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Music

​JSTJR's Newfound Love for Baile Funk is Taking Over Your Airwaves

From Boston to Brazil, the bass-dropping producer's got a whole new swag.

Even though he's perhaps better known for bassed out, hip-hop influenced tearout tunes, JSTJR's musical tastes extend far beyond the main stage. As he jets down to Austin to perform with the Mad Decent squad at SXSW, JSTJR's dropped this baile funk minimix full of complicated rhythms and favela swag that might just change the way you think of him.

Even though he's perhaps better known for bassed out, hip-hop influenced tearout tunes, JSTJR's musical tastes extend far beyond the main stage. As he jets down to Austin to perform with the Mad Decent squad at SXSW, JSTJR's dropped this baile funk minimix full of complicated rhythms and favela swag that might just change the way you think of him.

"Last Spring, I started working with another Brazilian genre, rasterinha, which is slower but similar to baile funk," JSTJR tells THUMP. "I was studying the sound and listened to a lot of funk and discovered this new wave of MCs and DJs in Brazil making some really interesting, minimal music. I incorporated the sound into my more mainstream music (like my track "Party"), but when I went to Brazil and played there in November, I really fell in love with the genre. I recorded my track "Boom Boom," featured in the mix, and finished a few more while I was down there."

"The mix features mostly original and bootleg productions from myself. After spending that time in Brazil, I wanted to find a way to bring the new baile funk sound to a mainstream American audience," he says. "I took the general concept of Brazilian Funk and mixed it with modern samples and song structures found in American dance music. I'm really excited to see where this new wave will go."

Continuing in this vein, JSTJR's track "Dirty Funk" features staccato baile rhythms and vocal samples, but with all the energy you'd expect him to drop in time for festival season. Check it out above. In addition to the Mad Decent party at SXSW, JSTJR will be appearing at the Main Course x Slow Roast and Moombah Mansion parties in Miami for MMW.

Find JSTJR on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter

and check the flyer for Mad Decent's SXSW shindig:

"Last Spring, I started working with another Brazilian genre, rasterinha, which is slower but similar to baile funk," JSTJR tells THUMP. "I was studying the sound and listened to a lot of funk and discovered this new wave of MCs and DJs in Brazil making some really interesting, minimal music. I incorporated the sound into my more mainstream music (like my track "Party"), but when I went to Brazil and played there in November, I really fell in love with the genre. I recorded my track "Boom Boom," featured in the mix, and finished a few more while I was down there."

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"The mix features mostly original and bootleg productions from myself. After spending that time in Brazil, I wanted to find a way to bring the new baile funk sound to a mainstream American audience," he says. "I took the general concept of Brazilian Funk and mixed it with modern samples and song structures found in American dance music. I'm really excited to see where this new wave will go."

Continuing in this vein, JSTJR's track "Dirty Funk" features staccato baile rhythms and vocal samples, but with all the energy you'd expect him to drop in time for festival season. Check it out above. In addition to the Mad Decent party at SXSW, JSTJR will be appearing at the Main Course x Slow Roast and Moombah Mansion parties in Miami for MMW.

Find JSTJR on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter

and check the flyer for Mad Decent's SXSW shindig: