By Fiona Hurrell, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Already a prominent fixture on the Rio social scene, DJ collective the Botafogo Social Club (BSC) will be spinning a new sound next week, forming part of the line up for ‘Ya’Ya Hi-Fi’ boasting ‘100 percent vinyl’ music at Studio RJ in Aproador.
The BSC was formed as a group of expatriate DJs from England and the U.S., and, whilst previous parties have offered a different line-up, this one presents DJs Doug Gray and Jan Roldanus.
The event will take place on Tuesday, August 14th, and having remained a regular Tuesday night fixture for some time, boasts good old-fashioned vinyl DJ-ing, whilst promising to entertain the crowd with collections of tunes sourced from almost all corners of the world.
One person to whom this particularly appeals is BSC member Doug Gray who reveals “You can’t beat playing with vinyl. The BSC started out with the idea of being an all-vinyl party, [Jan Roldanus] had a huge collection of great soul, jazz and disco records and I was always more into vinyl than CD DJ-ing.”
Despite his preference for Vinyl, however, Gray admits that sourcing material can prove difficult in Brazil, therefore stressing the significance of the event. He adds, “Getting new releases in Brazil is either impossible or unbelievably expensive. But I think its amazing that Ya’Ya Hi-Fi party has been established on a Tuesday night in Ipanema and it will be cool to be ‘forced’ to go back to playing records without a doubt.”
Hinting at their chosen playlist for the evening, Gray reveals “We’ll be playing some rare old soul and disco, a bit of hip-hop and jazz too, I know Jan is going to be rustling around in the depths of his collection to show off a few classics that will perhaps be more appreciated by the vinyl heads that go to Ya’Ya Hi-Fi regularly.”
He also explains however, that the soundtrack will differ slightly to that which is prominent at the usual BSC parties such as Alto Vidigal, admitting, “we won’t be going off into electronica and house like we normally do but its still going to be dance floor friendly!”
As far as the venue is concerned, Studio RJ opened last year and has already become the epitome of city nightlife, combining the best of traditional jazz and latin music with club tracks and house sounds. Not to mention the sublimely modern graffiti art décor adorning the walls, and the amazing view of Ipanema and Aproador beaches.
Gray adds, “It’ll be our first time playing at Studio RJ, and it’ll be good playing at a venue like that where the sound is spot on and everything is a bit more slick.”
Although the weekly Ya’Ya Hi-Fi party takes place on a Tuesday night when many people are either staying in or still recovering from the weekend, the event draws a lively crowd devoid of rookies and weekend warriors. Something that Doug Gray is not surprised at.
He states, “They have a great set up. Ya’Ya is one of the few nights that they have managed to keep going on a weekly basis and I think that’s down to the guys that run it doing the graft and getting in lots of different guest DJs and doing it for the love of vinyl, which people are still into, despite digital taking over in most clubs.”
Not that one needs further encouragement for the event which promises great music in a superb location, but an added draw is that entrance is free before midnight, and only R$10 afterwards. To find out more about the night and other events hosted at Studio RJ, visit the website.