P027 – DJ FIRMEZA – Ardeu

Vinyl 12″ / Digital
Written and produced by DJ Firmeza;
Mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva, Artwork by Márcio Matos;
Released September, 2019;

VINYL/DIGITAL: Order from us

A1 – AVAN
A2 – Intenso
B1 – RRRRRR
B2 – 25

PRESS RELEASE

Free-spirited Firmeza is back, his production skills reinvested with pride. He fires off with two rare improvised vocal cuts over minimal, bouncy beats. This style of delivering vocals is commonly known as “animação”, a sort of MCing, not so much to boast personal qualities or instigate people, more of a stream of consciousness thing. The free association of words and themes in both “AVAN” and “Intenso” recalls a more rootsy style of kuduro. You can choose to see a reflection of life in the projects when a police siren and occasional telephone “on hold” tones make their way into the groove, reinforced by Firmeza’s active call of “Pode chamar!”. Then the vocals drift away and after the break comes a most effective dj tool, in line with this DJ’s style of hypnotic batida.

“RRRRRR” moves up from his classic 6-minute “Alma Do Meu Pai” minimal jam, providing a fast, intense ride across the mutant world of techno as seen from the outside. In between a mesmerizing percussion marathon and the klang of an old school factory. If anything, Firmeza’s percussive essence, much inspired by his guru DJ Nervoso, has progressed to even more uncharted intuitive ground, as proven by the powerful abstract statement that is “25”. Everything bounces and the body bounces along, not sure of where it stands anymore.

Vinyl 12″; individually hand-painted, hand-stamped copies available for the world.

“Alma Do Meu Pai” deixou um rasto poderoso, desde 2015, na consciência rítmica desta família de música afro-descendente. Firmeza puxa agora dos seus créditos completos, entregando duas animações (como se chamam as vocalizações improvisadas que se escutam nas duas primeiras faixas). O calor está intenso. Sobre bases mais próximas do kuduro, DJ Firmeza fala a quem quer ouvir e, como sempre, a mensagem está no som, no estar, no sentir e desenvolver um swing natural do momento. No lado B, “RRRRRR” e “25” deixam um curso de batida expressiva demasiado viva para ser contida no gueto de que ainda se fala (ou até se fala mais, actualmente). Como em alguns exemplos que continuamos a achar excepcionais no catálogo da Príncipe, esta música pertence ao limbo muito particular no qual Lisboa existe como uma cidade plena de possibilidades.
Flur, September 2019

Leading on from his 2015 solo debut 12” and numerous international DJ forays, Firmeza’s ‘Ardeu’ sees him inject devilish detail into his productions at no expense to his signature, stripped-down suss. All four cuts are intensely rhythmelodic, and include two highlights revolving Firmeza’s own vocals, toasting not boasting in a stream-of-consciousness flow know locally as “animação” that expresses his singular spin on classic styles, as inspired by ghetto guru DJ Nervoso.
The A-side finds Firmeza freely associating words and themes in a rootsy style of Kuduro. The sounds of police sirens, telephone hold tones and crowd noise mingle with colourful carnival vamps while Firmeza’s lilting vocal cadence matches the rhythm’s cantering syncopation on ‘Intenso’, and ‘AVAN’ sees him scudding melodically over cold, direct drums in a style recalling DJ Petchy & MC Shantie’s vintage UKF pressure or Brazilian Baile Funk trimmed of subbass.
Firmeza’s B-side follows to replace the rap style with a strong showcase of his elevated production levels. On the mesmerising ‘RRRRRR’ vocals are trapped in psychotic, nanoscopic loops and woven with infectiously offset, technoid bass patterns to gripping effect, before the extraordinary ’25’ supplies a masterclass in loose-limbed percussion, and nothing but, in a style nodding to DJ Nervoso that can be taken as Lisbon’s answer to the purist Gqom drum influence of Griffit Vigo upon DJ Lag.
It’s all essentially a form of mutant, minimalist techno, and counts as some of the most irresistible dance music on the planet right now.
Boomkat, September 2019

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