For most, piri piri is a chili sauce with origins in Lusophone Africa, elevated into worldwide fame by the mouthwatering Nando’s franchise. For devotees of London’s club scene, Piri Piri has taken on a whole new meaning, primarily the nom de plume of a rising multi-national duo. Hailing respectively from Manchester and Spain, Piri Piri released their debut EP, Manifesto, on Sounds of Sumo back in 2012 and have steadily been gaining experience, production acumen and a fair amount of hype in the interim. Today marks the release of the Patterns EP on Silverback Recordings (Nguzunguzu, Grown Folk, Damu), the duo’s most high profile and most complete release to date. With remixes from Visionist, Neana, Jean Nipon and Matthias Zimmerman, Patterns touches on an innumerable amount of contemporary club criteria, infusing an adventurous experimental spirit into the standard club music platform.

Piri Piri’s ‘Patterns’ EP is out now on Silverback Recordings.

With a remix package this heavy, it’s always a possibility that an act’s original work can get bogged down by surrounding expectations. Not only do Piri Piri escape this fate, their original work is easily the highlight of the tape, allowing the remixers more room to flex their individual interpretations. “Peak” represents this in the fullest, a six minute four on the floor journey that manages, raises and alleviates tension with ease. It’s the sweaty, metallic form of dance music that’s a pre-requisite for warehouse parties replete with dank fog, squadrons of faceless patrons and a bevy of illicit substances. Set off by a rusty kick drum and a muffled male voice, “Peak” is an exercise in heartbeat accelerating music that combines ‘nuum history with a contemporary sound palette. While “Peak” hits all of the high notes as far as rawkus energy is concerned, “Quest” is near-comedown music, a beatific array of melodic synth tones fits for a Flying Lotus song. It’s only “near”-comedown music, because by the two minute mark, it explodes into a rattling, squeaking burner of a track. Meanwhile, “Ice Cream” sounds like the sui generis combination of Wu-Tang Clan and Model 500, an effortlessly aggressive track with a distinctly vintage flavor. It’s a drum machine workout hidden behind a call-and-response facade. It’s also near impossible to listen to without sub-consciously moving.

As noted above, the remix package is a massive entity in its own right and features some of our very favorite producers in its own right. That being said, Patterns is the Piri Piri show. It’s rare that such fully composed club music is produced by a relatively fresh act. It’s even rarer that said club music functions on a level above dance floor functionality. Patterns is the rare release that both mirrors a night out in its flow and performance and offers a transcendentally enjoyable experience beyond the dancefloor.

To celebrate the release of Patterns, Piri Piri graced us with an exclusive stream of the following promo mix. Full of jarring hip hop tunes from likes of Denzel Curry and Lil Ugly Mane, the mix helps explain some of the aesthetic decisions behind Patterns, but most of all, it’s just an outrageously fun listen. Pop it into your cassette player onto the way to the rave or play it for the friends you want to impress at the function. While Piri Piri’s first EP was titled Manifesto, Patterns and the following mix might just eclipse it as far as definitive statements go.