D-Edge Night Club Details...

D-Edge, Alameda Olga, 170 - São Paulo, Brazil

Compact and futuristic, the club was created in 2003 as a national hotspot for underground culture. Its unique artistic direction and programming is one of the reasons for it success. Having been run by DJ Renato Ratier, the club has maintained close relationships with electronic artists around the world. On the visual side, designer Muti Randolph created one of the most impressive interiors seen in any Latin American club with thousands of LED panels covering the walls synchronized to the DJ booth.

D-Edge Information...

In the mind's eye of a virgin participant in South America's club scene, Luciano and Brazil would seem to go together like Caipirinhas and sunshine. Vocal chants? Hip-pinching rhythms? Showmanship in abundance? Hello happy marriage. However, upon my arrival in São Paulo I was more than a little surprised to be anecdotally informed of a decidedly average party that he had helmed in Rio merely a week prior in which his brand of a cappella-laden percussive house fell flat on a sizeable pre-carnival crowd.

Counting the likes of Zip, Michael Mayer, Ricardo Villalobos and Richie Hawtin among its list of previous DJ attendees, São Paulo's D-Edge would seem like the preferred Brazilian platform for the Cadenza boss. Since their relocation to their current space in the comfortable surrounds of the city's Barra Funda district almost eight years ago, D-Edge has pushed an alternate agenda from the peripheries of a Brazilian scene still very much embroiled in the big room sounds of trance and electro house. Much like Watergate in Berlin, D-Edge's headline images centre on an eye-popping lighting rig that in this case, means LEDs coating almost every one of the 500 capacity club's surfaces, pulsing seductively in time with the music.

It's certainly an affecting trick but one that renders you temporarily dumbstruck and a little dazed upon initially entering the venue. Luciano was at this point already in full swing. Any suggestion that his sound wouldn't translate to this Brazilian audience was banished from my mind within approximately ten seconds and a single high-pass sweep filter. The club was loud, but mainly due to the collective noise of its patrons; the sound system while powerful in all the correct places, was easy on the ears, facilitating dance floor conversation if you so desired. Despite having a further four hours to toy with, it was clear Luciano was in no mood for cruising in the lower gears. A young and expectant crowd were feeding off every nuance of his party-friendly set, but having seen him spin on a few occasions over the past two years, I couldn't help but feel disappointed to hear so many of the tracks and a cappellas that have been synonymous with his set of late. Much has been made regarding Luciano's shift into housier sounds, which in all honesty is his prerogative. But taking the time to dig out alternate takes on Latino-style vocals shouldn't be beyond his remit.

To these ears, the latter stages of his set provided a far more interesting proposition—sparser arrangements, unpredictability, darker vibes—although the dance floor had remained enraptured throughout. The more rhythm-based workout was greeted with the occasional melody cloud such as M83's "In Church"—an ethereal sidestep Luciano has been peddling for nigh on three years now—and recognizable samples of Lumidee's "Never Leave You." D-Edge owner and resident DJ Renato Ratier joined the Chilean for an hour of back-to-back action before offering up a well-paced closing set on a tough house tip.

Putting to one side my complaints over Luciano's repetition of sounds, the atmosphere throughout the night remained consistently on the edge of celebratory chaos, and as a venue, D-Edge easily rivals any of its European or US counterparts. An abundance of beautiful yet friendly people usually helps a party along, but small touches such as a pay-as-you-drink card system for the bar left a particularly pleasant taste in the mouth. The club may only represent a small niche among a wider scene with its eye clearly fixed on the mainstream, but for locals with a thirst for more refined and restrained styles of electronic music, D-Edge is a refreshing exception to the rule.

DJ Mag Club Review...

Celebrating their sixth birthday this month, this is D-Edge's fourth appearance in our Top 100 Clubs poll. And clearly the club is something special to rank above Sao Paolo's rainforest playground of Sirena.

Casey Spooner, from electroclash icons Fischerspooner, is a huge fan of the place, claiming: "A light show you won't seen anywhere else, unbelievable sound and hot Brazilian girls and boys that are always ready to party - that's what D-Edge is all about."

Ah yes, the light show. The simple black box room is decorated floor to ceiling with grids of neon striplights that change colour. When it's red, yellow, green or purple it looks amazing. But blue is mind-blowing - which is probably why the lighting guy, Johnson, saves it only for the best tunes or for those moments when the crowd are going particularly nuts.
Stunning oversized volume level meters on the wall further lock the crowd into the music.

"It's connected directly to the soundsystem," explains Marc Romboy. "And the sound is exactly how it has to be, staying clear and crunchy and bass kickin'. That's how tech-house can reach the feelings of the crowd."

As well as tech-house DJs, D-Edge attracts top talent across the board - recent visitors have included Sasha, Tiga, Steve Lawler and the cream of Brazilian talent. Freak Chic covers the housier end of things on Fridays, while Mothership heads into more minimal territory on Saturdays. Elsewhere, the new wave of electro is worth checking out at Monday's On The Rocks, with the likes of Steve Aoki guesting.

If you're heading to the 400-capacity club it's worth logging on to d-edge.com.br and attempting to decode the Portuguese website for cheaper tickets to guarantee entry. And inside you'll find a passionate, friendly crowd, a real mixed bunch, where skyscraper heels share the lit dancefloor with Converse trainers but everyone is on the same musical page.

"D-Edge has a unique spirit because it's very underground, with a crowd that understands real electronic music, but at the same time it's super modern," says Oliver Huntemann. "It's Brazil's best club for sure and one of the very best in the world."

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