Black$ea Não Maya - “mix batidas di gueto”

The oceans are vast and varied: a wide, wet expanse where the forces of unseen currents reign.  Difficult to manage and nearly impossible to control, this environment is harsh and unpredictable. Survival in these conditions is a matter of resourcefulness. Prior knowledge is useful. But the key to thriving is adaptation. As it turns out, a supple, buoyant mind proves to be a most formidable flotation device; a testament to the many hats a cranium can wear.

For this reason, relevant courses should be taken if at all available. Preparedness must be exploited to its full potential. Luckily, the set Black$ea Não Maya released last week is akin to such a class. Allow this crew to be your teacher. Disclaimer time: listening to this nearly eleven-minute mix will not yield expertise. Listeners are not given the tools to compose this style of music. Instead, what “mix batidas do gueto” accomplishes is a presentation - a veritable case study - on the Lisbon's contemporary dance music. Afterwards, a willing audience can differentiate between a  par, sub-par, and above-par track as beat after kuduro beat hammers cognizance into their mental rafts. These true sound of their gueto.

Lasting all of ten minutes and forty five seconds, “mix batidas di gueto,” is exceedingly brief on paper. The average length of a track (of which seven can be heard) is a shade above 1:30. Yet the design is optimal, because these beats do not require more time. A party is not being directed, a mix is being curated; and what follows is hardly a glorified playlist. BNM has taken measures to assure astonishing fluidity from the beginning. A mid-tempo kuduro beat with hushed vocals - followed by those of children - and chimes serve as a a gentle lead-in. A theme of smooth transitions develops. A new set of vocals, alongside a drum fill, provide the route towards a second track. The warm-up now concluded, percussion is phased out. Sounds of a bridge provide the next transition, safe passage into the heart of the mix. Alongside the BNM credited songs, MaboOku, Firmeza and Vanyfox are heard. Momentum is consistent even through moments of rhythmic respite. A 4/4 bass gives an incidentally mild house flavoring throughout, though its purpose is to tie the collage together. Near the end, the one and only eccentricity is heard. A xylophone track normally recognized in introductions rather than an outro inventively appears. What follows is a good mix because of both the music and a crew whose finger rests on the pulse of their neighborhood.

- John Noggle