Enchufada Vinyl & CDs

Review: OBG is a third thrilling album of inventive dub rhythms from the one they call Branko. He is the Buraka Som Sistema co-founder and Enchufada label-head and here he gets more personal and intimate than ever before. He has said the album is a "letter of love and thanks to the community around him" and it takes its cues from his homeland of Portugal's beautiful landscapes with bass heavy, lumpy rhythms at the core. Elements of kuduro, kizomba, zouk, baile funk and more all future with organic texture, lush vocals and warm paints over always low slung grooves. Another classic from the main man.

Review: Portuguese producer and Enchufada label owner Branko is back with his fourth full-length solo album and once again he pushes his own high standards even further. Soma was recorded in Lisbon over a three-day jam session that saw him asking plenty of top local Lisbon-based musicians to improvise over rhythmic frameworks. The resulting man-hours live recording was the blueprint for the album which Brano then worked into the compelling and worldly tunes you have here with vocals from the likes of London, Cape Verde, and Brazil, including Jay Prince, June Freedom, BIAB, and Tuyo.

Review: Na Zona, when transliterated from Portuguese, roughly means 'being in a specific place, occupying a zone and owning it.' That is what the Enchufada founder Branko does as he explores the world of club music from various different perspectives, including his own and those of close associates, on a second instalment of this fine compilation. His own music, edits and remixes were all done during lockdown in studios in Lisbon, Accra, Sao Paulo, London or Paris. That lends the music a global feel, with shimming synths and nice broken beat patterns all keeping summer vibes alive.

Review: Buraka Som Sistema is one of Portugal's most famous musical exports, and for good reason. They changed the musical landscape of their homeland with a number of mythical mixtapes, EPs and albums. Their high energy live shows are the stuff of legend and for the fifth anniversary of one such gig - their farewell show in Lisbon in 2016 - we're treated to an album made from recordings if it. The roaring crowd nosies are included with the first vocals, the buoyant rhythms and maximal synths and all the biggest hits are included from 'Kalemba' to 'Sound Of Kuduro' and 'Hangover.' Put this one on and you'll immediately have a rave on your hands.

Review: Back on fine form with this, their third LP, Buraka Som Sistema have once again carved out their own niche among the thousands of global bass producers out there at present. "Komba" refers to an Angolan wake that occurs seven days after a death, where food and drink are supplied for friends of the deceased and general merriment and celebration occur. This seems like a pretty sensible way to log out of this mortal coil, and BSS have the soundtrack nailed - with their breakneck tempos, superb arrangements and dark and dirty club sounds always underscored by perfect beats at every step. The raw funk of the title tune, the commanding "We Stay Up All Night" (featuring SBTRKT vocalist Roses Gabor), or the hectic juke/2-step/dubstep of "Lol And Pop" make this a truly essential album, and a perfect remedy for those left wanting by recent releases from Major Lazer and MIA.

Review: Felipe Salmon and Rafael Pereira aka Dengue Dengue Dengue's third album is an exploration of Afro-Peruvian musical traditions laced with their usual sense of so-called tropical futures and off beat rhythmic patterns. It makes for hypnotic grooves that are loose and jumbled, organic and fully authentic especially when members of the Ballumbrosio family, who are experts in traditional rhythmic styles like lando, festejo and crioullo music, as well as traditional dances and instruments like the quijada, have helped create this album. Fleshing out the drums are fizzes and woodblocks, smeared synthwork and occasional Latin vocals that drift to the top as the bass roams down low. An intoxicating listen that transports you to another world entirely.

Review: Hot Portuguese property Pedro has been glued to our radar since his debut "Damaia" EP in 2017. Fusing club music with Angolan, Brazilian and Cape Verdean influences, "Da Linha" is a bewitching brew of beats and bass that sits somewhere between gqom and house and never sits still. One moment we're treated to a tropical grime admonishment ("Too Much" with Nigerian MC Magugu), the next we're being massaged into sublime submission with the soothing reflective "Terra Treme", and before we know it we're neck deep in a dancefloor riot on the beat-heavy "Stuck On You" where the addictive whistling line and Bryte's vocals drive us into an entirely different submission. Loaded with emotional, moving moments such as the Balearic sunset-charmed "Calores", this is a superb accomplished debut album from an exciting artist who's just at the start of his journey.