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ADE 2010: Focus on Brazil – Music Trends, DJs, Producers & Nightclubs

Last week, one of the biggest EDM conferences & festivals, Amsterdam Dance Event, took place from Oct 20th to 23rd. There were several panels and I’d like to enlighten some interesting points discussed on the one that focused on Brazil – its musical trends, genres, DJs & nightclubs.

In spite of the language difference, the country gathers some of the world’s hottest clubs, some big festivals and its producers & DJs have been showing true talent in many different genres.

Not only Brazil itself is growing up, also the music is growing up”, says Renato Ratier, owner of one of the most renowned Brazilian nightclubs D-Edge,which will double its size in November. “We will have some small rooms for more experimental kinds of music. But, I guess it’s difficult to speak about Brazil in general. It’s a big country, with different kinds of interest in different regions”.

What we can clearly see, it’s that house, tech and electro definitely take over most of the speakers at the Brazilian clubs, but loads of quality productions have been coming from the country, with heavy progressive, minimal and trance influences too.

DJs/PRODUCERS
A small selection of the Brazilian gems in EDM.

Gui Boratto is one of the hottest tech house acts of the moment, remixing a Renaissance compilation in the beginning of the year while tearing up the nightclub roofs worldwide with his acclaimed live sets – designed around his own striking productions. After the huge success of his debut album ‘Take My Breath Away’ last year, the producer’s recently remixed Moby’s Pale Horses. With countless licenses with respected European labels, such as Kompakt, K2, Audiomatique, Harthouse, Plastic City, among others, Gui Boratto has managed to appear in the chart and playlists of world’s most famous producers and DJs. At this year’s IDMA, his gorgeous tune ‘No Turning Back’ won Best Minimal/Techno track Award and Gui Boratto was also nominated in two categories at the Beatport Awards: Best Tech House Producer & Best Electronica Track with his production‘Besides’.

Fabio Stein, with many stunning releases out on Armada, Spinning Records and many more, he was the very first trance producer from his country to release a major hit in Europe. We’re talking about ‘Tran-4’ on Maelstrom records – heavily supported by many of the world’s top DJs and considered by Judge Jules “the best track of 2006”. He’s recently collaborated with Claudia Cazacu on the track called CazaKiStein and released ‘In The West’ on Spinning Records. Stein is also the A&R and main artist of the UK label 40 Degrees Records.

Danilo Ercole has remixed important names such as Mike Saint-Jules, Eddie Sender, Paul Trainer and, just out of the oven, Amex vs Reconceals’ choonage ‘A World Apart’. Ercole kicked off 2010 with ‘That Same Song Again’, a trance production out on Soundpiercing Records, which includes a stunning tech-driven remix by Arty. Interesting how the trance scene in Brazil is small & underground still, Ercole has managed to rise up and show his skills to the whole world. He’s signed to Armada Music since May 2009.

Mixhell, a duo of producers with an electro-driven sound, show their unique fuse of the most uplifting elements of the rock and electronica scenes. Iggor Cavalera, best known as the drummer of Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, got together with Laima Leyton to deliver an extraordinary live sets and quality electronic productions and remixes heavy-influenced by Electroclash, Hip Hop, Cyber Punk and dark Rock’n‘ Roll. They’ve just released a remix for The Japonese Popstars featuring Green Velvet called Let Go, out now on Beatport.

Copacabana Club is three blokes and two girls from Curitiba, Southern Brazil. Starting in 2007, they blend indie rock with a twist of Brazilian music to craft catchy songs that attract a fast growing audience and turn each gig into a dance floor. The band is currently working on their first full-length album, due to be released this year. They gained attention in the beginning of the year with their club hit ‘Just Do It’:

Klauss Goulart has a sound that travels from progressive to trance. This year, the M6 Remix of his tune ‘Deep Universe’ was a massive hit among trance lovers and supported by all the main DJs. The connection between the two producers was so intense that they got together to produce ‘Hidden Lights’, a smashing track with a throbbing bass and massive hands-in-the-air-break, out on Captivating Sounds. ‘Fallen’, featuring Matt Johnson, is one of his latest trance releases on High Contrast Recordings. On November 8th, you’ll be able to check another smasher ‘Want To Fly’, a hot collaboration between Sixma & Klauss Goulart and the Brazilian rock band Outono em Marte.

NIGHTCLUBS
There are thousands of places to party in Brazil, and usually a night out starts off in a bar at 9 am for warm up with friends that head then to the nightclubs to sweat on the dance floor until 10 am. Here’s just a FEW selection of the hottest nightclubs in Brazil.

Green Valley
Nominee for Best Global club at IDMA 2010, this club is known for bringing the best acts and hosting famous EDM festivals. Carl Cox, Tiesto, Armin, Steve Angelo, Kaskade, Erick Morillo are some of the club’s usual performers. They get the title of being #1 club of Brazil.

Sirena
Another club by the beach, 3 hours from São Paulo. Capacity: 4,000 people. On February, it gets its annual Carnaval groove on, welcoming a host of top talent over the course of five nights of frolics. Armin comes every time. This year, also came Blake Jarrell, Steve Angello, Erick Morillo, Sander van Doorn and Loco Dice. I was lucky enough to be there and feel the energy and go crazy to Blake & Armin sets. In September, the club hosts one of the country’s most expected electronic parties called The White Party.

Warung
On the South of Brazil, near the beach. It got 2 dancefloors, one indoor and one outdoor, for over 2,000 people with vip areas and lounges. 16 Bit Lolita, Gui Boratto, Luciano and Bookashade are some of the acts that played there this year. This video is from 2007 when Deep Dish dropped ‘Say Hello’ at 8am – the crowd vibe is unbelievable!

D-Edge
It’s currently a 400-people capacity club located in São Paulo. It has got some a beautiful interior, with a whole load of LED panels around the long rectangular space that pulsate in time to the beat. It’s famous for hosting crowded parties till 10 am or more. One of the most respectful night clubs, music wise. Ellen Allien, Hell, Funk D’Void, Loco Dice, Josh Wink, Solomun have all played there in the recent months. On November, the club will double its size, get a lounge area and more rooms, with the intention of hosting more than one DJ a night.

Anzu
30 mins from São Paulo, Infected Mushroom, Skazi and Deep Dish have already played there. Dirty South came on April 24th and the club is always offering some of the best parties in the country. With a capacity of 2,500 people, the club has 3 different rooms, one being an outdoor dancefloor.

Lique Lounge
Big club hosting big DJs. Another club that has LED lights that vibe according to the sound. Chris Lake, Kaskade, Tocadisco, Andy Moor, 16 Bit Lolitas are a few names who have already played there. This year, Andy Duguid was there on April 4th and Sharam, on April 29th.

Clash Club
One of top 50 best clubs in the DJMag poll, Clash Club is a high-ceilinged warehouse that screams rave from every inch of its cavernous main room. Not to mention securing an unbeatable team of home residents – techno veteran Renato Cohen, Kompakt’s Gui Boratto and the Brazil scene’s forefather Anderson Noise are all residents, whilst Brazilian D’n'B legend Marky hosts his Marky & Friends night there bi-monthly.