Exclusive interview with the King of Brazil! The man behind superclubs D.Edge, Warung and now album ‘Black Belt’
Vision, sheer determination, tenacity, compassion, unbelievable talent and massive courage. These are the qualities that make up the man Renato Ratier – the biggest player in the Brazilian electronic scene. Owner of D-Edge, Warung, superstar DJ at the world’s finest clubs and festivals and now a brand new album under his belt, ‘Black Belt’. Here Dan Prince finally ties him down long enough to talk about his clubs, music, his new ventures, the Olympics, World Cup and the journey he has taken that has seen him rise all the way to the very top…
Interview : Dan Prince
Mr Ratier welcome to DMCWORLD. So much to talk about, let’s rewind to begin with and discover how you fell in love with this crazy thing called dance music in the first place! Brazil is a country known for it’s music and vibrancy – were you brought up in a house filled with music?
“Hi Dan! I have been a music addict since I was a kid and used to have a sound system just behind my bed – so I was listening to music every day, all day. When I was around 6 years old I liked to dance for my mother dressing up in sunglasses and oversized jackets, I was always asking the maids to dance with me which didn’t go down too well as I was taking up all of their time! A few years later I started to buy my own records from the stores, if you go through my collection you’ll find a real variety of music ranging from classical to punk to rock. My mother was an artist, she used to be an actress and also played the organ – even though she came from a simple family she was very disciplined in her quest to do well in the arts world! There were also some traditional regional bands that would play at our place at some events, like Paraguayan Polka – Campo Grande is close to Paragaya and my family has some farms there as well, so somehow music was always present in my life. As I mentioned, I have always loved to dance and I can remember as a teenager giving breakdancing lessons to my friends. Even now I still get some of them asking me “Hey Renato when is our next breakdance class?” One of them is Garbão, a really old friend from way back who has now opened up a club in Cuiaba called Garage. So it is fair to say that not only music, but dancing has always been in my life.”
You studied Law at university in Rio – how serious were you about a career in that sector back then?
“Firstly I studied Zootechnic in President Prudent and after that moved to Rio to study Law. But as soon as I arrived I didn’t have too much time to think about my studies as my father was concerned about my security. At the time Rio used to be a dangerous city and as I was the son of a successful farmer there was worries about kidnapping. He quickly asked me to return to Campo Grande which I did and after a short while I decided to move to the USA.”
Ah yes, glad you mentioned the US. One of the reasons you journeyed to the United States was, in your own words…to “get to know closely this new musical universe called dance music”. What did living in the States teach you and who were you checking out over there?
“In the beginning I had a lot of contact with disco and soul music but also at some raves in the desert such as the party Organic. This was around 1994 and I was listening to rock music as well as electronic stuff, very diverse! So Monday to Monday I was partying in different places such as Long Beach, San Diego, Laguna Beach and Los Angeles. But there was one very special night there that influenced me more than the others, Disco 2000 that took place every week in Costa Mesa. I was also traveling further afield to the likes of New York where I encountered Twilo for the first time and a certain Mr Carl Cox! I spent most of that night standing by the DJ booth simply watching him do his thing, amazing. I also went to Tunnel to see Danny Tenaglia which was such a great experience. Away from America I traveled to Europe where I saw the likes of Laurent Garnier and Jeff Mills and events such as Dance Valley in Amsterdam and Ten Days Off in Ghent. Seeing these legends gave me a great reference point for Techno and House music when I finally arrived back in Brazil.”
So this is when the big electronic push began for you?
“Yes it was. Of course I loved these new sounds, but I also loved the fact how people celebrated this mutual love all together. Music is after all about sharing! I was listening to a lot of French music at this point, I liked French disco for while but the real passion back then was Chicago house, especially the second generation with people like Derrick Carter. Of course I also loved the first generation with Frankie Knuckles and co., but the second one blended techno and house in a special way that was more my style of music. This kind of blend really impressed me towards the end of the 90’s when I was also into a lot of techno with Jeff Mills, the Tresor Collections, Kevin Saunderson, Kenny Larkin and Underground Resistance.”
Your venues D-EDGE in Sao Paulo and Warung are 2 of the most important clubs in the world. Brazil is a country where music and dance part of your culture, what were people’s reactions to you bringing electronic and more importantly techno to their dancefloors in the beginning? How did you begin the journey?
“I arrived back in Brazil 4 days before Christmas 1995, enjoyed the holidays with my family and then threw a big party in the first week of January at my house for 1200 guests. At that time I had my own villa of about 1500 square meters and did a lot of peculiar decorations for the party! There was a painting of fire on the front wall of the house, I put up a huge tent on the tennis court – it was an amazing night. Even the local nightclub were scared, especially when nobody turned up at their venue that night. Everybody was in my place! Half way through the night we had a power cut for 40 minutes, the owner of the club always said he had nothing to do with it, but we all had our doubts. The music was electronic, house and techno which was really new to the city. At the same time I had a radio show called Techno Valley and also a concept shop selling fashion. Well, the owner of the local club Miss Terdam saw that I was moving with things, so he invited me down to put on a party. The name of the event was Energy and from that moment I had made my mark on the city! I had some friends from Towm, Garbao and Jamelão who had a lot of expertise in promoting large shows that featured big bands and therefore had great infrastructures of production. I showed them my vast collection of flyers from all of the parties I had been to in the US and Europe, this was the first time they had seen my new universe! They suggested we start to develop something special and so we divided up the tasks. I was responsible for the music and art direction of the party including decoration, flyer design, DJs, etc. and they would take care of logistics, production and promotion. For the next 2 years we put on some big events including a big favourite called Quinto Elemento. However we were not making the money we had all expected, I explained that this had to be looked at as a long term commitment and that we would get our money back eventually. They thought otherwise however and decided to quit which left me on my own. I continued with a new night called Pure Plastic, moved onto Hangar under the name AREA 51 and then opened D.Edge – all with a house and techno soundtrack!”
D-Edge was one of the first clubs in the world to introduce LED technology to a venue. How important is being one step ahead of your competitors to you?
“It’s really important to be one step ahead. We have influenced many clubs around the world with our light technology such as Sankeys in Manchester, Ego in Hamburg and Cabaret in London. I always want to push the limit to bring the best and new technology to the audience.”
A new venue is a coming, Rio de Janeiro the location for your next venture. Tell us more…we hear you want part of it to be a cultural centre for tourists?
“With Rio it took me a while to find a suitable space to open it up. I wanted to find a place that I could do more than just a club – for ten years I’ve had this idea Dan! I spent 8 years looking for a place and I only got the go ahead quite recently. But I found a place where I could have a club, a gallery, a restaurant, store and a studio. It’s going to be a cultural thing and it won’t just depend on nightlife. I think of it in the same way as Berlin where there are lots of artists living there – working, living, partying and meeting up together. This contact is so important I feel. Here we’re going to try to do just that. The studio is very important, it will incorporate good mastering, the best technology and a brilliant engineer. I really think it will help a lot. The restaurant and studio are going to be open 24 hours with a special menu for each part of the day.”So for me that’s something really special and something I’m really looking forward to opening…”
One of the most important things in your life you admit is that you always want to improve every factor in your working and personal life. From a DJs point of view, what do you think are the biggest changes that have happened for a DJ since you began working the decks?
“I think nowadays a DJ must have many qualities; charisma, harmony, good presentation, being able to read the whole of a dancefloor and good music of course. I think it is also very important to give energy to the audience, never play a set that is monotonous and flat. As for the technology, I see no relevance if you are playing with vinyl, CD or Tracktor. It really depends how you are going to develop the ideas, music and also the venue – there is a huge difference between playing to a big room and a small space. I also think it is important for you to recognise there are phases in a life of a DJ, just like there is in a life of a painter.”
And what can you tell us about the Berlin rumours?
“Holzmarkt is a project we entered one year ago, something very similar to a concept I have had since 1997. I have had the idea to have a space that incorporates a club, a hotel, restaurant, studios and shops. But before going straight into this I thought it would be better to develop the basics step by step. At that time I had two fashion labels, a magazine, a concept shop, a coffee shop plus of course the parties. I had all my businesses in Campo Grande and in 2003 I was starting D.Edge in Sao Paulo. So I decided to focus on D.Edge and wait before exploring this very complex cultural idea. When this new project presented itself to me, I was obviously very interested. It connected with my vision of having all of the arts in the same place, something I had been looking at for a while. And D.Edge Rio is just an example of this. We are members of the project Holzmarkt, but I do not want to be a member without a voice and having a strong participation in the decision process. So at the moment I’m waiting for some feedback on how my real participation and voice will be on this project. I am into it, I have already invested in it but am simply waiting from news from the other side to show me their true vision.”
You recently flew to Ibiza to bring your magic to Sankeys. What was that experience like?
“Ibiza was great! As I mentioned earlier, Sankeys has had some great inspiration from D.EDGE so it felt like home for me. Very comfortable! We were welcomed very well by their audience – and the hospitality of the club crew was fantastic”
Surely the size of Brazil makes it very exciting for a club owner/DJ – there is still so much to explore and develop?
“Yes of course. I think there are a lot of things to be done. And we are focused on this. I think the professionalism is developing. So better to grow slowly with a good infrastructure and a solid basis.”
Tell us about your favourite ever memory of Carnival…
“There have been many, but 2012 was really amazing! I played at Warung with Dubfire and the audience voted me as the Best DJ during the Carnival. After I played in Rio at the Music Conference at a D.EDGE party with Soul Clap and we organized an after party in a boat to celebrate my 40th Birthday. That was really nice.”
One of your son’s is 15 now, has he shown any inclinations to follow in his famous dad’s musical footsteps?
“At the moment he says he wants to. He says he wants to have the same profession as his father, to take care of my business and also to be a DJ and work with electronic music. I still haven’t introduced him into the scene though. He already plays the guitar and next year he will be traveling to London or New York to get prepared to enroll at a music university. My younger son Guilherme has started to study piano, I think the boys are going to have a nice structure for developing their work in the studio and also the venue. I always tell them they must study and work hard because they are going to have plenty of thing in their hands in the future.”
Is Brazil ready for the World Cup and Olympics?
“Good question. Brazil is spiritually ready to receive these events, but I’m afraid of the question of logistics and infrastructure when it comes to transport, airports, hotels and also the professionalism within the tourism industry. I hope everything is going to work out okay, but this is all out of my control. What I can assure the tourist though is that they are going to be surprised and pleased with our concepts and developments in electronic music in Sao Paulo and Rio at D.Edge and Warung.”
One question the world is asking about your home country and the forthcoming sporting events, where have all of the people living in the slums gone to now that the Brazilian government have cleared them all away?
“There is a plan for all of this. The Hills are a really beautiful place in the world, this process will take time though, it won’t happen overnight. The government must give these people a solution with a good structure, good conditions, education, transport and health.”
What is your government’s stance on the drug scene within clubland?
“Brazil is a ‘teenager land’ – still developing in many aspects compared to the US and Europe. So this matter is also developing but has to be addressed in the right way. What is important is for no institution to make any profit from it and also for the government to portray that they are working with our citizens and not control them.”
And finally, what has been the proudest moment of your career to date?
“Now, is the moment! I have just released my album ‘Black Belt’ which I’m really proud of. I am very happy with my DJ career right now with lots of great gigs in international clubs and festivals. I have just been invited to join a very special agency Bullit run by Ryan and Ali (Dubfire) which I think will take my career to another level. I am always opening doors for our nation’s artists and with this new phase of my career, it will enable me to enhance their careers even more.”
Renato Ratier new Album ‘ Black Belt’ is out now on D.Edge…
https://www.facebook.com/djrenatoratier
