As part of ZDB’s thirtieth anniversary celebrations, we are hosting an evening that looks back at the house’s past, not only celebrates its legacy, but also recontextualises its relevance in the present and, at the same time, always points to possible futures. ZDB’s programme maker between 2003 and 2006, alongside Pedro Gomes, Nélson Gomes would continue this joint vision with the formation of the Príncipe label in collaboration with Zé Moura and Márcio Matos, essential in the dissemination of dance music made here in the peripheries, and of the promoter and agency Filho Único, whose work over this time has not only been vital to the cultural fabric of this city, but has also created a strong network of alliances that links it umbilically to this process of discovery in the days of the Aquarium. It was a stage that gave ZDB its very own personality, marked by the courage to probe into hidden corners of the most foreign music and shine a light on names that are now well recognised before the fact, and which has been reflected on with other visions but just as much ownership in the years since. It’s therefore more than obvious that Nélson Gomes has been given carte blanche to choose the subject of this night of celebration, with a line-up that, by invoking this memory, brings it to life in the present. BS
