P009 – DJ NIGGA FOX – Noite E Dia

Vinyl 12″ / Digital
Written and produced by DJ Nigga Fox;
Mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva, Artwork by Márcio Matos;

VINYL/DIGITAL: Order from us

A1 – Um Ano
A2 – Apocalipsiii
B1 – Tio Kiala
B2 – De Leve

PRESS RELEASE

2013’s “O Meu Estilo” produced shock waves felt long after the EP sold out. It was charted by Thom Yorke and praised by well known publications such as Spin, Fact, Vice or The Quietus. And so Rogério Brandão spent the best part of 2014 touring Europe, including two of the Continent’s biggest festivals: Sónar in Catalunya and Rosklide in Denmark. “A lo-fi, pressure cooked fusion of impossible rhythms, written for unborn dancers pulling shapes that don’t exist yet.” (Fact, late 2013)

No wonder it took a while to complete a second EP.
“Um Ano” (“One Year”) seems to pay tribute to a fantastic year and it picks up on the trademark Nigga Fox dissonance. It bounces all over the place in dramatic style;
“Apocalipsii” starts as apparently straight techno but it’s clear after a while that it is no such thing. A layer of bleepy weirdness is driven by martial snares. Bleeps then turn into strings and then into fake horns. Rogério shows the table his amazing set of cards;
But this time the Angolan producer delivers even more fire. Check out “Tio Kiala”, a mammoth bullet-train headed for Rave Central, staying on track despite all the contortionist twists and turns;
“De Leve” kind of contradicts its title (“softly”) with heavy, widescreen, concert hall percussion below a mournful, elastic, string sound. Slow and epic.

Vinyl 12″ individually hand-painted, hand-stamped (first pressing).
Vinyl 12″ (repress).

DJ Nigga Fox goes hard on the heels of Nidia Minaj and CDM with his 2nd 12″ for the amazing Príncipe label. Pushing arguably the most exciting dance sound in the world right now, Rogério Brandão aka DJ Nigga Fox is all about sinuous rhythms and mad technoid sounds, coiling the legacy of Angolan and Congolese drum patterns with up-to-date electronics in the styles known as Batida, Tarraxinha, Funana, Kuduro. They’re dynamite on the ‘floor, wrecking a body between the triplet techno tumble of ‘Um Ano’ and the incendiary builds and twysting vortices of ‘Apocalipsiii’ on the A-side, before running the wildest acid breakbeat torque with ‘Tio Kiala’ and bringing it right down with the sensuous Tarraxinha, ‘De Leve’. Like everything else on the label, it’s hugely collectable and a crucial addition to any outernational DJ’s artillery.
Boomkat, March 2015

DJ Nigga Fox follows up that killer 12″ from 2013 with a four track EP of global-hybrid electronic body music. ‘Um Ano’ starts things in a dramatic style with an off-kilter house and techno/not-techno riddim and a tough confidence, recalling the out-there bass house of UK producer Joe and the twisted rhythms of Ondo Fudd. Second up is the psychedelic bleep ‘n’ bass number ‘Apocalipsiii’, one guaranteed to get bodies moving and heads turning. On the flip is the bass-heavy roller ‘Tio Kiala’ recalling classic Shangaan and taking influence from footwork styles but twisting into a sound that is 100% Principe, while ‘De Leve’ ends things on a daring slow-mo Mujava stlye number, an addictive mixture of street styles crossed together to form some of the most crucial sounds on the planet right now.
Bleep, March 2015

It begins with a swell, then a crash, and a lingering cacophony of hand drums. The first 10 seconds of DJ N—— Fox’s “Um Ano” is so disorienting, it takes a few more seconds to lock into its ominous bounce. The Portuguese producer pieces the rest of this four-minute jaunt together in much the same fashion. He floods the mix with confounding shards of noise, but after the dust settles, it’s clear that what first appeared to be shrapnel had a precise trajectory.
NPR, March 2015

Para além de DJ Marfox, a figura da editora que tem um percurso mais consolidado, principalmente na Europa, é Rogério Brandão, ou seja Nigga Fox, que se deu a conhecer em 2012 através de uma excelente mixtape e um ano depois com o EP O Meu Estilo. Regressa agora aos discos com mais quatro temas de onde se destaca Um ano, mais uma viagem física, construída com grande engenho pelos meandros de uma sonoridade minimalista e polirrítmica próxima do house. A inspiração provém das mais diversas famílias estéticas (afrohouse, batida, tarraxinha ou kuduro), que apenas ouvidos mais experimentados se preocupam em decifrar. O que surpreende em Nigga Fox, e na maioria da música editada pela Príncipe, é a vitalidade que emana das suas edificações rítmicas, a forma como diferentes climas coabitam na mesma faixa (da excitação à melancolia, da noite para o dia) e as variações contranatura que ocorrem no percurso, com quebras seguidas de acelerações rítmicas. Numa altura em que tanto se proclama que a pop não faz mais do que digerir o seu passado, eis uma série de músicos com saudável desrespeito pela história, a mostrarem que não tem de ser assim.
Ípsilon, Março 2015

Indicative of the frame of reference, Noite E Dia declares itself as a meaningful occasion from the outset. With the amount of forceful music coming out of Lisbon’s Príncipe stable lately, it is difficult for any one release to stand apart from the rest. Indeed, the collective noise of Lisbon has been largely felt as a whole, quite reasonably given the music has been racking up over substantial time while its relatively sudden, sweeping discharge has taken unsuspecting ears and torsos by surprise. What’s more, the nest on which DJ Nigga Fox — a.k.a. Rogerio Brandao — is roosted is compelling enough that individual endeavors may be easily overlooked.
Sonically, the way that opening track “Um Ano” sets up is symbolic of the occasion: a sustained amassing of noise ultimately yielding to the throbbing, exuberant percussion that is the lifeblood of Noite E Dia. For one, the production value is notably distinguished; there is a clarity that differentiates it from, for example, Nidia Minaj’s Danger, the preceding release on Príncipe alongside CDM’s Malucos De Raiz. It is evidently the product of a DJ coming to terms with their craft — less an experimentation than a refined brand — and there is conviction in its makeup. It is is also a marked development from Nigga Fox’s debut EP, 2013’s O Meu Estilo. While the former undoubtedly left a strong impression, Noite E Dia is more conscientious in composition and universally more mature.
Each track is highly involved with myriad textures, generally consisting of variable honking synths that yoyo around metallic beats and sliced vocal stabs. The title of the EP — Portuguese for “night and day” — is an accurate metaphor for the abundant juxtaposition of styles, be they European tech or Afro-Portuguese. “Tio Kiala” arguably hits hardest, with confrontational shouts and a filtered, acidic bass line that somehow stays intact despite perpetually caving in. Closing track “De Leve” is a further highlight and the most elemental track, with a sluggish, plodding rhythm trailed by a simple, undulating lead synth.
Favorably, the convoluted nature of the EP gives the impression of something much longer, as opposed to the four tracks that it is, evading any possibility of discontent. Aside from the arrangements, the use of effects and manner of sonic processing is complex and sophisticated, and the leverage of computer technology is clearly discernible. To that end, it is easy to see how Nigga Fox fits alongside an array of electronic music artisans on a wider scale, such as T C F, DJ Richard, or Karen Gwyer, and why Warp Records is set to release an EP of tracks by Lisbon DJs that includes Nigga Fox. Fundamentally, with every Príncipe release inflating the cacophony, Noite E Dia is individually and undeniably assured.
Tiny Mix Tapes, April 2015

Very little of Noite E Dia sounds “right” in any traditional sense, and nor does it mean to. But every piece arranged by Lisbon artist DJ Nigga Fox—from the fiercely off-grid percussion to the noodling synths to the disembodied alien voices—feels right. The four tracks are so bizarre and delirious they’re almost intimidating, and yet they’re exuberant in a way that could liberate dance floors.
Nigga Fox called his first EP O Meu Estilo (meaning “my style”), but it’s on Noite E Dia that he truly solidifies a sound of his own. The record’s more straightforward cut is “De Leve,” a mischievous bit of slow-bouncing tarraxinha with a synth line that catcalls anyone within earshot. It doesn’t jar your senses quite like “Tio Kiala” or “Um Ano,” but it has that same sloppy way with drum programming, like the producer’s copy of Fruity Loops had its quantize function removed.
Percussion is the most dominant element here, but it’s not always the most distinctive. Underneath “Um Ano”‘s deluge of clattering hand drums is a seismic sub frequency that sways to the uncanny groove. “Apocalipsiii” has a solid kick pattern to anchor its greased-up rhythms, so Nigga Fox can let loose his basslines and froggy FX however he pleases. No matter how out of control and unhinged each arrangement gets, though, there’s always something to keep them from going completely off the rails.
Noite E Dia comes to a head on the B1, “Tio Kiala.” It’s a forceful kuduro track with macho shouts and a frenzied drum section. “Tio Kiala” might’ve just been another fine example of powerful Portuguese club music, but Nigga Fox subverts genre and tradition in a singular fashion. He constantly drops in fresh percussion and zippy synth phrases, and flips from one bonkers pattern to another every bar or so, as if he’s showing off just how many new things can be done with this familiar style. Once “Tio Kiala” loops its final beat, you get the sense that Nigga Fox has only just begun to show us what can be done with his sound.
Resident Advisor, April 2015

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