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Surinamese kawina drums, Dutch-Caribbean Ritmo marching band and Baltimore club merge, uniting different worlds from the Diaspora in a unique way
Versatile Amsterdam-based, Surinamese producer/DJ Jarreau Vandal shares a drum-heavy workout, ‘Ritmo’, featuring Baltimore Club favourite Rye Rye and Amsterdam brass band Ritmo Entertainment, dropping this Friday, 13th June.
This is Jarreau’s first single since March’s ‘Ganga Riddim’, featuring Mehdi Nassouli and Dave Nunes. The track fused Moroccan gnawa with Nigerian fuji and soared to #3 on both the Spotify Nigeria and Morocco viral charts, reached #13 on the Morocco Shazam chart, and generated over 70 million views and 33,000 video creations.
Heavily inspired by both Vandal and Rye Rye’s beginnings in marching bands, new single ‘Ritmo’ flies in hot and heavy with a flurry of high-energy drums layered over a Baltimore club kick pattern, which Rye Rye’s quickfire vocals ride with ease. The central driving force of the track comes from the Dutch Caribbean marching band Ritmo Entertainment, who add an organic layer of brass and explosive kawina drums.
Vandal explains: “‘Ritmo’ draws from many influences, just like all my music. Growing up in Amsterdam’s Dutch Caribbean community, there were many people from Suriname, like me, and possibly Curaçao, all sharing a love for drums. A lot of the drum patterns come from Suriname and are inspired by kawina music, as well as Latin brass bands that play at occasions like store openings and national holidays.
“I started out playing drums and wanted to bring that energy into a club setting, blending it with Baltimore and Jersey club sounds. Then I found Rye Rye, a Baltimore club legend, and asked her to record a verse — it fit like a glove.
Rye Rye adds, “When Jarreau sent me beats over, I was instantly excited because I wanted to do an Amsterdam collab. The first tune that stood out to me was this one because it took me back to my childhood. Growing up in Baltimore, I used to be in a marching band, and we would parade the streets of Baltimore with the drummers, all up in uniform, and just dancing to the beat. So this really was important for me as it tapped into a core memory of mine. I’m a girl who’s all for drums and to mash that up – I thought that was badass!”
Vandal’s live performances, including a Boiler Room set and international tours, showcase his dynamic presence. He recently shut down Amsterdam’s Lentekabinet festival and is set to bring his genre-blurring show to London’s Phonox this Friday, as part of FS Green’s residency, as well as Glastonbury Festival this summer.
‘Ritmo’, the fiery new single from Jarreau Vandal, is out today Friday, 13th June, paving the way for an exciting year ahead for this highly talented, in-demand artist.
About Jarreau Vandal:
Dutch producer and DJ Jarreau Vandal is best described as versatile. Raised in a musical family – with a grandfather who was a producer and parents who danced in Amsterdam clubs – Vandal’s earliest memory of music is playing drums in his church band. Exposed to gospel, soul, jazz, and house, he combines these influences into an authentic, one-of-a-kind sound focused on good vibes.
Famous for edits like Rihanna’s ‘Work’ and remixes such as Dua Lipa’s ‘New Love’ and Mahalia’s ‘Sober’ (18M streams), Vandal is now evolving from producer and DJ into a full album artist, displayed through March’s live Surinamese drum-focused ‘Ganga Riddim’ featuring Mehdi Nassouli and Dave Nunes and his 2020 EP, Suburb Superhero: The Villian Within, which featured huge collaborators such as British rapper Kojey Radical, Dutch vocalist Gaidaa, Nigerian singer Tay Iwar, and New Yorker Kiah Victoria.
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