2 x Vinyl LP
The past decade has shown that Príncipe is one of the premier labels in all of electronic music, but the Lisbon label has been spiritually running longer than that. Seventeen years ago, DJs Marfox, N.K., Jesse, Pausas, Fofuxo and Nervoso blazed a new trail in Portuguese music as DJs Di Guetto. Indeed, Príncipe’s foundation was laid by the African diaspora’s commitment to dance music, Detroit ghettotech fusing with Angolan kuduro to create something that is new and simultaneously familiar.
There is no room for filler on DJs Di Guetto. Samples and melodies abound but it is singularly minimal music, designed for dancing, not studying. DJ Marfox’s “Drift Furioso” strips the Teriyaki Boyz’ song to its bare bones, ridding it of the original synths, ad-libs, and vocals until the sped-up drums compel your feet to move. And despite how stripped down these tracks are, they all feel unique in their visions, flitting from “Estrago Terrivel”’s wild klaxons to “Tapada”’s woozy riddim.
This is first and foremost body music, the kind that makes you move your shoulders, shake your hips, and bob your head. “Isto é Kazu Bite” typifies this concept; grimy synths gloriously aid drums that sound alive, as though they’re playing themselves instead of being programmed. But the next track, “Techno” by DJ Jesse, flips the danceability factor on its head. Instead of the chaotic elements we’ve become accustomed to over the compilation, Jesse parallels The Field’s minimal techno repetition. Only three minutes in, he pulls another about-face and cranks the syncopation to 11, disregarding the synths entirely. Axel Willner couldn’t have done it better.
Though this re-release entails only 11 tracks, the original compilation has 37 tracks all worth your time. Príncipe staked its existence on this group of DJs, and that leap of faith has majorly benefitted the global music community who’d have never heard this through conventional channels. Its simplicity is its calling card and its genius, a lesson to not overcomplicate things and keep it lean, lest it get stale. DJs Di Guetto is real ghetto shit, held in the highest possible regard.
