(TraTraTrax)
Two decades of work from producers JLZ, VHOOR, Mu540 and DJ RaMeMes strips the Brazilian genre to its essential parts until it chimes with grime and drill
Originating in 1980s Brazil, baile funk began as a bass-heavy blend of syncopated folk rhythms and hip-hop-influenced sampling, and has since developed into regional styles ranging from the hyperpop freneticism of D.Silvestre to DJ K’s eerie and cacophonous bruxaria and the house-sampling sound of MC Lan. Coming together by sharing baile funk edits on SoundCloud, producers JLZ, VHOOR, Mu540 and DJ RaMeMes began releasing their own version in 2017 as Weird Baile. Now compiling two decades of their lo-fi productions as Collected Rips 2004-2024, Weird Baile establish their sound as a curious blend of Brazilian and British dancefloors.
Sparse, harsh and artfully arranged, the Weird Baile signature strips baile funk down to its essentials: vocals, bass and rhythm. Opener Aquecimento Do Ih Caraca embodies this ethos with its industrial sub-bass, chopped-up shouted vocals and percussive beatboxing, producing two minutes of menacing intensity. The mood matches perfectly with the similarly abrasive energy of grime instrumentals, and on Grime Do Weird Baile the group mix the instantly recognisable vocalisations on Skepta and JME’s 2006 Rhythm & Gash Freestyle beat with clattering electronic percussion and Portuguese lyrics. This connection to the UK bass continuum continues with the skittering drill bass of PPRT and the cavernous, dubstep-influenced sounds of CaFaGesTeh, as well as in the ambient opening of Pique da Oakley, which calls back to dubstep producer Mala’s 2007 track Changes.
