Artist Profile

J-Wow (Buraka Som Sistema)

Label:
Agent: Belinda Law

J-Wow is the driving force and one of the main producers in Buraka Som Sistema. The Lisbon group released their debut album, Black Diamond, in November 2008 to rave reviews and acclaim from a who's who of relevant producers. The album featured collaborations with MIA, Kano and Dieze Tigrona and got the world dancing to Kuduro. The band toured the world, wowing audiences from Coachella in California to Melt Festival in Berlin, from Fujirock in Japan to Bestival in the UK and are the recipients of two MTV Europe awards.

They say a change is as good as a rest, so now while the band take a break from touring, J-wow has been hard at work on some fun and inventive new material for his solo project. This is not a 180 turn from the Buraka sound, but it's a freer, more listener friendly sort of dance music.  "With Buraka, we would start with a rhythm or a beat, but these songs are built with melodies and loops as the starting point. The sound is a little more personal."

His first release, Klang, is out March 15th on Deadly records. The track is a delightful listen, and an ambient and melodic departure, which J-Wow says came about in an stress-free, organic sort of way. "I came back from Thailand, sat down in the studio and Klang happened." This will be followed quickly by a much more main room smasher, "O Dedo" on Diplo's Mad Decent label in April.

J-Wow will be playing select dates in California, NYC and at Miami Winter Music conference before coming back over to Europe for a tour in April.