PREMIÈRE: Global Flavours Combine on Latest Single from Salvador Veteran Mamah

@whatslater

The bass scene in Bahia is showing no signs of slowing down. BaianaSystem are still one of the big draws but we can also mention artists like Afrocidade, ÀTTØØXXÁ, Telefunksoul and Opanije, to name a few, all of whom are threatening (and in some cases, managing) to break out of the region.

Mamah has been part of the scene for a while, as a member of both Lampirônicos and Coletivo di Tambor. Now, he’s dropping a new single on Kafundó Records (big supporters of the Bahia bass scene) which highlights the increasingly-global influences of what’s going on. As the single’s title suggests, “Funk Nagô” takes a big musical cue from funk carioca, shot through with the kind of deep African consciousness we have come to expect from Salvador (Nagô being another word for the West African Yoruba ethnicity).

At the same time as looking across to Africa and down to Rio, the track unquestionably has a fondness for all the deep, DIY sounds of Jamaica, with slowly-imploding beats and dancehall-tastic autotune. On the remixes which come with the single, some of these elements get played up even further, DJ Tide stripping the track of some of its Brazilian elements (such as the agogô bells) to push the track even further towards Jamaica, while FurmigaDub goes for an experimental dub work-out, dropping elements in and out with just funky, off-beat guitar and Mamah’s cut-up vocals giving the track some structure. The 5-track single also features a remix by Telefunksoul & TrapFunk&Alivio and an instrumental version.

“Funk Nagô” will be released on Kafundó Records on October 9th.

Watch the video for “Funk Nagô”, filmed in Salvador’s Vale das Pedrinhas bairro, exclusively at the top of the page. To find out more about how the track came about watch Mamah and the track’s producers explain its genesis below:

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