ Marfox - (2013) |