Weird Baile: Collected Rips 2004-2024 review - a hallucinatory trip to baile funk's outer limits

Weird Baile’s new compilation, Collected Rips 2004–2024, frames two decades of lo-fi productions from JLZ, VHOOR, Mu540 and DJ RaMeMes as a hybrid of Brazilian baile funk and UK bass styles. The album distills the genre to its core elements—vocals, bass and rhythm—while drawing parallels to grime, drill, and dubstep. Opening track Aquecimento Do Ih Caraca pairs industrial sub-bass with chopped, shouted vocals and percussive beatboxing. Other highlights include Grime Do Weird Baile, which blends recognizable vocalisations from Skepta and JME’s 2006 “Rhythm & Gash Freestyle” with clattering percussion and Portuguese lyrics, plus drill and dubstep-leaning cuts. The review also notes releases by Soumik Datta, Orchestra Baobab, and Ryan Keberle’s Collectiv Do Brasil.