NenaHalena's 5 top tracks — Orange Yard

41051482_240963609934910_5672949613812776960_o-e1550503611206.jpg — ELEMENTS’ mainstay NenaHalena will be setting the tone in support of Jonas Rathsman’s extended set on the 4th April at Orange Yard. Expect his signature Afro-Brazilian fusion sound, in the form of a hybrid live-DJ set, embellished with the live-electronic percussion flair. Ahead of his performance, we asked NenaHalena to share 5 top tracks that influenced his unique sound.

TIMANTI - When You Wake Up (Original Mix)

I can’t count the number of times I’ve started my sets with this record. I really like the way it eases you into my world with strong rhythms and emotive music. I love to play my percussion over this. It’s the perfect set-starter for me.

Namaane - Hafla (Moroccan Vibe Mix)

I love to play this at any point of the night. The pulsating eastern rhythm just infects everyone instantly. When the Arabic shrills and the synth soar, the floor fills up every time. I could listen to this on repeat all day and all night.

AMEME - Talk To Me

This track ticks of all the boxes for me! The rhythms are unmistakably Afro-Brazallian - not just Afro not just Brazilian, but Afro-Brazillian. There’s a repeating drum solo that has got that feel of Samba. Then there is the techno-type arpeggio leading you into the dreamy floaty breakdown with pads large horns reverberating about. The build-up and the drop are super-satisfying. Tick, tick and tick. I'll be playing this for a long while.

NenaHalena - La Ka Rubá (Jonas Rathsman Remix)

The original song is my debut track. It came out on Jonas’s ELEMENTS at the end of 2018. The vocal was from London’s Akil. We literally wrote the track in one session. It was like magic writing itself. After becoming Beatport's top 50 Afro-house of 2018 it’s spanned the world and is still being played today. But when Jonas said he wanted to make a remix, I knew he would be able to give it that extra bit and level it up. He sure did that. I love it when a talented artist takes your work and not just ‘does it justice’ but expands its horizons even further.

Moby - Porcelain (Sebastian Mullaert's Transformation Mix)

Those who are familiar with Sebastien Mullaert’s work will already know his genius. It’s the most beautiful and epic rendition of Moby’s Porcelain. It came out on Timo Maas’s Rockets and Ponies label a few years ago. I could never get bored of this. Albeit a difficult one to play often, when the moment is right, minds get blown on the dancefloor.

Jonas Rathsman OY.jpg — Drawing on the natural world for inspiration, ELEMENTS is a genre-blurring sonic exploration of new and exclusive music, touching on house music’s fundamental sounds. This extended set is coupled with four new ELEMENTS EPs that are themed around the seasons, launching in April with a journey into Spring.

NenaHalena’s distinct breed of hypnotising rhythms and harmonic textures will be the perfect accompaniment to Jonas' melody-bent dancefloor sounds.

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