Band of the Week: Buraka Som Sistema

Posted on Oct 31st 2009 8:09AM by Stephen Dowling
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Kuduro is a a dance music genre straight out of Africa, a melange of beats popularised in the Angolan capital Luanda and heard at every party and club, a breakbeat style that has evolved far from superclubs and Ibiza parties

It made its jump into Europe thanks to the large Angolan population living in Lisbon, the capital of their former colonial master. It's led an exotic blend of beats and europhic highs that has begun to take over Portugal's dancefloors.

Its poster boys are Buraka Som Sistema, a collective which includes Portuguese DJs Joao Barbosa (Li'l John), Rui Pite (DJ Riot) and Angolan-born MC Kalaf Angelo, and a group who have melded kuduro's rhythms to other forms.

A huge presence in Portuguese dance music, the group won MTV Europe's award for best Portuguese act in 2008 and are now making inroads around the world. Their latest album includes a collaboration with London rapper M.I.A. and they start a tour in the US on Saturday (Oct. 31).

"I think it's one of those things that just became part of our life in the same way that reggae or dancehall become part of every kid growing up in Brixton for example," Barbosa and Pite tell Spinner over email. "It's music from a different place but everyone knows it."

They were surprised at winning their MTV gong, as Buraka Som Sistema had pretty much been an underground act when they won. "We work a lot, we like to put on a big show, even if that means not making any money. So it felt really good to know that people understand that and appreciate that. When we won that award our album was coming out on the exact same month, all we had before was an EP."

Their "progressive kurduro" has already been compared to the likes of clubland pioneers LFO. They say, "We love instant reactions and that's definitely my favorite thing about dance music. The fact that u can make a tune in the studio and play it on the same night it's just one of the most awesome feelings in the world."

Buraka Som Sistema have already brought their version of kuduro to Luanda. It was, they say, a brilliant experience. "We wanna do it again soon! It was super interesting cause people didn't feel like we were stealing something from them. They understood what we were doing. Picking up something they invented and transposing those rhythmical drum patters to all sorts of crazy thing that we grew up with."

Buraka Som Sistema are on tour through the US and Mexico through November. Their single 'Restless' can be downloaded in the US via iTunes. 'Restless is out in the UK on Nov. 30 and the 'fabriclive' album is out in December.