- Narciso is taking the Lisbon batida sound to faster, harder places.
- Old school batida—the sort found on DJs di Guetto, the 2006 compilation recently reissued by Príncipe—often comes in polar extremes of tempo. It's either a hectic 139-plus BPM, or loose and swung around 100 BPM. In the years since that mixtape first came out, Portuguese producers have been taking batida into more ambiguous territory, including DJ Danifox and Nídia, who have experimented with a more introspective lilt in recent years. Fellow Príncipe affiliate DJ Narciso has also explored this emo side with his work as one third of RS Produções (see "Valentines Day 2k17"), but over on Bandcamp he's been refining a harder take on the kuduro-inspired genre.
"NEVOEIRO" is a great recent example. The tempo sits at 133 BPM and pulls from electronic samples more than the acoustic-feeling sounds of, say, DJ Marfox's "Bit Binary." A bleating noise, like a luxury car unlocking remotely, replaces the humbler, polished squeaks of a cuíca, while a mighty bassline revs underneath. It's straightforward and weighty, like trap or deep house reimagined through the lens of the still-thriving Lisbon scene. This is the kind of new school batida that sits among other rising batida producers like VANYFOX and DJ ADAMM, holding tension and big-room catharsis in equal measure.