Interview: Paulo Tessuto

DJ and producer from São Paulo, Paulo Tessuto travels the world taking his own party concept Capslock to clubbing institutions such as Berlin’s Tresor club, Sisyphos, Chalet, and Golden Gate, as well as holding down a residency at D.Edge. He is also about to launch his MEMNTGN label this month and gives up the lowdown on how he started, playing with Isolee and other highlights and his current Hot 5 tracks.

 


Coming to play at the daytime Gold Diggers party on Saturday May 7th at Egg LDN, can you tell us how you were invited to play and what’s your association with Egg LDN?

I was invited to play by my good friend Ricardo Castro, Gold Diggers creative director and fellow Brazilian. It’s my first gig at Egg LDN and it’s a really good way to start our relationship playing at their Birthday party.

A flamboyant daytime party mixing music, performance, fashion, craziness…how are you preparing for Gold Diggers and is there anyone you’re particularly looking forward to catching?

I am super happy to be part of such an important celebration. I’ve been doing research everyday on my promo list and stores and I’m also trying on all my drag looks everyday to find the best outfit :-)I am super into catching Rotciv’s set because he is one of my favourite DJs in Berlin. His sets always have a great energy and such classic style and the way he mixes is something you can’t afford to miss. He’s always mixing old school stuff with modern tracks but with a very, very strong identity.

A cross dressing DJ, what or who inspired you to go down this path? Do you DJ in drag 

This cross dressing stuff started in a very natural way – I never thought about doing it. Normally the Carlos Capslock’s parties always have different themes and I started inventing stories for my crowd about where I was really living once I started touring Europe a lot. So, I threw a marriage party and I decided to be the bride as I was going to Berlin and got married to a German girl to get my visa, and that’s how everything started. After this I started to realise that it’s very important to show up wearing drag in a country like Brazil, which has so many preconceptions and prejudices about homosexuals in general and also against woman. I decided to carry on with this more as a political stance than anything. Another big factor is that I also really admire women, how strong they are, the way their hair moves with the wind, their bodies and everything else. So, in a way it’s my tribute to them and I always try to look as natural as possible. My biggest muses are my Drag mother Ronalda Bi and Divine.

Originally from Sao Paolo in Brazil where you run the most avant grade underground party, Capslock, you are now touring Europe with your party coming to Egg Ldn, Berlin and Istanbul. How did you first got started? 

Thanks for your comments…I am super happy to hear you say that. And you’re right! Everything I’ve been through in my life has evolved in a very organic way, which is the same as everything in my career. I created the Carlos Capslock character as a joke with friends at an after hours.The idea was that everybody should have a character with the same initials as their first and surname. After this I started to show up as a nerd at some parties and do absurd jokes that would shock people a lot. Doing this I realised that it was also a great escape for my fears and problems and then Carlos went on Facebook. He is a deformer of opinions and also a keyboard designer and the main idea always was to criticise our life, the way we are so connected on the internet and people’s dependency on the pharmaceutical industry. So the thing got bigger and once Carlos Capslock (f**k off) was a theme for a party and after that I decided to transform Carlos into its own party and today I don’t really know what it is!  You could say that it’s more like an artistic intervention and political movement and that we are trying to show up with a new lifestyle, way to see the world, behave etc etc

You also produce music. Can you tell us how you started on this course?

I’ve started to produce 8 years ago at the same time I started D-ing and promoting parties in Sao Paulo. I was really focused on edits and creating new sounds but I realised that I needed to concentrate more on learning and developing DJ techniques and promoting parties. So I thought  maybe it would be best to focus on these two things so I can go deeper into this than shoot off in all directions. Three years ago I realised that I was getting to a good point in my careers (DJ and Promoter) and it was time to expand. So after my first tour of Europe in 2013 I started buying synthesisers and got into producing more. I kept my tracks only for me until they got really good and then I started playing them at my gigs to see peoples’ reactions and that’s the best thing for me.

 And what are the 5 highlights of your career so far?

1. My first tour of Europe in 2013 where I got to play 9 gigs at some of Berlin’s best venues including Wilden Renate, Sisyphos and Golden Gate among many others. As it was a DI tour, it was really satisfying.

2. When I was invited to produce the party for the Exhibition: Zeitgeist – The Art Of The New Berlin in Brazil (2015). To be chosen out of so may promoters with much more experience, it felt really good to be acknowledged.

3. When Kompakt asked my label (beside L_cio and Zopelar)l: MEMNTGN to be part of their team. They will represent and distribute our music and I can’t describe how happy I feel about this.

4.The Carlos Capslock 4th Birthday party with Isoleé. I never imagined that I would be so close to such a huge and great artist. The party was amazing and he really liked playing and it was a historic moment in my career.

5.To be invited by Egg London to play at their Gold Diggers daytime party to celebrate their Birthday. It such an important and influential club in London that’s really putting on different styles of parties and I’m super excited.

What’s coming up for you in terms of new projects and music?

I’ve several things coming up including preparations for a huge party in September with one of the best Techno artists at the moment. I can’t reveal who is it but people in Sao Paulo will go crazy about it. I’m also launching my label MEMNTGN this month and have a forthcoming release with Thousand Records featuring two great remixes from Fabrice Lig and Rodigo Pitta with participation of Ana Carolina and Elza Soares (a legendary singer in Brazil). She’s incredible not only for her voice but also for her engagement with human rights on her lyrics.

 6 Hot tracks 

1 – ‘Dog Day’ – L_cio (D.O.C. Records)

No words can describe L_cio’s geniality. It’s a perfect mix of references and the flute takes the track to a higher musical level. Amazing vibes on the dance floor.

2. ’Ressaquera’ – Tessuto

This is one of my demos that I’ve been playing for some months. The Juno bass line combined with the pads I’ve created and the long breakdown makes people go crazy on the dance floor. It always gets some screams and is my best track.

3. ‘Input Mode’ – Anderson Noise & Kleber

A perfect track that’s very simple and very effective. Its undulating rhythms make people go crazy

4 – ‘XXX (QDUT version – Sebastian Voigt, Tessuto, Zopelar, L_cio and Swift (MEMNTGN Records)

This track is surely going to be a breakout hit. The bells played by Zopelar and the great combination of artists at work create such an incredible vibe. I’ve been playing this for a year and people always go crazy.

5. ‘Triade’ – Traumer

This track is a masterpiece. 15 minutes and it’s not possible to get sick of it. A great combination of melodies, percussion and with a great whale sound, it reminds me a lot of the Pachanga Boys hits.

6. ‘Traumatesado’ Tessuto Remix) – L_cio & Cashu Ft. Carlos Capslock (MEMNTGN)
Touring in Europe I didn’t know that in Brazil. people were making fun of me because of a voicemail message sent to L_cio and Cashu that they turned into a track and a t-shirt! My Remix recreates the atmosphere of the original with undulating bass and vocals dropped into this hypnotic and epic song. At the end the vocal repetitions also make people’s heads explode 🙂

Finally, what should we be listening to before we head off to Gold Diggers? 

We should listen to Brazilian phenomenon: L_cio.

 

• Paulo Tessuto plays the Gold Diggers daytime party on Saturday May 7th from 2pm at Egg LDN alongside Hannah Holland,  Pagano, Nic Fischer, Samantha Togni, Cathal, Tafkanik, Bamboo, The Roustabouts, Chicken, Alejandro Gocast, Strawberry K, Andy Adamson and Fidel. Special Performances from Candy Ken, Ray Noir featuring Mariann Rosa, Bambi Blue, Lewis G Burton, Amy Statik, Dopeboy and Sam Amant. Join the party at https://www.facebook.com/events/1536660546664698/ and click attending to be added to the Guest List.

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