One hot and eclectic crew, put together in 2012 by Puto Márcio (20, ex-DJs Di Puro Ritmo, a crew he also started). A strike team of guys he got in touch with via internet over the years. He played with DJ B.Boy (19) since 2009/10; DJ Télio (17) and DJ Lycox (17) were on his radar because he liked the way they played, so he invited them. Apart from himself (Loures, North of Lisbon), all the others were living South of the river Tagus (dividing the greater Lisbon area), so Tia Maria was not born of a neighbourhood bond as other crews were. Puto Márcio and Lycox are currently based in Rennes and Paris, respectively, and its precisely at this point that the EP is happening. The title "Tá Tipo Já Não Vamos Morrer" ("It's like we won't die anymore") is a strong statement aiming for posterity. "7 Maravilhas (Damas Da Cor Do Pecado" is a wonderfully synthetic afrohouse torch song, if such a thing exists. A simple, effective structure contains all the essentials of a seriously moody dancefloor spectacle. It floats along while we imagine who might the ladies in the title be - "7 Wonders (Ladies The Color Of Sin)" "O Tempo Da Vida", meaning something close to "Life's Time", starts off with a classic mellow ambient intro before the now familiar marimba rhythm kicks in. With the right circumstances this one will drive you to joyful tears. Add other layers of ambience, plucked strings, an extremely discrete percussion roll in the background and a moving sense of melody and you've got a love affair in the tropics; One of B.Boy's specialties is tarraxo, that hypnotic, druggy slow groove. A sort of trance is built up from the heavy beats, helped by repeated vocal snippets and a shower of blips making this a strange hybrid even for those familiar with all the fusions tested in dance music during the 90s and early noughties; Enter Lycoox with a tense mood, skipping beats and a complex web of melody. "Underground" barely has words but there is a sense of dense messages coming through. And this does sound otherwordly too; B.Boy returns with crew founder Puto Márcio. "Hino Da Noite" kills softly, in some ways contradicting the title ("Night Anthem"), if you think of "Night" as nightlife and not as a moonlit walk on the beach or any other favourite setting, as it seems to be the case here (well, open to discussion); It's useless to translate "Tia Maria Da Vida", which we interpret as a deeply felt hommage to the crew. Most weird and sad tarraxo, working its way under the skin. Congas, flute, a slow but jacking beat, a sort of melodica and keys that double as bassline. An enormous pulsing heart for maximum emotion and boldness. The styles showcased here are testament of the awesome creativity happening in this loose community of countless bedrooms, spawning a network of music production and parties largely off the coast of established scenes. We are still scratching the surface.