Buraka Som Sistema

Buraka Som Sistema
Buraka Som Sistema performing at Mauer Park in 2013
Background information
Origin	Buraca, Amadora, Portugal
Genres	Kuduro, breakbeat, zouk, alternative dance, moombahton
Years active	2006–2016
Labels	Enchufada Sony BMG Aftercluv Dance Lab Universal Music
Associated acts	Cooltrain Crew, Ngonguenha, Petty, Puto Prata, Dama Saborosa
Website	BURAKA TV
Members	DJ Riot, Branko, Conductor, Kalaf , Blaya, Fred
Notable instruments
Drum machine Sampler Synthesizer Electronic keyboard Sequencer

Buraka Som Sistema was an electronic dance music project from Portugal, specializing in a fusion of techno beats with the African zouk and kuduro genre. It is generally credited with creating the "zouk bass" and "progressive kuduro" variant and has received an MTV European Music Award. In 2015 Buraka Som Sistema said they would be taking an hiatus starting in 2016, and on July 1st 2016 they performed live for the last time in Lisbon.

Buraka Som Sistema was founded in 2002 by João Barbosa (Branko), Rui Pité (DJ Riot), Andro Carvalho (Conductor) and Kalaf Ângelo.

Barbosa and Pité were producers from the Cool Train Crew collective, for which Kalaf was a frequent vocal collaborator. They were interested in creating a kuduro project, and had previously worked together as 1-UIK Project. They met Carvalho, a hip-hop producer from Angola and member of the hip-hop band Conjunto Ngonguenha, while he was in Portugal.

Buraka Som Sistema is the Portuguese word for word translation for Buraka Sound System, keeping the English word order (the correct translation would be "Sistema de Som da Buraka"). They took their name, Buraka, from the freguesia (urban district) of Buraca in the city of Amadora, in the suburbs of Lisbon.

Their first release was From Buraka to the World, an EP released on the Portuguese label Enchufada, which include the single "Yah!", featuring vocals by Angolan hip-hop MC Petty. It was followed by another Petty vocalized track, "Wawaba", and a re-release of From Buraka to the World, expanded to a full album.

After touring in several European countries, including playing at the Glastonbury Festival and Roskilde Festival, the three producers released "Sound of Kuduro" in 2007, which features rapping by M.I.A., DJ Znobia, Saborosa and Puto Prata. The track was a precursor to their second album, Black Diamond, which was released in 2008 by Sony BMG, followed by a new single, "Kalemba (Wegue Wegue)", with vocals by Pongolove. They are currently signed on to Aftercluv Dance Lab, a Latin EDM label launched by Universal Music. On July 1st 2016 Buraka Som sistema curated Globaile, a music event at the Torre de Belém grounds, as part of the Festas de Lisboa, where they performed their last concert.