Normal Nada the Krakmaxter - Tubo de Ensaio (2024)

Coming in hot after last year's explosive 'Tribal Progressive Heavy Metal', Normal Nada the Krakmaxter focuses his musical mythology further on 'Tubo de Ensaio', welding together a tight fusion of dancefloor-ready hybrids that further substantiate his years of experience as a producer, DJ, archivist and visual artist. Like its predecessor, 'Tubo de Ensaio' is entrenched in Lisbon's sprawling batida sound - a fusion of future-facing Afro-Portuguese dance forms including kuduro, kizomba and tarraxinha - but Normal Nada refuses to rest on his laurels. This time around, he makes vivid links to Afro-house, hard techno, trance, soca, ragga and g-funk, obscuring each element with his signature hallucinogenic haze of sinewy synths and careening rhythms.

Nada makes a bold statement on the title track, assuring listeners that he's "the real PAT (psychedelic African trance) inventor" and curving a high-octane, syncopated rhythm around dizzying distorted drones. It's not like any psychedelic trance you've heard before, but Nada's alloy is cast into a bridge between worlds; he's asking what's possible rather than making lazy aesthetic signals. The theme continues on 'Tribal Trance', a sturdy, body-shaking banger that slims down the expected hard trance palette to an aerated wheeze, punctuating spiraling toms that pulse with the moody energy of gqom. But the biggest surprise here is Nada's playful Afro-house variations: on 'AZ House 3', he slows down the tempo, looping sensual diva vocals and dusty piano notes around swinging kicks, snares and woodblock snaps; and on the house mix of 'Batida 19' he uses a deafening, serrated synth to lead the beat into heady abstraction.

Nada pokes at the calypso-rooted soca sound on the brief 'Funana Freestyle', squeezing hearty laughs and vocal snippets around his rapid beat that's over almost before it's started, and on Nate Dogg dedication 'Tarraxo do Evangelho gospel' he nods to the West Coast legend with light-headed talkbox groans and glittery, g-funk inspired squelches. Completely out on his own, Normal Nada is one of Lisbon's most outlandish producers, and 'Tubo de Ensaio' is easily his most inventive and disruptive release to date. Batida's never sounded quite like this before.