DJ Maboku was born in Luanda, Angola, but soon fled with his mother the then civil war plaguing the country seeking exile in Portugal. The mannish boy became stuff of legend still in his teens by making free mixtapes for high school Kuduro dancing squads that pursued him madly for his fresh skills and suave iconoclastic vision. As well as being a regular on Príncipe’s monthly party ‘Noite Príncipe’ at Musicbox club in Lisbon, DJ Maboku has been venturing unto the euroland, having played charismatic houses of urban clubbing such as Lux Frágil in Lisbon, Jaeger in Oslo, Berlin’s OHM, Haifa’s Wunderbar or Milano’s Groove, plus super king size events such as a Just Jam bash at the Barbican in London or Lowlands festival in the Netherlands, among others.
Príncipe Discos has harboured a generation of voices from the barrios surrounding Lisbon, exposing the world to their explosive Afro-Porto mixture of Angolan styles like kuduro and tarraxinha and their raw energy. Despite the appeal that comes with any brand new sound, so far the label has remained truly independent. All Príncipe artwork is handled by one of the label’s four founders, Márcio Matos. All copies of each release are individually hand-painted and stencilled so that every copy is unique. The images are distinctly DIY – from the blotchy brickwork that adorned their first ever release to the ink curling and trailing off the canvas on 2015’s Soul Of My Father by DJ Firmenza. Márcio Matos will provide visuals for both DJ Maboku‘s and DJ Marfox‘ sets at Lunchmeat Festival 2018.