Chrisman - Dozage (2023)

Kampala-based Congolese producer Chrisman returns with his most ambitious set to date: 35 tracks of mutant club music that immaculately crossbreed trap, Afro-Portugese tarraxo, hardstyle, amapiano, drill, rave, gqom and Afrohouse. Having headed up the Nyege Nyege/Hakuna Kulala studios in Kampala for a few years now, Chrisman has had the chance to rapidly develop his production skills and absorb influences from across the musical map. 'Dozage' is an eccentric proof of concept that explodes with fantasy and pure energy, deconstructing ubiquitous templates and revamping them with irreverence and palpable enthusiasm. His last two Hakuna Kulala releases, 'Ku Mwezi' and 'Makila', liberally dispersed dancefloor momentum from Angola, Durban and Atlanta, and 'Dozage' expands the reach considerably, throwing rhythmic curveballs at every twist and turn. Chrisman has also brought along a team of like-minded collaborators, including Ecko Bazz, Aunty Rayzor, Ratigan Era, MC Yallah, BLAQ BANDANA and Tracey the Rapper.

The best place to start might be the album's title track, a murky fusion of distorted rave squeals, gqom percussion, blown-out 909 kicks and amapiano's unmistakable log drums. It's even blessed with a vocal from Nigerian rapper Aunty Rayzor, who punctures the beat with her tight, dextrous wordplay. Chrisman's fusion is eclectic, but reigned in by his intuitive understanding of dance music, and that constant motion anchors the sprawling set expertly. On 'Flo$$', Kampala's own BLAQ BANDANA slurs over a skeletal drill backdrop, and The Congo Techno Ensemble's Papalas Palata turns up on the hypnotic 'Christoven', screaming evocatively over Shackleton-like FM plucks and Chrisman's patented alloy of gqom and trap. Further evidence of this smart synthesis arrives with the aptly-titled 'Rap Gqom', a compelling crescendo of noisy FX, Durban-style vocal cuts and light-headed leads.

But Chrisman goes even further into the unknown this time around, looking to the Indonesian pressure of Raja Kirik and Gabber Modus Operandi on 'Sumatra', a cacophonous compound of hardstyle kicks and elastic drill bass. Elsewhere, on 'New Tech Vibe', he reconfigures hard trance, adding dystopian, Blade Runner-style pads and swinging percussion, and with 'Giza' generates an industrial gabber tremor that'd level a small building. There's almost too much to absorb in one sitting: Chrisman's handed us a suite of dancefloor material that'll see us into the next year.