10 Things to Know About the Brazilian Electronic Scene: Vintage Culture’s Guide to the Country
The producer born Lukas Ruiz provides insight into the scene that made him a star.
Vintage Culture
Fabrizio Pepe*
A longtime mainstay in his native Brazil, Vintage Culture’s U.S. breakout launched with the producer’s 2020 Dance/Club Songs No. 1 “In The Dark,” and continued this year with a series of releases including high-profile remixes for Bob Moses & Zhu, Louis Vega, Meduza, Tiësto, Sofi Tukker, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Chris Lorenzo.
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These edits all landed amidst the producer’s own singles, including his November collab with James Hype, “You Give Me a Feeling” and the September release “Butterflies” out via Sonny Fodera’s Solotoko imprint. The latest from Vintage Culture is the urgent, immersive “Coming Home,” a collaboration with U.K. duo Leftwing:Kody and Anabel Englund released this past on Friday (Dec. 10) via Tiësto’s Musical Freedom label.
As U.S. audiences get more familiar with the producer born Lukas Ruiz via these tracks and upcoming high-profile gigs including Ultra Music Festival 2022, Ruiz here provides insight into the Brazilian scene that made him a star.
The Best Club For Mainstream Dance Music Is: Laroc, [about two hours from Sao Paulo] is great for mainstream. You can see how audiences who love music but don’t live the lifestyle of electronic music react. I’ve played this club several times, and it never disappoints. Audiences who are there to dance leave loving the music. It’s brilliant to turn them into electronic music fans one show at a time. Laroc is a good place to start your journey of Brazilian nightlife.
The Best Club For Underground Dance Music Is: Warung Beach Club in Santa Catarina is a favorite underground club. Also, Privilege, in Búzios, where I have my own night playing extended sets, which has become a tradition. These clubs offer artists the chance to play all new material, watch the fans’ reactions and talk to them after the show. These are good venues for DJs to test new originals and remixes. The audience here really shows DJs which music will work for an international crowd.
The Best Local Festival Is: In English, “So Track Boa” means “only good tracks.” That’s what this festival delivers — carefully curated DJs and producers who play the best dance music in Brazil. I’ve been involved with this festival for years. Recently I brought So Track Boa to New York to give an American audience a chance to see this energy and vibe. The festival sold out 7,000 tickets in Brooklyn faster than I could even imagine. In Brazil, So Track Boa sets the standard for other festivals across the country. In the future, we’d like to bring our festival to more cities around the world.
A Few Key Producers In the Local Scene Are: Volkoder, Chemical Surf, Gui Boratto and Fancy Inc. are music producers who are growing fastest in Brazil. Names to remember. The talented duo Fancy Inc. and I have worked together on several tracks, including our No. 1 Billboard Dance/Club Chart hit, “In the Dark.” Together, we also just reached No. 1 on Beatport with our track, “Free,” a collaboration with Roland Clark. Each of these producers are going to be making waves internationally very soon.
A Few Recent Brazil-Made Dance Tracks You Should Listen To Right Now Are: Volkoder’s track “Hey” makes me want to move. It’s one of those songs that can pick you up when you’re down and always gets the crowd going. “Hey” makes a regular appearance in my DJ set these days.
One Thing I Want People In the U.S. to Understand About the Brazilian Scene Is: Brazilian audiences come to a show to share positive vibes. They want to meet new people, share new ideas and dance from dusk ‘til dawn. I’ve been touring around the world, and there is nothing like a Brazilian audience. The joy and love they show stays with me when I’m thousands of miles from home.
The Things That Make the Brazil Scene Distinct Are: There is a passion and energy that is different from anywhere else in the world. And when a Brazilian audience follows an artist, DJ or producer, it’s forever. There is a loyalty from a Brazilian audience that I truly appreciate. These are the fans that brought me to where I am today. They will always be close to my heart.
Fill in the blank: Brazilian Fans Are the Only Ones Who _____? Brazilian fans are the ones who will always surprise you. Just when you think they have given you everything, they will give you more: more energy, more dancing, more enthusiasm for the music and your show. And they will dance until the sun comes up.
A Style of Music Happening Only In Brazil Is: That used to be an easy question. But now we’re bringing our music all over the world. I’m astounded how Brazilian dance music has been welcomed by international audiences with open arms. My shows in New York, Boston and Miami sold out in hours. In London my two shows sold out within 24 hours. There is a style of music which is totally unique to Brazil. I suppose it’s our version of American Country Music. Actually we too refer to this genre as Country Music. But in the Dance Music world — our music is growing into an international audience.
One More Thing I’d Like To Add: I’d like to thank the audiences in North America and Europe for such a beautiful and warm welcome. These audiences have placed my music on the charts and filled my shows to capacity. Even though I’m thousands of miles away on a global tour, these great fans have made me feel at home.
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