A Guide to Portugal’s Príncipe Discos, One of the Most Exciting Dance Labels on Earth

The music released by Príncipe Discos reflects the musical rhythms of the African diaspora by way of the speaker-rattling clubs of Lisbon. Many of Príncipe’s artists are Portuguese-born descendants of countries on Africa’s west coast, and the label specializes in a high-energy amalgam of African dance styles known as batida. Uptempo kuduro, sensual kizomba, and tarraxinha beats bubble up from Príncipe’s young DJs, who often hail from African immigrant communities on the outskirts of Lisbon. The appalling inequities represented by these underserved areas of Portugal’s capital have once again been exposed due to the current pandemic, while the global reckoning around race has forced many to contend with the European country’s fraught history.

Portugal’s colonial past in Africa was brutal: Between the 15th and 19th centuries, Portuguese ships transported nearly six million Africans into slavery, and onetime colonies Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau only gained independence less than 50 years ago, in the mid ’70s. Since then, generations of African immigrants have moved to Portugal, with many of them settling around Lisbon. In this context, the dizzying beats of Príncipe artists like DJ Lilocox, Nídia, and DJ Marfox take on an even greater urgency as they soundtrack club nights in the city and beyond.

Príncipe is currently run by friends Márcio Matos (who creates the bold cover art for every release), José Moura, Nelson Gomes, and André Ferreira. Matos first met Moura when he walked into Moura’s Lisbon record store, Flur Discos, more than 10 years ago. Some semblance of a label began to take shape shortly after, but things didn’t click into place until they started working with DJ Marfox, who Matos considers to be the father of the label. The producer’s 2011 EP Eu Sei Quem Sou marked Príncipe’s first official release, forever changing the landscape for aspiring local DJs.

Despite Príncipe’s unabashed enthusiasm for their city’s dance music and young DJs, the reality of four white men running a label of primarily Black artists doesn’t escape them. “In the beginning, artists were like, ‘We’ve never seen these motherfuckers, and they are coming here to take our music,’” Matos admits over the phone. “So I had to show them that I work for them only. I would never do a bad thing to them because they are my number one.”

Matos also takes great pride in highlighting Príncipe artists at Noite Príncipe, a monthly club night that’s been running at Lisbon’s Musicbox venue since 2012 (the event has been dormant for months due to COVID-19). It’s where DJs get to test unreleased material on crowds, and the label gets to audition promising talent. According to Matos, these parties are where the label’s music reaches its peak potential. “You have to have room for imagination,” he says, talking about the living, breathing philosophy of Príncipe Discos. “This is not a museum.”

Here are eight tracks that capture the invigorating, genre-chopping club sounds of Príncipe Discos.

The Debut: DJ Marfox’s “Eu Sei Quem Sou” (2011)

DJ Marfox is the elder statesman of Príncipe Discos. His DJs Di Guetto crew issued their pioneering self-titled batida compilation all the way back in 2006, and Príncipe re-released the comp in 2013. But the label’s first official pressing was DJ Marfox’s frenetic Eu Sei Quem Sou EP. Its title track is impossible to ignore: a kuduro assault of severed vocal samples, chirping synths, and punishing rhythms. Seven years after its release, it still sounds bracing and fresh—dance music that shocks the body into motion. “Marfox was absolutely key in the early development of the label,” Moura says of Príncipe’s premiere artist. Matos adds, “Without Marfox, there would not be Príncipe.”

The “Aha!” Moment: DJ N***a Fox’s “Powerr” (2013)

Moura and Matos both remember hearing DJ N***a Fox’s O Meu Estilo EP for the first time. “We knew that thing was from another planet and automatically felt it was really going to be a banger,” Matos recalls. Standout track “Powerr” plays like sinister disco, as ghostly, howling winds course under belching basslines. “What conquered me above all the lovely strangeness and unmistakable groove is the way it sounds so effortlessly African while joining unlikely dots,” Moura says. According to Matos, Príncipe’s first two releases didn’t catch fire at first, but the reaction to O Meu Estilo was immediate. “That was the changing point,” he says.

The Tribute: DJ Firmeza’s “Alma Do Meu Pai” (2015)

DJ Firmeza recorded Alma Do Meu Pai in the wake of his father’s death (the title’s rough translation is: Soul of My Father), making it a particularly notable piece for Matos. Firmeza’s work is highly percussive, and on the EP’s title track, he deals in dizzying rhythms, tossing brittle beats and rubbery hand drums like an expert juggler.

“Alma Do Meu Pai” was an early standout for the label in part for its emotional significance, but also due to its length. Clocking in at six-and-a-half minutes, it is about three times longer than a typical batida track, though its mesmerizing groove seems to suspend time altogether. DJ Firmeza often uses his Noite Príncipe sets to experiment, building upon his rhythmic palette. “One time he connected a phone that had an app that makes bongos and drums, and he was mixing those drums in real time with the music,” Matos says. “That’s magic.”

The Crowd Pleaser: DJ Lilocox’s “La Party” (2016)

The reception of DJ Lilocox’s “La Party” was so spectacular, with local DJs playing the track over and over, that Matos recalls enforcing a new rule at Noite Príncipe: “If you were playing on the same night as Lilocox, you cannot play music by him.” Lilocox’s clattering rhythms and metallic synth phrases combine to form an inviting dance cut that’s more accessible than some of Príncipe’s more esoteric releases. The Lisbon-based Lilocox has since drifted from staccato batida into vibey Afrohouse. His 2018 Paz & Amor EP is another fan favorite for the label (atmospheric opening track “Vozes Ricas” is a must-listen), although Moura says that Príncipe were hesitant to release the record given its resemblance to straight house music.

The Melody Maker: DJ Lycox’s “Solteiro” (2017)

Príncipe artists are undisputed masters of rhythm, but Paris-based DJ Lycox is a skilled craftsman of melody, to boot. “Solteiro,” from his 2017 LP Sonhos & Pesadelos, shouldn’t work on paper: pitched-up vocals paired with roiling congas, electric violin samples, and what sounds like a melodica. It’s a mashup of ’90s house and something you might hear from a Parisian busker on the steps of Montmartre that manages to be both strange and sweet.

A Label Fave: Puto Tito’s “Melodia Daquelas” (2019)

Puto Tito’s “Melodia Daquelas” is one of the label’s most minimal tracks (and one of Moura’s personal favorites). The song appears on the double EP Carregando A Vida Atrás Das Costas—a collection of material the producer made in 2014 and 2015, when he was barely into his adolescence. Príncipe salvaged the material from Puto Tito’s old SoundCloud page and mastered it for digital and vinyl release (the original files have since been lost). More akin to an avant-garde video game score than dance music, “Melodia Daquelas” is a beatless loop of bleating notes rotating in a hypnotic swirl—a pensive, anti-dance track among Príncipe’s crackling club bangers.

The Outlier: Niagara’s “7648” (2020)

In early July, Príncipe released the 32-song compilation Verão Dark Hope on Bandcamp. Each standalone track was selected from a pool of new and archival material, and, more importantly, 100 percent of the proceeds from the compilation’s sales were distributed equally among the featured artists. Some of the DJs had never cut a record with Príncipe; others, like DJ Marfox and DJ Firmeza, are vets. Electronic trio Niagara fall into the veteran camp, and their stunning track “7648” is a revelation. A rare Príncipe track with sustained vocals, the single drifts on woodwinds and chirping wildlife samples—a simmering synth patch sounds indecipherable from an orchestra of crickets, or a surge of rushing water. Amid Príncipe’s vibrant catalog, “7648” is a rare soothing respite.

The New School: Nídia’s “Hard” (2020)

Barely into her 20s, and the only woman represented by the label (Moura hopes she will be an influence on young female DJs), Nídia is one of the most prolific artists on Príncipe. Her recent S/T EP marks the third entry in a triptych, following her Badjuda Sukulbembe 7" and her latest LP, Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes, both of which landed earlier this year. S/T highlight “Hard” is rough, urgent, and incendiary, a testament to Nídia’s belief that music from her community—the Vale de Amoreira housing projects outside of Lisbon—should be “like an explosion in your face.” According to Moura, it was DJ Marfox who introduced the label to Nídia—a classic case of the old guard ushering in the new.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork