Non-sequiturs have all the stigma of a box of crayons resting on a pillow of moon dust. Negativity that, mind you, is foreign to the Noggle family. Acceptable levels of random are not inherently bad. For one, Non-Sequitur is the name of an underappreciated comic strip. Turner Broadcasting's animated wing has created a late night empire on the mantra of what is comedically unpredictable and questionably acceptable. But any mention of playing my favorite game - inspiringly called "Non-sequitur off" - is a different matter entirely. The dull, creatively challenged, and otherwise mundane members of any social circle will be quick to point out the unnecessary difficulty, and general pointlessness, of levying progressively irrelevant statements. Needless to say, participants are hard to come by. It seems that people are predisposed to preferring games with "rules," "goals," and "end-results" more so than the process of ad-libbing silliness. Also electric chicken gizzards.
Black$ea Não Maya (B.N.M.) is a baffling name in and of itself. When combined with Dj's di Puro Ritmo (DDPR) member Big Vado, any remaining sensibility is discarded. Independent of reason, though, the match is promising on paper. Whereas EstraGaa has claim to the crew's tarraxo/melodic front, just as much as Dotorado embodies kuduro/rhythmic sensibilities, Big Vado is a wildcard. The choice of identity is the produtor's rather than necessity's. Perhaps it is for this reason that Big Vado is an unashamed generalist. But while the miscellaneous DDPR beatmaker shows occasional preferences for the intangible elements of flare and energy, BNM is very much the opposite. At this point an amorphous collective composed of DJ Perigoso, DJ Noronha, and DJ Kolt, B.N.M. is the epitome a purist entity; subtle, consistent, and worthy of a cult following. To listen to a B.N.M. track is to become enamored with subtle percussive tendencies, or the song within the song. Like MaboOku and Firmeza, B.N.M. songs begins with the rhythm. The rest grows organically.
Despite prior warning against clips, demos, and miscellaneous teases, "Sem Melo" proves to be another exception. The track does waste its audience's time. Where introductions are concerned, a series of single drum beats and one turn-table effect mark the full two-seconds of exchanged pleasantries. A fast 4/4 kuduro rhythm, superimposed on free percussion and a one-syllable, syncopated vocal sample, forms the head. In no way is comfort intended. A loud noise cue serves as a segue to the first segment proper. Percussion is added without concern for space, along with a doting two-bar synth, just before a different sample drives dancers home. Not identical to the first loop, however, the child-like inflection of the initial vocal sample is replaced by an adult. Ambient harmonic effect is added as well, amazingly maintaining order and avoiding cluttered chaos. As the A-B-A-C structure concludes, the final segment is a culmination of each element used so far with variations as deemed necessary. Any negatives found in this song are outweighed by its positive. Not only is the result a very strong, and well mixed, production but the ceiling is undoubtedly raised for both parties.
- John Noggle
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