10 Years of Principe - DJ Nervoso

DJ Nervoso, born in São Tomé and Príncipe, a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa, but based in Quinta do Mocho, periphery of Lisbon for more than 2 decades now, is the main reason why DJ Marfox, DJ Firmeza and many others started deejaying and producing, hooked on his fiery DJ sets since they were barely in their teens, around 2001-2002. He is well known for a bare bones approach to rhythm, working the basic hypnotic feel of pounding drums to mesmerizing effect, in his permanent quest to make people move. His sound is meant to unite, not divide, the dancefloor. Even before he started producing, Nervoso was quick to perceive that some people were alienated in parties where Angolan kuduro got played, for the simple reason they didn't command the specific moves associated with the style or its variations. So his production focused on adapting the beats of this much-loved dance music, changing the codes for a more inclusive experience. Some call it techno. Príncipe couldn’t stress enough the joy and beauty of finally releasing an EP by scene originator DJ Nervoso in the Fall of 2016. The release featured unreleased newer tracks alongside older (or more aptly Classic) ones, demonstrating the level of perfection he attained early on. Charting the evolution of the man’s production is of no relevance to him or the label. Dropping the needle on any of them and you could easily mistake one recent banger for some other he shared online a decade, decade and a half ago, maybe a little more space in the music these days. He just basically did the same thing, like so many greats. The sense of narrative in his dance music definitely puts him up there.