Demuja - Hidden Paradise

May 24, 2018 - MUJA

Demuja is a music maker and DJ living and working in Salzburg, Austria. He’s only recently shown up on our radar, but sources say he has been working in the industry for several years. Demuja’s most recent project, Hidden Paradise is out on his own label MUJA and is his debut album. 

On first glance, this is a hefty project weighing in at 20 tracks and just under two hours of playtime (15 tracks plus another 5 bonus tracks on the digital release.) In this day of brief EPs and age of lighting fast snippet releases, putting out a cohesive 20 song project is ambitious to say the least. Demuja steps up to the figurative plate and projects an air of cool, collected confidence from the very beginning. ‘Work In’ heads the album and sets the tone for what is to come. It’s a strong track that ticks all the boxes; solid samples, driving percussion, snappy vocal clips, and jazzy interludes all wrapped into one. The main vocal sample peeks in towards the end of the track, reminding listeners that it is the work put in that yields results, magic and luck are nice sentiments, but this is the land of blood sweat and tears. 

The album unfolds from here with infectious grooves thrown over a landscape of disco, jazz, hip-hop, and lo-fi samples and inspiration, put to a slightly lower BPM than can be expected from this style of dance music. Without exception, every track on this project has a couple of sweet spots, whether that be a particular sample, hook, or transition. There are, however, a few exceptional gems that shine particularly bright. ‘Work In,’ as mentioned before, has the perfect ratio of elements for repeat listens. ‘Hear That Bassplayer’ is a downright fun funky track with a main hook that brings me right back to sweaty dance filled nights at the premier club of my youth, Sassy Anne’s. 

‘Keep Doing’ is actually the track that turned my attention to the project. While it fits like a glove within the album, there is a sense of melancholy in the main sample and chords that sets the track apart. It’s a stripped down eyes-closed head-bobbing anthem that ebbs and flows in all the right spots. 

There are a few moments that stand out on Hidden Paradise that are less shiny. ‘Can Defeat’ clocks in around the 56 minute mark and features Texas-based rapper Anti-Lilly. The track itself is strong and independent; Anti-Lilly and Demuja make for a good fit in the studio with all the trappings and flow of conscious hip-hop of the late 90s and early 00s. My opinion is that the track would have fit better as a bonus track, or at least had more of a buffer around it. The dramatic shift in tempo and structure leave it feeling a touch out of place. This applies to the final track of the album, ‘Ladies,’ which is a drum & bass jungle banger that has a significantly larger amount of energy than anything else on the project. This track more so than ‘Can Defeat’ feels very disparate on the project.

Demuja has taken on the formidable exercise of releasing a large body of work under one title and has done so with poise and presence of mind. Hidden Paradise offers a look into the artist’s world; his inspirations are laid bare but are not overpowered by his own creative output. It is an album that can subtly dominate the atmosphere of a pregame party or after party when selected by the Designated Music Selector (as I have tested on multiple occasions) along with a handful of tracks that hold their own on the dance floor outright. We are looking forward to what’s next down the pipeline because it’s clear that Demuja has put the work in. 🍍