Bmore | Baile Funk Vinyl LP 8 Items

NTS presents funk.BR - São Paulo, an exploration into the magical and menacing world of the Brazilian city’s current baile funk sounds.

São Paulo has built up a reputation for its confrontational funk output over the past decade, and the emergence of the mandelão sound has underlined this. This riotous strain of baile funk has been tailor made for the favela parties (so-called bailes or fluxos) of the Brazilian megalopolis. Played across the bailes do Helipa, Bega, Marcone and Casinhas, mandelão now spans a wide range of sub-genres; from hypnotic ritmado to brutal bruxaria.

This 22-track collection of previously unreleased songs finds starlet producers like Blakes, Arana, and Bonekinha Iraquiana sat alongside scene stalwarts and national icons like Deekapz, Mu540, and the inimitable MC GW. It all serves to make funk.BR - São Paulo a vital snapshot of this sensational city’s musical magic.

At only 19 years old, Dar Es Salaam's DJ Travella represents a new wave of singeli producers who are driving Tanzania's breakneck dance sound into fresh, innovative spaces. Unaffiliated with any of the well-known studios like Sisso and Pamoja, Hamadi Hassani's music points singeli's fusion of taraab and techno towards the stars, locating a cyber-singeli style that's dense, kinetic and unashamedly sexy.Hassani started producing at 15, and a few years later his debut is a jagged set of hi-nrg dance music that pulls influence from across the globe, folding together elements of dembow, rave, R&B, and trap. But nothing's straightforward: opening track 'Crazy Beat Music Umeme 2' juxtaposes grinding 200bpm rhythmic intensity with urgent plucked strings, sounding like Timbaland conjuring a Thunderdome soundtrack for a Tanzanian street party.'Crazy Beat Music Umeme 4' is even more barbed, with neon rave synths and hand-jammed percussion that's one part 808 Mafia and one part DJ Diaki. On 'London Bandcamp', Travella meshes hi-speed singeli backbeats with downtempo dembow kicks, squeezing out unexpected sleaze in the process, while on 'London Uwoteeee' there's an almost romantic sparkle, with ethereal vocals draped across woodblock cracks and whistles.But Travella sounds most nimble when giving the nod to Atlanta, and his merging of earworm synth hooks and neck-snapping East African rhythms on tracks like 'London Jomon Beat' will leave no doubt that the young producer is capable of bending singeli completely to his will.

In Togo, Gazo doesn’t need any special occasion to resonate with people. Like an everyday life soundtrack, it is present when everything is fine but also when sadness sets in. In France, electronic music is also a popular remedy at any time, but it is often far away when we look at the money we spent the night before with watery eyes. Ago Gazo set the scene for a hybrid genre in which the notions of trance and liberation are palpable. Percussion, instruments and traditional chants from Togo, analogical machines and modular synths share a common destiny in this project : bruising emotions like a boxer’s ears.

Soundway Records presents the debut solo album from the ever-energetic Diron Animal, lead singer of the band Throes + The Shine.
Born and raised in the ghettos of Cazenga in the Angolan capital of Luanda, the Portugal-based artist is known for his incredible stage presence and unique fashion sense. Influenced by traditional African music, Diron brings modern electronic production and multilingual vocals to his album, which explores the realities of growing up in harsh conditions. The impact of such a life on himself and his local community is thematically apparent: pessimism, greed, and ambition feature - and yet the overarching message is that of opportunity, hope and channelling one’s struggles into creativity.
Spell-binding rhythms, bass hooks and original lyrics abound, spanning Portuguese, Kimbundu and English.
Lead single “Don’t Stop”, out 7 July, is a fast-paced funked up anthem with a contagious saxophone riff, to be followed by an equally mesmerising video to boot.