Having received a number threats from fans of a certain Italian-American from Jersey with the same name, J-Wow decided to take the high road and change his name, leaving J-Wow to J-Woww of the Jersey Shore, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Disaster Date. He went into the forest, consumed some psychedelics, and emerged with his new creative moniker, BRANKO.Branko is the driving force and one of the main producers in Buraka Som Sistema. The Lisbon group released their debut album, ‘Black Diamond’, in November 2008 to rave reviews and acclaim from a who’s who of relevant producers. The album featured collaborations with MIA, Kano and Deize Tigrona and got the world dancing to Kuduro. The band toured the world, wowing audiences from Coachella in California to Melt Festival in Berlin, from Fujirock in Japan to Bestival in the UK and are the recipients of two MTV Europe awards.

They say a change is as good as a rest, so now while the band take a break from touring, Branko has been hard at work on some fun and inventive new material for his solo project. This is not a 180 turn from the Buraka sound, but it’s a freer, more listener friendly sort of dance music. “With Buraka, we would start with a rhythm or a beat, but these songs are built with melodies and loops as the starting point. The sound is a little more personal.” And the hard work has paid off. In the first half of 2010 Branko released “Klang” through Deadly Records and “O Dedo” on Diplo’s Mad Decent. He also kept himself busy with remixes for people like Robyn, Miike Snow, Roulet and Savage Skulls. Also in the same year, Branko released “Spark”, his brand new genre crossing release on his own label and “Mo’Chaxo” a featuring record with Toy Selectah included on Enchufada’s Hard Ass Sessions vol.III.