𝔟𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔷 𝔡𝔲 𝔧𝔬𝔲𝔯 - 𝔴𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰

Last week the bngrz chat was flooded with IDs from Waking Life festival in Portugal. I skipped this year's fest but enjoyed imagining these tunes being played in astonishing heat for a crowd in various states of undress.

big ups to the bngrz fam for the peerless trainspotting. you can join the bngrz chat by becoming a god-tier subscriber.

Oumou Sangare - Ah Ndiya [1991, Nonesuch Records]

Eton Hepshew, a pillar of the bngrz community and creator of this timeless ode to drum & bass artist management legend Tony Fordham, caught this one at the beginning of Djrum's set, which, in a way that's both astonishing and perfectly on-brand for Djrum, also included Zed Bias "Neighbourhood (El-B Remix)," Nina Simone "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter," Michael Jackson "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," PFM "One & Only," and Arthur Russell "This Is How We Walk On The Moon." Such a radically eclectic grab-bag would only be possible with Djrum's rambunctious style of turntablist-inspired mixing. Those of us not present can only imagine how it all fit together. This 1991 record from the Malian singer Oumou Sangare is new to me but has been a balm throughout this week's historic European heatwave.

Pachanga Boys - Black Naga [2011, Hippie Dance]

"Heard some incredible Portuguese DJs at WL," says DJ / producer / bngrz fam member Keplrr. "Tiago Miranda was chaos and turned everyone upside down with this old fave." I actually never heard this one, despite, or maybe because, it's the A-side to the vastly more popular "Time," a song I love while also finding it kind of stupid (this video of them playing it at Burning Man 2013 somehow reinforces both impressions).

"I'd heard a lot of people play that track before and they'd kind of layered it in minimal sets," Keplrr said. "I heard Rhadoo play it in fabric once, it had always been a bit of a tool. Tiago was playing more like Giant Steps at Houghton, he'd just play one track then a 16-bar mix into the next one, but he was doing in the most convincing, authentic feeling way. Then there was that moment when those beginning drums came in, and I always remember the third beat in the bar is a little bit off, because it makes it difficult to mix. I looked at my two or three friends and I was like 'You're not ready for what's about to happen.' Then the voice came in and everyone in the crowd was like 'wullullulbblububl,' like trying to sing along with it. It was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."

Plasticman - Camel Ride [Rephlex, 2004]

Hepshew heard Vlada playing this one at the Floresta Stage, noting it was "not quite the sunny afternoon vibe but I appreciated hearing it on that system." Timeless cut from the seminal Grime compilation on Aphex Twin's label, Rephlex. Despite the title, this record showcased something more varied and open-ended than classic grime, with no MCs, a slicker production aesthetic and artists beyond the sound's spiritual home of East London (the sleeve-notes framed it as "Grime, Sublow, Dubstep"). Today it sounds weirdly prescient, blending elements of grime, dubstep and UKG in a way that predicts the post-dubstep sound of 2010s. For a deeper dive check out this 22-year-old review in Stylus by the late great Mark Fisher.

Tool - Disposition [2001, Volcano]

Pearlzinha's weekend presumably peaked when her friend "poured a bottle of poppers on himself during because the world got too funky" (that happened when CCL played this tune). But it would be criminal not to include this one from DJ Caring, played alongside cuts from The Knife, Talking Heads and Clams Casino. I'm a fan of anyone who expands the basic premise of what can be played by a DJ for an audience. A skip-track from a prog-metal album more than 20 years old makes for one of the bolder tunes in this category. The name DJ Caring is new to me but after looking her up I realize we met at a club many years ago, where, as it happens, she dispensed a bit of dance floor banter that had an outsize impact on my understanding of bngrz: in response to Nathan Micay dropping Artful Dodger's remix of "Thong Song," she said, to no one in particular, "ugh, what a treat!" Which got me thinking — that really is what DJing is all about. Dishing out treats.

Colleen - Libres antes del final [2026, Thrill Jockey]

In our post-festival text debrief, esteemed music journo and No Tags podcast host Chal Ravens said the live acts at Waking Life were "insane" — "Holy Tongue, Valentina and Nidia, Colleen, Shahzad Ismaily, Charlemagne Palestine." Colleen, the Barcelona-based vocalist and synth specialist, is a personal favorite of mine. "She was epic," Chal said. "Closing set." At Waking Life this means a concert on Monday night, after the dance floors go quiet, a kind of final lullaby to wrap it all up. Pearlzinha tells me Colleen got on the mic to say she'd been invited to play Waking Life before but couldn't make it because her dad had Alzheimer's. He died this year, days before this album came out. "She said this song is her 'rave anthem,' and is about love — not just romantic, but benevolent, friendly, sibling-like." This was the last piece of music played at Waking Life this year.

You can hear all the music mentioned here in this playlist.