Under_Construction
I always say that things happen for a reason. Sure, it’s a cliche oversimplification of the way everything works, but it’s a fairly fitting statement in most cases. My experiences in Brazil are no different, each of them bearing some bit of fate that throws things temporarily off-balance, only for it all to work itself out again.
Take, for example, the location I chose to stay. When I was debating between two locations, it came down to convenience and proximity to the subway. I knew that Sao Paulo had just opened its yellow line, so I thought that the hostel I chose was perfect considering its 1-block walk to the yellow line “Oscar Freire” stop. Yet google fooled me good, and as it turns out, the section closest to my hostel (pictured above) is still under construction.
Alas, it’s a 15 minute walk up a steep hill to get to the subway that DOES work, and by that time, my body is so conditioned to the walking that I just end up walking everywhere I need to go. Sure, 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but just imagine taking that walk every time you want to go somewhere and with a really heavy bag and crazy feet. And there you have it. My present.
But considering my love for Sao Paulo, I always manage to find a silver lining. For one thing, I am a mere 3 blocks from the Galeria Melissa (the Melissa megastore that I always rave about), Nespresso (I am a total coffee addict), and adjacent (by half a block) to what I like to refer to as “The 5th Avenue of Sao Paulo,” known by others as Oscar Freire. Sao Paulo’s always full of little surprises, and this trip is no different from the others.
While the phantom subway line (I swear it shows up on google maps) was a shock, there were other aspects to life here in SP that came as no surprise. One of them being the sheer excellence of nightlife here for any and every one looking to have a good time. I always rave about the clubs here in Sampa, but until you go to a few, you just.can’t.understand.
Most of the parties are genuine, lacking an uber-pretentious crowd and, without a doubt, given a deliciously intense soundtrack. Sao Paulo has some of the best DJs in the world, and last night did not fail to impress. The party was care of producer L_cio, who many of you may know from my interview with him after our meeting last year around this same time. His vision is called under_line. It’s a music collective and party series that covers underground (or well-known, but with an underground sound) DJs and producers who are adding something new to the club scene here in the city. The party serves as a showcase for multiple forms of electronic music artists and a venue to hold those of us who love them.
The vibe at Tapas Club (Rua Augusta, of course) proved that an underground does, in fact, still exist, and that there’s an audience out there willing to dance until the wee hours of Thursday morning to support it. While there, I had the opportunity to hear all the DJs beginning with Dee Bufato (who is a DJ, Producer, Designer…the list goes on and on), then Hero Zero, followed by DJ duo Guilherme Picorelli and Henrique D´Marte (known together as “Fractal Mood”), and last but not least, the creator himself, L_cio. The styles varied throughout the night from minimal to deep house, tech house, and back again, keeping everyone on their toes both mentally and physically. Though this was #39 of this party series, it’s definitely not the last as L_cio is as prolific an artist as he is a party extraordinaire.
For those of you who may not have a chance to check out the under_line party live, I’ll let the music speak for itself:
a silky deep house set by Dee Bufato:
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a minimal mix by L_cio (recorded live at under_line #37):
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a solid house set by Hero Zero:
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a deep house/tech house live set by the boys of Fractal Mood:
- Retail DJ
While I was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil recently, I created a temporary blog about music and fashion (which ended up being the baby for Retail DJ). Here’s a post that I thought was appropriate to include about an awesome little boutique in Rio and a few throwback tracks worth giving a listen as you check out their wares.
