This works best on “Intenso,” whose vocal interplay, police sirens and percussive bounce give it an anthemic quality. “RRRRRR” and “25,” meanwhile, are super stripped-back percussive drum workouts that are perhaps even too minimal for adventurous house DJs. Ardeu shows that for the Firmeza experience, you should dress to sweat and go see him play.
RESIDENT ADVISOR
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Free-spirited Firmeza is back, his production skills reinvested with pride. He fires off with two rare improvised vocal cuts over minimal, bouncy beats. This style of delivering vocals is commonly known as “animação”, a sort of MCing, not so much to boast personal qualities or instigate people, more of a stream of consciousness thing. The free association of words and themes in both “AVAN” and “Intenso” recalls a more rootsy style of kuduro. You can choose to see a reflection of life in the projects when a police siren and occasional telephone “on hold” tones make their way into the groove, reinforced by Firmeza’s active call of “Pode chamar!”. Then the vocals drift away and after the break comes a most effective dj tool, in line with this DJ’s style of hypnotic batida.
“RRRRRR” moves up from his classic 6-minute “Alma Do Meu Pai” minimal jam, providing a fast, intense ride across the mutant world of techno as seen from the outside. In between a mesmerizing percussion marathon and the klang of an old school factory. If anything, Firmeza’s percussive essence, much inspired by his guru DJ Nervoso, has progressed to even more uncharted intuitive ground, as proven by the powerful abstract statement that is “25”. Everything bounces and the body bounces along, not sure of where it stands anymore.
released September 13, 2019
Written and produced by DJ Firmeza
Mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva
Artwork by Márcio Matos
