Portuguese DJ, live act, producer, and label owner Xinobi has been on relentless form over the past year or so, with releases coming on labels such as Anjunadeep, Frau Blau, and his own Discotexas imprint, including an ‘expanded’ version of his 2017 album ‘On The Quiet’. He goes one step further in 2022, with the release of his third career studio album, ‘Balsame’. The record is deeply eclectic and brings a sound that offers a little bit of everything, from the energetic drum
grooves and playful percussive rhythms, to high pitched piano melodies and bona fide brass instruments. As an English speaker, the Spanish, Portuguese, and French toplines also add another layer of intrigue to the project, the inability to exactly understand the lyrics transform the vocals into powerful melodic instruments that bring rich harmonies to the sound, without the added distraction of what the vocalist is actually saying. While this could also have you missing out on meaningful songwriting, it’s a unique experience that only foreign vocals provide. There are four credited collaborators across the record, with Arâm featuring on three tracks, Meta on two, and Alem-i Adastra and Margarida Encarnação contributing to one track each. The album does provide a generous supply of well spirited kick drum and bassline fusions, though it’s not really an album that will find itself blowing the roof off any dancefloors, instead inclusions like ‘Amor Cego’ and ‘Mujer’ appear to be perfect soundtracks to the sun kissed festival stage or rural coast beer garden, or a simple home-listening session.
Where to start:
Mujer: Rhythmic percussion, warm bass pads, and soft vocal harmonies
La Vie: Chilling French vocals meet tightly packed D&B drum grooves
Amor Cego: Fluttering melodies, crisp horns, and hollow percussion
Previous from Xinobi:
On The Quiet LP (2017, Discotexas)
1975 LP (2014, Discotexas)
If you like this then check out:
Moullinex – Requiem For Empathy (2021, Discotexas)
WhoMadeWho – Synchronicity LP (2020, Kompakt)
Xinobi – Balsame is out now on Discotexas.