pml beatz: pedra de 800 kg

Darkside Kuduro continuum styles from Lisbon's PML Beatz, racking up the heaviest Angolan-Portuguese gear this side of Nazar on their debut for Príncipe. Lobbed from their respective bases in Lisbon and Luxembourg (one of the countries Portuguese have traditionally sought a better life), the three tracks of Pedra de 800 Kg hustle a strong introduction to siblings Lisandro and Ivan, aka PML Beatz. Drawing on a shared Cape Verdean and Angolan heritage, the duo started producing in their early teens back in 2010, but got distracted, as teenagers are prone to do, before returning to the software circa 2017 with a little help from their former neighbor and mentor, DJ BeBeDeRa -- whose grinding tarraxhos have been issued on 7" by Promesses -- to finally produce this killer trio of club workouts. Hypnotic and hard in a signature Príncipe style that firmly resonates with SA Gqom, strains of syncopated UK bass and mutations seeping out of all corners of the internet, the EP kicks off with a mesmerizing mix of New Beat-esque choral drones with synthetic berimbau-like riffs and flinty rhythm in "No Cubau", before "Manganza" doubles down the darkness with murderous bass drones and distorted drops recalling Durban taxi techno vibes, and "Pedra de 800 Kg" -- so titled after their father's motivational expression "That's easier to lift than a 500 Kg rock" -- recklessly pushes the dance to a steely, up-tempo frenzy.