SOUND SEEKERS: New EP from NDMA
Scene & Heard

SOUND SEEKERS: New EP from NDMA
BY Fateema Sayani
POSTED June 26, 2014 2:07 pm

Sound Seekers by Fateema Sayani is published weekly at OttawaMagazine.com. Read Fateema Sayani’s culture column in Ottawa Magazine and follow her on Twitter @fateemasayani  

Ottawa hip-hop producer, NDMA launches new EP, Panache, and plays this Saturday at Babylon's No Pants Dance Party
Ottawa hip-hop producer, NDMA, launches new EP, Panache, and plays this Saturday at Babylon’s No Pants Dance Party

We asked Ottawa producer and hip-hop artist Nilton de Menezes, aka NDMA, about his new smooth-rolling EP called Panache. The five-song disc is being released on Los Angeles, Calif., label Give N Go Sounds. It was mastered by Philip Shaw Bova (Feist, Bahamas, Socalled) and features a blend of hip-hop, electronic, and indie-pop music. Find the album on iTunes for now. A physical format will be available in mid-August when NDMA hosts a CD release party at the new Moscow Tea Room on Sussex Drive.

NDMA came to Ottawa eight years ago. The 22-year-old’s family emigrated from Luanda, Angola, to flee corruption. He went to Canterbury High School to study visual arts, then started a university program in international relations, but dropped out to work on music full-time. Hear NDMA this Saturday at Babylon at the No Pants Dance Party where he’ll play, accompanied by a violinist and a DJ.

SS:How does this EP differ from 2012’s EP, 505?

NDMA: This EP has a more mature and sophisticated sound compared to 505. I was trying to find who I was as an artist when I was doing 505. Not to say that I have fully found myself musically, but my production value is way, way better.

SS: Take us through some of the album tracks.

NDMA:

  • “Bring Us Down.” This song is the intro track for the project. It speaks to how you should never give up on your dreams or yourself. People say you shouldn’t give up on your dreams, but it’s something that they don’t practice.
  • “Get In.” That speaks to my attempt to get in the industry. Someone told me that it’s better to slowly get into someone’s heart and stay there longer.
  • “Investigate.” Oh, that’s where things start getting fun.
  • “Burn Slow.” Two summers ago, a friend of mine was leaving here. We became really close. Each day that passed, we both knew that her days in Canada were coming to an end. That’s where the idea of burn slow came from. I wish that time could slow down and let things that you enjoy most in life burn slow. This applies to family time, hanging out with your friends, or even enjoying a glass of scotch after a long day.