By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On September 10th, the bar and hostel, Alto Vidigal will host the Heartbeatz party, a special event with profits going to social projects in Rio de Janeiro. The party will feature two DJs spinning during the night: Jody King , a British DJ and creator of the Favela Phoenix, an English school in Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela Rocinha and German DJ and musician Seth Schwarz.
Schwarz is a classically trained violinist who merges violin and additional live instruments with genres of electronic music including house, techno, and electronica, among others in his original productions. He is known to perform live with his electric violin during sets.
When asked how he would describe his current style and the evolution of his music productions, Schwarz, who spoke with The Rio Times via email while en route to a performance at this year’s at Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States, said; “I find that a very hard question, as describing something so individual is always a matter of perspective and background.”
Continuing, “But for me it’s blend of melodic techno and various styles of house with influences of hip hop, classical music and disco topped by improvising on my electric violin to the music that I play. Creating epic moments in between trolling beats, always energetic, catchy and humorous.”
“For me, combining those two things that I really like on stage is always lots of fun,” Schwarz added. “Playing the music that I like, combining it with tracks that I produce and adding that feeling of a live played instrument during the set instead of only pushing buttons…I think that’s the combination that makes people smile on the dance floor too, as they can see me playing, throwing in a violin loop and pushing the breaks even further in the tracks before the break takes it down again and people move to the bass.”
Asked how he began his musical career and what originally inspired him, Schwarz replied; “My mother said the first instruments my three siblings and I played at home were pots and kitchen accessories, that we would use to make rhythms.”
“Then in first grade, my mom took me to a music school and I was offered various instruments,” Schwarz continued.”The sound of the violin attracted me the most. I took violin lessons for the next twelve years and played in various orchestras and went to a high school that taught singing, piano and music theory next to the general mandatory subjects.”
“So, I got used to coming home late, but that didn’t mean that I had no time for skateboarding or being part of a rap combo in my teens. When I was about fifteen I started combining the violin sounds with beats and rap, later I became more and more attracted to electronic music, from then until nowadays,” Schwarz explained.
The HeartBeatz party will take place in the pacified Vidigal favela community in Alto Vidigal, an expat-owned hostel and bar that has become well known for its late-night parties and for its breathtaking views of the city including the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon.
No stranger to Alto Vidigal, British DJ Jody King counts the venue as one of the many places he has played in during his over sixteen-year career. Making a name for himself with sets in England, Spain, and throughout Rio, King is well known for his unique blends of deep, progressive, and atmospheric house and techno.
Last year, inspired by his love of and a desire to give back to the Rocinha favela, which he has called home for over two years, King opened Favela Phoenix, an English school in the community.
When speaking of the Heartbeatz party, King told The Rio Times; “All money is going to favela charities, so this party is for a very good purpose. We really hope it is popular and can help some local charities!”
Schwarz said of the party “I am, of course, very excited about the upcoming event. It’s my first time playing in Brasil and South America in general, which makes it very special to me. […] I am going to turn thirty during the night while playing, and this might just open up a new chapter in my life.”
Asked about his expectations for the event Schwarz added, “I try to not expect anything. I am just wishing that the energy found on the dance floor will travel through the crowd and back to me so everybody will have a great time and maybe experience some kind of new vibe they haven’t yet danced to.”
The entrance fee to the party will be only R$30 with a kilo of non-perishable food before midnight and R$50 with a kilo of non-perishable food after midnight. Organizers state that the food will be donated and distributed to those in communities that need it most and that the party’s profits will go to social projects in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.
For additional information, see the Facebook event page.
What: HeartBeatz @ Vidigal
When: September 10th, 10PM
Where: Alto Vidigal, Rua Armando de Almeida Lima 2, Arvrao
Entrance: R$30 w/a kilo of non-perishable food before midnight, R$50 w/ a kilo of non-perishable food after midnight, R$40 – R$60 without food.