Earlier this month, Santa Muerte unveiled the latest phase of Majía – their potent new microlabel – with a set of bootlegs and edits. Ahead of their marathon show this Thursday at Red Bull Music Academy’s 12 Hours of NAAFI in Miami, Sines and Panchitron have provided another teaser of the production duo’s future.
The new track, “Força Quebrado,” feels like a self-assured divergence from the Santa Muerte modus operandi. We’ve come to love the duo’s harsh industrial dembow and edits of reggeton and Top 40 rap songs, but “Força Quebrado” flips the script, transcends genre, and provides a glimpse into a Santa Muerte with untold range and promise.
Still armed with thumping bass and Santa Muerte’s dark, frantic energy, the short track is a deeply satisfying spin on funk carioca. Prefaced by a ship’s horn, traditionally a warning to others that an immovable object is nearby, “Força Quebrado” feels like a twisted trip into choppy water. If their edit of B.hyzz and MC Brisola’s “Louco x Hol” felt like a baile funk experiment, their latest offering feels like a concerted, focused effort to put their own flip on the genre.
There is no wasted effort, no filler here. Santa Muerte carefully bookends “Força Quebrado” and 2016 with a muffled marimba sample.
For those attending Art Basel, you can expect plenty more. For everyone else, all signs point to a Santa Muerte 2017.
Santa Muerte plays Red Bull Music Academy’s 12 Hours of NAAFI in Miami on Thursday, December 1. For more information and to RSVP, head over to the RBMA website.