Florentino

Reel Torque 25

Genre: ELECTRONIC

Cassette

Boomkat Product Review:

One of the maddest mixtapes of ’23 drops slow, then fast as fuck, with DJ Florentino’s survey of the short-lived but virulent doble paso sound - basically reggaeton gone ratchet. Same programme plays both sides because it’s a lot, trust!

Chasing up two celebrated volumes of early goth/alt.club musick by Anni Hogan for Reel Torque, ascendant Manc reggaeton ambassador Florentino goes deep on his Mastermind specialist subject with a half hour mix of doble paso; a rare, intensified style of Puerto Rican reggaeton defined by a doubling of the beat from 90-100bpm to 180-200bpm, akin to raggo hardcore techno style. Propagated by the likes of DJ Kelvin El Sacamostro, doble paso was intended to ramp the “perreo” - reggaeton’s dutty whine dance - to frenzied, cartoonish degrees that caught fire with teenagers and prompted consternation from those unable to keep up.

Launched just as British-Columbian artist Florentino’s sound goes stellar with his XL releases and globe-trotting Sangre Nueva trio with Kelman Duran and DJ Python, the flawlessly-constructed mix speaks to the roots of his dare-to-differ, recombinant style of production with a survey of dembow’s most radical, super-functional strand. Dialling up the ludicrousness from the off, he just-about-harnesses the pressure with five minutes of klaxons, soundsystem noise and MC holler before thrusting hips into overdrive, on and off the 100/200bpm tempo.

Expect crazed accordions, rail-gunned snares, and gibber-jawed vocal cut-ups for half an hour of the wildest tresillo mutations out there. An absolute must-check for anyone snagged on singeli, merengue, early DJ/rupture mixes, or who simply loves getting MWI.

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