MU540 | Favela Riddim, Favela Trap | Porto
Keep Hush Live x XXIII
Nothing screams underground credibility quite like a bunch of streetwear heads in a dimly lit Porto room, vigorously gun-fingering to Brazilian funk. Half of them are just here because they saw a Boiler Room clip on TikTok and want to look edgy for their BeReal, looking deeply serious about shaking their arses. Keep Hush delivers its trademark intimate, sweat-dripping chaos, with the DJ booth entirely swarmed by a crowd ready to lose their minds. Tearing into the MU540 Keep Hush Live x XXIII tracklist, the Brazilian maestro averages a bouncy 131 BPM.
Dancing across the 12A and 9A Camelot keys, the energy arc is erratic in the best way possible. Billed loosely as a Rominimal live set, the mixing is actually rapid-fire favela madness, utilizing quick cuts and aggressive drops. The crate digging here is unapologetically chaotic and brilliant. Blending the heavy UK bass of Cesco & Hamdi’s "Swing King" with raw baile funk heaters like "DZ7" by MU540 & Garimpos proves he is entirely sorted when it comes to reading a room.
Kicking off with a gritty Unknown opening track, the room is immediately set on fire. The highlight is undoubtedly the sheer absurdity of throwing Cyndi Lauper into the mix, before he audaciously finishes with the closing track: Justin Bieber's "Baby". Pure, unadulterated shithousery.