Release art courtesy of the label
Angola-born, Portugal-based beat maker Dotorado Pro has returned to Buraka Som Sistema's Enchufada imprint with a new EP of afro-house beats, Rei Das Marimbas (King of Marimbas). We're delighted to be streaming the 18-year-old producer's record in full here at THUMP, which does a fine job of living up to its title, serving up skipping, tensile polyrhythms interlaced with cyclical synths, and of course, those marimbas.Dotorado Pro initially broke out in 2014 after making serious moves on Portuguese sales charts with the churningly insistent hit "African Scream," making waves on dancefloors around the world and inspiring dance videos on YouTube from as many places.The artist was kind enough to have a quick chat with THUMP via email, too, where we talked about the record's production, how his African roots attract him to marimbas, and what young producers we should be on the look out for.THUMP: What has the incredibly enthusiastic response to "African Scream" been like for you? Has its success affected your attitude towards making music?
Dotorado Pro: I'm very happy for the success of "African Scream", I definitely wasn't expecting it. This track opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to show everyone my skills, and how much I love making music. It became the track that identifies my sound and I want to build on that and keep working. Until "African Scream" came out I was mostly making tracks and putting them up on SoundCloud just to have fun, but then it became clear that this could be something big, that I could have an audience.What sorts of things were you thinking about or listening to when you made this EP? What characterized the production process for you?
I was mostly listening to my own tracks, especially "African Scream." People know me from that track and I wanted to give them something in that style. The idea was basically to take that formula and expand on it, always with the marimbas —my favorite instrument—as the main focus. That's why I wanted to call the EP Rei das Marimbas (King of Marimbas).Marimbas have featured on a ton of your tracks over the years. Why do you love the instrument so much?
It's an instrument that immediately gives an African vibe to the track, and since my roots are in Africa I'm always looking for that. It also makes a track so lively, I can make any beat exciting with a marimba loop and the crowd loves it as well. It's an instrument that I really can't get out of my head, I love exploring all the different tones and patterns over an afro-house beat.This is your second release for Buraka Som Sistema's label. What has the experience of working with them been like?
I really like the opportunities I've had and the people I've met since I began working with Enchufada. It gave me the possibility to play my music in a lot of different stages and to bigger crowds. They help me a lot and we exchange a lot of ideas about music, it's been a very good experience.Who are some of your favorite young producers working right now?
There are a lot of new names coming up who are doing really great things. My younger brother is starting to do some really heavy beats with the name D'cantwo Junior, but I also love producers like Big Vado, DJ Teklas, DiZona Crew's 2Pekes or Matabaya, the list goes on and on.Follow Alexander on Twitter.
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Dotorado Pro: I'm very happy for the success of "African Scream", I definitely wasn't expecting it. This track opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to show everyone my skills, and how much I love making music. It became the track that identifies my sound and I want to build on that and keep working. Until "African Scream" came out I was mostly making tracks and putting them up on SoundCloud just to have fun, but then it became clear that this could be something big, that I could have an audience.What sorts of things were you thinking about or listening to when you made this EP? What characterized the production process for you?
I was mostly listening to my own tracks, especially "African Scream." People know me from that track and I wanted to give them something in that style. The idea was basically to take that formula and expand on it, always with the marimbas —my favorite instrument—as the main focus. That's why I wanted to call the EP Rei das Marimbas (King of Marimbas).Marimbas have featured on a ton of your tracks over the years. Why do you love the instrument so much?
It's an instrument that immediately gives an African vibe to the track, and since my roots are in Africa I'm always looking for that. It also makes a track so lively, I can make any beat exciting with a marimba loop and the crowd loves it as well. It's an instrument that I really can't get out of my head, I love exploring all the different tones and patterns over an afro-house beat.This is your second release for Buraka Som Sistema's label. What has the experience of working with them been like?
I really like the opportunities I've had and the people I've met since I began working with Enchufada. It gave me the possibility to play my music in a lot of different stages and to bigger crowds. They help me a lot and we exchange a lot of ideas about music, it's been a very good experience.Who are some of your favorite young producers working right now?
There are a lot of new names coming up who are doing really great things. My younger brother is starting to do some really heavy beats with the name D'cantwo Junior, but I also love producers like Big Vado, DJ Teklas, DiZona Crew's 2Pekes or Matabaya, the list goes on and on.Follow Alexander on Twitter.