HHY & The Macumbas

Hypnotic drum dervishes by HHY & The Macumbas, pursuing a killer Nyege Nyege Tapes retrospective with the debut shot on their Horror Vector label. Tweaking springy rhythmic workouts with sinewy dub processes that bring the B-movie/VHS horror influence right to the fore, it’s a delirious set tipped if yr into CZN, Konono No.1, Shackleton, Raja Kirik, Metal Preyers, Adrian Sherwood.

Helmed by Jonathan Saldana and counting crack percussionist João Pais Filipe (CZN) in the quintet of drums, subs, and noise, HHY & The Macumbas are prized for their thunderous energy, and ‘Bom Sangue Mau' (good bad blood) was recorded on stage in an empty theatre with a full soundsystem, lighting rig and smoke machines, to better capture the vibe.

Fixed in place with post-production and mixing at their Skull Cave Studio, the results represent the band in swingeing effect, knotting gnawing and bittersweet noise and see-sawing trance arps to thunderous rhythms inspired by myriad Black Atlantic traditions: West and Central African, Haitian, Brazilian. At its best, the record sounds like a deranged cross between John Carpenter and Adrian Sherwood, a STROOM or Finders Keepers oddity that's been re-imagined for a snuff theatre performance like some darkside wormhole that pushes rhythmic and sonic intensity into carnivalesque new places.

Analog synths and brass fanfares cut into 4/4 thuds and rattling skins on 'Via Negativa', sounding like the introduction to a technicolor '70s zombie flick, while 'Mão Esquerda' deploys ugly hardstyle squeals sandwiched between rubbery bass, and 'Serpente Explícita' is a humid fever dream - ominous, creeping synths and a hand drum that keeps building in intensity until it's ruptured by garbled voices and unsettling strings. ‘Fundição Termal Caçada’ is a militaristic death rattle that evolves into a synth-led burner before roaring with blood-curdling, brassy terror. And on the brilliantly titled 'Porno Perpetuum', they take on exploitation and sleaze soundtracks, cutting their frenetic drumming with animalistic screams and macabre whispers.

It's a haunted boat ride down the uncharted tributaries of an unknown continent, colourfully rendered by an artist who's at the top of his game right now.