Church Music Revisited

Lisbon's Hélder Russo debuts on Universo Positivo with deep and refined house and hip-hop fusions while label regular Orlando Voorn steps up with a moving remix. Hélder Russo is at the centre of an ever more vital and vibrant scene in Lisbon, Portugal. His unique sound draws on a wide range of Black music influences from jazz and soul to Detroit and disco, as well as Cape Verdean pioneers like Cesária Évora and Orlando Pantera and 90s hip-hop. All of that feeds into his work on local labels like Groovement and Percebes, Dutch outlets TINK! Music, Tomorrow Is Now Kid! and now on tastemaking Universo Positivo. His rich, authentic style has also seen him DJ at cult places like Lux , Sonar and Suncebeat and this latest EP 'Nha Joia' is another.
'Me and You' kicks off with a steamy, mid-tempo broken beat. Loved-up R&B style vocals and warm pads infuse it with emotional intensity, then 'New Beat' is like a raw and dusty MPC jam Dilla would be proud of, complete with melancholic late-night chords. The brilliant 'Me and You' (Threshold of Madness Remix) ups the emotional intensity with the heart-aching vocals layered into twinkling pads and deep grooves. Finally, European heavyweight Orlando Voorn adds his touch of classic to 'New Beat' and flips it into a deep and romantic house roller with mesmerising synths and cosmic energy. The cuts 'Church Music' and 'Revisited' close out with more sophisticated house grooves and sincere musicality from Russo.
This EP cements Helder Russo’s place as a key figure in Lisbon’s thriving underground and marks another high-class release from Universo Positivo.

Support by:
Domenic Capello/ Cyphon Recordings,
Kaysoul, Hector Romero/ Def Mix,
Logan Fisher/ Tryouts,
Reece Johnson/ Nervous Records,
Graeme Park/ The Hacienda,
Billy Scurry/ Temple Of Sound,
Simon Hinter/ Freerange Records,
Aroop Roy/ Freerange Records,
Further In Fusion/ Mark Balinski,
Ed Mahon/ Cowbell Radio,
Russell Forman/ Formankind,
David Dunne/ Triple D Radio,
Ason Kendig/ Honey Soundsystem,
Shane Johnson/ Fish Go Deep, Ross
Telford/ Sub Club Glasgow,
Chili Davis/ Forward Disco,
Mark Broadbent/ Pikes Hote,
Harri Harrigan/ Sub Club Glasgow,
Danny Dubbled/ Moody Manc,
Soul Dynamic / Excelsor Radio,
Yoshi Horino/ Unknown Season.
Robert Ellerby/ Bobby Beige,
Marc Roberts/ Pantai People,
Kerem Gokmen/ Wyep,
Trevor Fung/ The Project,
Gino Grasso/ BBE
... and many more.