Reviewed the new Nguzunguzu EP, which still pales in comparison to mixes like Perfect Lullaby but hey, they’re getting there and really, comparing their production to their mixes is kinda besides the point anyways. This is a good weird, global dance EP
Nguzunguzu’s nervy approach to DJing and production is best exemplified by an edit of Monica and Brandy’s “The Boy Is Mine” that appears on their Perfect Lullaby mix from the spring. They looped producer Darkchild’s synth-harp intro from that 1998 hit and let it ride for about two minutes, turning it into a mediative electronic groove. The Los Angeles duo thrives on this type of sonic “aha!” moment, finding musical cues that expose the ways that mainstream rap and R&B aren’t all that different from what’s going on in the more explicitly experimental underground. Producers making footwork, Baltimore club, moombahton, post-dubstep, and more are toying with minimalism, repetition, and noise; but the urban music on the radio can similarly blow minds, and is often just as out-there.
This isn’t a new concept exactly (Timbaland at his peak was clearly an avant-pop genius), but Nguzunguzu are particularly skilled at bringing together disparate sounds– as if their brains were missing the part that constructs binaries or identifies genre differences. They brought this to bear earlier this year when they stitched together M.I.A.’s demos and one-offs for Vicki Leekx, making something just as jagged as /\/\/\Y/\, but way more more fun to hear…
Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader?