Nguzunguzu - The Perfect Lullaby Vol.2



Nguzunguzu - The Perfect Lullaby Vol.2
They best comment to start this one off: I´m not the mix kind of guy – Remix or a compilation of original tracks. Not only because most mixes tire me out, but additionally seem to have a lack of depth or originality. 

Missing their first mix and even hearing about the DJ duo Nguzunguzu, my first introduction to their unique sound was through various productions work for the likes of Le1F or last year’s excellent debut by Kelela. As one might tell from those releases, Nguzunguzu stand for some forward thinking production combining dance music, r´n´b with a huge amount of quirkiness. And that is exactly what to expect from Perfect Lullaby.




Clocking in at nearly 50 minutes, the shifted vocals and droning bass at the beginning indicate that you´re in for a ride. The duo mixes and matches everything from house beats, reggeton, old and current r´n´b vocals together with great expertise and sense of atmosphere. The bumping beat never really seems to fade, even when everything transforms into a hazy combinations of vocals and sitar sounding RPG soundtrack. Every section blends perfectly into the next and only a few times does one get the feeling to be hearing a mix rather than original work. I guess, that is mostly due to the part that much of the source material is obscure to me and while the knowledge of this might change the perception, it doesn´t alter what is accomplished here. There is never a sliver of boredom (even though some vocal cuts are way too much in the front and distract from the instrumental progression) and Nguzunguzu shine at being what they ascribe themselves to be: DJ´s. I can image their sets working very well in clubs and people having a blast dancing to those ever-changing creations while you can still enjoy the whole thing on headphones and while travelling alone. So while many DJ sets really work as a lullaby for my attention and never really bring something other than playing songs in a fitting manner, Nguzunguzu know how to recreate and re-enhance their source material. This might be the best example for post-modern techniques in a non-experimental (i.e. open for every listener) fashion. Download this one for free and check out their original work to get what beat production should sound like nowadays!

8/10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top Albums 2022 Part I 50 – 41

Image
5 0. Vacant Gardens – Under The Bloom / Obscene Re-released in 2022 after flying under my radar in both 2020 and 2021, Vacant Garden’s provided two albums of delightful shoegaze / dream pop. The last time a band sounded this ethereal as the greats such as Cocteau Twins or Slowdive, must have been Asobi Seksu. Vacant Gardens pull together the sweet mixtures of fuzz, gloom, and vocal transcendence. There is rainy melancholy in the guitar hazes, counteracted by flourishes of powerful chords, arpeggios, and gentle strumming, all coming together in the float of Jem Fanvu’s ethereal vocals. Atmospheric density does not need to be inventive as such, it just needs to be well made and full of intricacy. Seldom do albums capture the yearnings of youth I encountered when first making contact with shoegaze. While nowadays most find the best conflation of dream pop and shoegaze in Beach House and their synthetic rhythms and uplifting haze, Vacant Gardens deliver a proof of concept in striking gre...
Read more

Top Tracks 2016 Part I 101 – 91

Image
This introduction starts with my yearly apology for not writing more on this piece of shit of a blog. Every part of life takes its pound of flesh and I spent a lot of time on useless projects, which could have been used to write a great many reviews for great albums and tracks that didn´t even get the attention or recognition on other outlets. Maybe someday, I´ll get around and do this full time. But I´ve beend writing a lot, will finish a degree soon and might get down to bringing out more content in 2017. For all things, check out my articles over here and my visit on a German student radio, talking about some of my favorite tracks and my own biography through music. Enjoy this list, I sure do.    101. Nagamatzu – Melancholy Oxide ( Above This Noise ) Nagamatzu was a duo shortly active in the  1980´s and this years Above This Noise compiled some of their scattered material on a great compilation. "Melancholy Oxide", much like the other songs, captures ...
Read more

Roy Wood$ – Exis

Image
Roy Wood$ – Exis As hype of The Weeknd´s newest effort is on its high point, I figured it would be nice to shed some light on the newest protégé of Drake, Roy Woods (stylized as Wood$). With good reason, because in Woods first effort Exis , you´ll find everything you might be missing on Beauty Behind The Madness , I definitely feel this way. There is this certain kind of murky blend of r´n´b that made The Weeknd translate into the experience or second-hand fiction of life as a lost twenty-something – between lust, frustration, loads of substances and a creative drive being fueled and destroyed by all those things. However, it would not bring Woods any justice to just put him into the line of Weeknd imitators. The similarities in sound are pretty much obvious. While there might not be a grand darkness and haze as on House of Balloons , Exis relies heavily on deep atmospheric beats and the ambiance the whole OVO imprint, fathered by Drake, are known for. But Woods doesn´...
Read more