THE HARD ASS SESSIONS ARE BACK… VOL.3 IS HERE!

After inviting artists like BAOBINGA, OCTA PUSH, NIC SARNO, BOK BOK, DOUSTER and ZOMBIES FOR MONEY, we continue to challenge artists into creating their own vision of a Kuduro beat.

On Volume 3 we have J-WOW (from Buraka Som Sistema) and Toy Selectah (Mad Decent) mixing Cumbia and Kuduro for the first time ever (think of Africa playing ping-pong with South America in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean), we have Oliver Twizt and Rockid transposing the whole dutch house energy into Kuduro (HUGE!), Melé applying all his 140bpm London lessons and
WILDLIFE! flirting with techno in a very respectful way.

Melé (UK)
Track – Kanopa Riddim
- I’m Melé and I’mm an 18 year old producer from Merseyside, England. I produce messed up House & Garage music. Been producing since I was about 13, was really influenced by early 90’s hardcore and late 90’s garage initially. I’ve done remixes for the likes of Skepta, Greenmoney, The Count and Sinden and New Young Pony Club, and i have an EP forthcoming on Sinden’s label Grizzly very soon!
- I was really excited when i got asked to make a track for the compilation. I’ve always wanted to challenge myself to make a kuduro track so this was the perfect opportunity!
– 5 songs I am into: FIS T – Deep Mover; C.R.S.T – Dial The Operator; MENSAH – 1986 Was The Future; CARTE BLANCHE – Gare Du Nord; USHER Ft NICKI MINAJ – Little Freak

Oliver Twizt (NL)
Track – Wanna be Gangstas (with DJ ROCKID)
- My name is Oliver Twizt and I’m a dj/producer from Holland. You could describe my sound as energetic-shufflin-party beats with aggresive-electronic-hiphoppin leads. My goal is to resurrect HIPHOP, but on 128 bpm now!
- I always was a fan of Buraka Som Sistema (played their essential mix so so so many times!), so it was really a surprise when I got the email! I’m inspired by kuduro and you’ll hear it a lot in my other tracks as well. Back in the early 90’s you had a similar genre which was big in Holland called “bubbling”. For me “bubbling” was a combination of pitched up dancehall riddims (140 bpm) mixed with samples of “Sranang Pokoe” (local Surinam music). So my parents always played Surinam music when I was younger and later bubbling hit me. So I really grew up with these energetic percussive  rhythms. So I guess making kuduro was always in me and this was a good chance to finally get it out!
- 5 songs I am into: OLIVER TWIZT ft MALUCA – Loca; BART B MORE- Brap; CALI SWAG DISTRICT – Teach me how to dougie; DJEDJOTRONIC – Bit This Thin; SHM- One (Congorock mix)

WILDLIFE! (CH)
Track – Metazoa
- I’m a DJ/producer based in Switzerland usually working the corners where dancehall, synth pop, new wave or punk rock and all different kinds of electronic club music meet. I’ve been working on quit a few projects with Jamaican singer Terry Lynn and been doing remixes for guys like The Very Best, Edu K, Act Yo Age, Poirier or french pop outfit The Dø. Dropped my debut EP “Jumbie” in late 2009 and got my next EP “BUCKUP”, a futurisic journey into reggae/dancehall’s golden era droppin this fall.
- African rhythm patterns have always had a huge influence on my production, but I never really worked on anything faster than 130 BPM before, so the Kuduro project was some sort of a trip into terra incognita. I tried to capture a trancy, repetitive and dark feel and combine it with bouncy Kuduro influenced drum patterns. The result is ”Metazoa”.
- 5 songs I am into: Kink – E79; L-VIS 1990 – Reprise; BOW WOW WOW – Golly! Golly! Go Buddy!; POPCAAN – Up Inna Di Club (Street Vybz Riddim); BAMBOUNOU – Nappy Head (French Fries Remix)

TOY SELECTAH (MX)
Track – Mo’Chaxo
By the time of this post Toy Selectah was unavailable to answer this little interview because he’s on tour. Stay tunned… We’ll have this one at any time.

Tracklist
01 – MO’CHAXO – J-WOW & Toy Selectah
02 – KANOPA RIDDIM – Melé
03 – WANNA BE GANGSTAS – Oliver Twizt & DJ Rockid
04 – METAZOA – WILDLIFE!

J-WOW & Toy Selectah – Mo’ chaxo (Radio edit) by J-WOW
(more…)