Name: Décio Mendes aka 40D
Nationality: Mozambican
Occupation: Producer
Current Release: 40D teams up with Zoe Kypri and MSHU for "'Holding On," out via Sondela.  
Hometown Recommendation for Maputo, Mozambique: I’d definitely recommend visiting Mercado do Peixe. A legendary seafood market where you can experience some of the freshest seafood straight from the Indian Ocean. If you’re a food lover, it’s undoubtedly a must visit and one of those places where you can really get a taste of Maputo’s energy.

[Read our Zoe Kypri interview]

If you enjoyed this 40D  interview, and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, Facebook, and bandcamp.  



Recently, Drake and Black Coffee shared an emotional moment while playing out your track “Da Dome” in front of a huge crowd. How emotional was seeing this for you as an artist?

It was one of those moments you pinch yourself to see if it’s really happening.

A full circle moment to say the least, as I grew up listening to both artists as favourites.



What do you still recall about making that track?

The track came about as a result of experimentation.

I don’t systematically follow a pattern when I produce but I’m always driven by a feeling while in the studio. It’s usually so abstract that I struggle to translate at times. So I have to carefully find or synthesize the sounds that best convey those exact emotions.

The path to becoming a producer is a process - but from many interviews, I am under the impression that there are nonetheless one or a few defining moments. If this was the case for you – what were they and why were they so incisive?

Very much indeed. A few events come to mind, in retrospect.

At a very young age my uncle took me to a live recording session at the national radio in Mozambique. I was stunned months later after hearing the song play on the radio alongside other popular songs. At home, I was also surrounded by a rich music collection as my father was a collector himself at the time.

Also, back in the day in Joburg there was a nightclub in Tramway St we’d frequently go to, it was all about the grooviest house tracks; this is where things start to shape up. A good friend of mine (Lawrence) was connected to the DJs so I’d get copies on CD. I didn’t have a computer at the time hence intuitively I would randomly beatbox.

It wasn’t until a cousin of mine got her computer when I began experimenting with FL studio and finding a voice of my own. As a consequence of that, the first official house song I sent out under a different alias got licensed by Soul Candi. That was the earliest of incisive moments.

You started out as a bedroom producer. Tell me about what you were working with in the beginning and one or two of your early pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) in terms of production.

I’ve always found myself going back to FL Studio after having experimented with Ableton, Logic and Reason. To me their functionality is similar I’m just fine with FL for my working process.

As for pieces I’m proud of, I keep a special unreleased vault with tracks I’m unsure if they’ll ever see the light of day - who knows maybe one day I bundle them up as an album or some sort.

However, I can name a few such as “Horizontes” & “Get On Down” all under a different alias lost out there on the Internet.



Growing up in Maputo, how would you describe the music scene? Were there other producers you were in touch with and/or who had an influence on your work?

The music scene in Maputo is highly influenced by neighbouring cultures, despite the city having its own unique and vibrant musical identity. The most widely consumed genres tend to sit outside the Afro House space.

When it comes to Afro House specifically, I’d say the scene in Maputo has evolved considerably, and in many ways, that evolution was long overdue. Just a few years ago, there were only a handful of producers exploring the genre, and it was surprisingly difficult to cross paths or build connections. There simply wasn’t much of a movement or platform bringing like-minded artists together.

That said, the talent and musical identity were always there only the ecosystem around it needed to catch up.

What are some of the elements that set the Mozambique electronic music sound apart from, for example, the South African one?

As contemporary artists, we often work with many of the same elements and instruments, simply because everything has become so accessible online. So, sonically, the lines can sometimes be difficult to define.

If I had to localise the difference, I’d say it comes through more naturally in the cultural details particularly language, dialect, rhythms and the way certain musical ideas are interpreted.

Those elements carry a sense of place and that’s where I believe the Mozambican identity can really come through.

What's your take on Western “Afrohouse” compared to the one made by actual African producers?

I strongly believe music is universal, and that there is always a balance and exchange of identity when we create on a larger scale. Someone who spends most of their life in Africa will naturally carry that culture within them, however they choose to express themselves; the same applies to someone who grows up in the West. When the music is genuine, both sides can recognise and respect it when it connects.

That said, African rhythms often carry a strong percussive foundation, while more recent Western approaches have introduced a broader and more fluid palette, with production often leaning towards melodic elements and a brighter sonic feel.

I think that contrast is part of what makes the exchange so interesting.

Tell me a bit about the role of Marrabenta and pandza for your creative development. What makes these styles exciting to you?  

It’s safe to say that Marrabenta has a hypnotic quality that urges you to move, carried by an elegant sonic force. That spirit is something I deliberately keep alive when searching for ways to express an idea through music.

Pandza, on the other hand, carries a different kind of energy. To be honest, some of the older Pandza beats still bring out that youthful spirit, a sense of freedom, rawness that I find inspiring.

One of your early releases is called “The Modern Shangaan.” What's behind the title?

Interesting question! What makes The Modern Shangaan so special to me is the fact that it was the first intentional output of the 40D project. At the time, I wanted to explore and expose the idea of a futuristic cultural identity among Shangaan youth in the present era.



The term “Shangaan” often carries a strong traditional or tribal connotation, but at its core, it refers to a population and a culture deeply rooted in communal values. And culture is not static; habits, expressions and ways of living can evolve without its people losing the essence of who they are.

That tension between heritage and evolution was really the foundation of that EP, which is also reflected in the songs contained in it.

Tell me about the space of your current studio/workplace – the one where you produced “Holding On” - and how you've set it up to optimise creativity.

The short answer here is complicated, but I can tell you this: the bedroom producer spirit still haunts me. I work with little more than a pair of 4-inch monitors, an audio interface and a rather crappy laptop whose CPU is usually fighting for its life by the time I reach around 85% of a project, which, ironically, has become one of my main performance indicators.

As simple as it sounds, there’s enough chaos in that setup to keep me creatively grounded. None of my friends really understand it, but I’ve learned not to fix what isn’t broken.

If the outcome resonates, that’s ultimately what matters.

“Holding on”, has a very different sound to it, I feel, less dark and more uplifting than, say, “Da Dome.” What were some of the departure points?

The sonic aesthetic behind “Holding On” is something I’d been wanting to explore for some time. A brighter, more uplifting side of production within Afro House.

For me, contributing to a project starts with an emotional connection. Within the first few seconds, regardless of whether the mood is dark, melancholic or joyful, I need to feel that there is a clear emotional core. Once I find that, the rest becomes about navigating the song, bringing its colours to the surface and making sure that the underlying message or idea is vividly felt through the sound.

In all of your productions, including, for example, “Glória,” the drums sound amazing. How do you craft your drum sounds and their integration into the mix?

It might even sound like a joke, but I’ve been using many of the same drum sounds for years. I haven’t properly updated my library in about five years.



I think it ultimately comes down to intuition and learning to trust your ear. We consume so much music every day that, if you pay enough attention, you start to understand what excites you sonically, not just in terms of instrumentation but in the way sounds interact, feel and workout space.

It’s also a bit like following a diet: being mindful of what you put into your body to achieve a specific physical result. I approach sound selection in much the same way. Every element has to serve the overall feeling and balance of the record.

What did you want from the vocals for “Holding On” and how did you process them?

When it comes to a song like this, I feel the best approach is to let the vocals lead, no pun intended. Shoutout to Zoe Kypri, she absolutely aced it and in doing so, made the direction of the record very clear.

By the time it was my turn, my role was really to create the right atmosphere for the vocals to breathe and flow, while enhancing the emotional character behind their dreamy feel. I didn’t want to overprocess them; the intention was to support what was already there and let the emotion remain vivid at the forefront.

Tell me about your aesthetic preferences for picking effects like reverb, delay, compression, chorus etc … - what was the role of these effects in the production of “Holding On”?      

It’s hard to define, because whenever I add effects constructively, I tend to tweak almost every knob independently until the sound hits that sweet spot. I’m not really a preset driven person; I like to listen and react to what the sound is asking for.

In “Holding On”, the effects were mainly there to create depth and movement. I like my instruments wet enough to have character and pop within the mix, but never so much that they become harsh or lose their natural emotion.      

Many producers are using AI for vocals or melodies. Tell me about the role human collaboration plays in your recent productions – and how you see the potential for machines as collaborators compared to humans.

I low-key support the use of AI as an alternative approach to composition. Collaborations can be challenging at times, and AI can offer a more immediate route to translating a vision into something tangible.

That said, personally, I don’t think it’s quite there yet in terms of quality. Don’t get me wrong, the results can be incredibly impressive, but I still feel there’s something missing, perhaps the unpredictability, emotion or human imperfection that gives music its character.

Sometimes it’s that last bit of humanity that makes you truly connect with a record. Don’t you agree?

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though producing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?  

I’m probably not big enough on coffee to put the analogy into perspective, but I can say this: art, and music in particular, is freedom for me.

I’m quite a reserved person, and I probably say less than I feel in my everyday interactions. I’m very aware of the power of communication, but music gives me a space to express thoughts and emotions that I might seldom articulate otherwise, and somehow, still be understood.

Maybe that’s also why I’m so particular about composition as I’m trying to communicate something that feels limited through words.