Ansiedade

The sparse, Afro Caribbean sound of the Lisbon label Príncipe has made for some of the most hypnotic dance music of the 2010s and 2020s. Into the conversation steps Daniel Veiga, a Portuguese producer born to Angolan parents who once answered the question of what his music sounded like by saying it paired well with sunsets. *Ansiedade*—“anxiety” in Portuguese—is one of the label’s mellowest releases but also a quintessential one, mixing addictively off-center rhythms with a minor-key ambience that wavers between blissful and slightly sinister. He does bring those sunsets (“Tarraxo,” “Mar Vista”), and even in his most experimental stretches holds onto harmonies more aligned with classic rumba or son than anything else (“Gentleman,” “Robert Johnson”).