by: Vinyl Me, Please
A key part of what makes the kuduro-techno amalgams coming out of Portugal so spellbinding stems from its humanity. From its Detroit beginnings, electronic dance music attempted to speed up the future, one driven and directed by machines in true sci-fi fanboy fashion. Yet the Angolan influences on Lisbon’s transcendent contemporary club sounds keep much of the music grounded in the now, its polyrhythmic foundations a worthy counterpoint to the wicked British and American producers gleefully embracing auditory ruthlessness and sadism.
A Lisbon native, DJ N.K. has been an active and pioneering participant in this vibrant scene for some time. His overdue debut full-length DJ Do Ghetto [Lit City Trax] is actually named for the crew he joined some ten years ago which also featured future stars DJ Marfox and DJ Nervoso, among others. Both artists join their compatriot on respective collaborative cuts, the former on the stuttering mission statement “Ghetto Sound Of Lisbon” and the latter on the honking “Hoy.”
Peppered with succinct namesake drops, DJ Do Ghetto’s contents include a dozen of N.K.’s priceless productions crafted by a seasoned practitioner of the craft, from the straightforward gallop of “Zuguza” to the more outré options of “Urban Mafia” and “Punched Horn.” The furious tempos of “Matumbina” and “Orixas Groove” capture the urgency of the best in techno without sacrificing melody. “Tribalistic Face” hustles towards a beatific beatless breakdown before quickly picking up the pace and adding further organic instrumentation to the balmy mix.
