PT DJs · Selected Sets · Music Releases curated by M.J.Mellow
PARTY TALK:
Ramboiage
When you listen today to a production you made fifteen years ago, what surprises you most: what has changed, or what was already there?
Ramboiage:
Both. Some tracks I listen to today and think, “This guy knew what he was doing.” Others I listen to and just feel like pressing stop and going back to fix everything.
What was the moment, place or track that made you want to become a DJ/producer?
Ramboiage:
I have a bad memory — good excuse. But if I have to point the finger at something: “Shades of Jae” by Moodymann.Guilty.
Disco Taco also puts you in the role of co-founder. What does this project allow you to create that doesn't fit inside a track or a DJ set?
Ramboiage:
Hugs, friends, strangers who become friends, and Hugo Candeias' tacos — my partner in Disco Taco, one of my closest friends and probably the best chef I know personally.
This doesn't fit in a set. It fits in a party.
What is your most unexpected influence outside music?
Ramboiage:
Right now, just one — and it's huge: my daughter, who is due in December.
I've already started planning an EP just for her.
On your new EP, each track represents one of your favourite beaches. What did you want to explore through each one? And, ultimately, what's your favourite beach?
Ramboiage:
“Cordoama” came about because my girlfriend said, “Give it that name, it's my favourite beach.” And that's it — it stuck.
From there came the idea of making two more tracks named after other beaches along the coast.
As for my favourite beach? Honestly, I'm more of a terrace on the sand, with snacks and a very cold beer, than lying on a towel in the sun.
SOUNDPROOF
RAMBOIAGE
the art of Ramboia (party)
There are artists who become known for a particular sound. And then there are artists who become part of a city's collective scene.
Ramboiage is a bit of both
For more than a decade, the name of Vítor Silveira has been closely connected to Portugal's dance music culture. DJ, producer, programmer and, above all, a passionate advocate for the dancefloor, he has built a career that follows several chapters of Lisbon's nightlife, from intimate clubs to large-scale productions, from the booth to the studio, and from music selection to artistic direction.
His story began in Bairro Alto, where he started playing records and discovering Lisbon's nightlife through places such as Frágil, Clube da Esquina, Maria Caxuxa and Bedroom. His path eventually led him to Lux Frágil, where he became a resident and remained until 2016.
Lux became an important chapter in his career. At a time when Lisbon's nightlife was developing an increasingly distinctive identity, Ramboiage became a regular presence at one of the city's most influential dancefloors. But his relationship with music has never been limited to playing records.
From the booth to programming
In 2016, Ramboiage took on the artistic direction of Brunch Electronik Lisboa, adding another dimension to his career: after years of learning how to read a dancefloor from behind the decks, he began shaping the experience of an audience from the other side.
That programming experience complements a musical identity built around groove, discovery and the ability to create a narrative without being confined by rigid genre boundaries.
A sound with memory
Disco, funk, house, nu-disco, electronic music, the references may be many, but one characteristic remains constant throughout the Ramboiage universe: the music has to move.
There is a clear connection to 1970s disco and funk and to American house music, but these references are treated as raw material rather than a formula. The result is a language familiar enough to trigger recognition, yet open enough to keep surprising.
Over the years, that language has taken him well beyond Lisbon. Ramboiage has performed internationally in cities including New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, Mexico City, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Paris, as well as at festivals such as NOS Alive, MEO Sudoeste, Super Bock Super Rock, Rock in Rio Lisboa and Dimensions.
His production career has developed alongside his DJ work, with releases and remixes on international labels and a discography that has progressively established his identity beyond the booth.
Coast to Coast
And this is where we arrive at the latest chapter.
In August, Ramboiage released his new Coast to Coast EP, exclusively through Traxsource, featuring three tracks: “Arribana”, “Cordoama” and “Baleal”.
Three titles. Three places. One journey along the Portuguese coast.
The title Coast to Coast opens another way of looking at his work. After years associated with dancefloors, clubs and major festivals, there is something more territorial about this release, a connection between music and the Portuguese shores.
And one question naturally follows: what do these places mean to Ramboiage?
That's a story we wanted to hear directly from him.
When music leaves the dancefloor
That same ability to think of music as a shared experience also appears in Disco Taco, the project Ramboiage developed with chef Hugo Candeias.
The idea is as simple as it is effective: bring disco, tacos and cocktails together in the same space.
The project began as a pop-up in Lisbon and grew through different editions and venues, bringing together Ramboiage's musical selection and Hugo Candeias' cooking in an environment where dinner and dancefloor can naturally coexist.
Disco Taco is interesting precisely because it feels like a natural extension of what Ramboiage has been doing throughout his career.
Music as a meeting point.
A career built around the dancefloor
Perhaps that's the best way to look at Ramboiage's journey.
More than a succession of clubs, festivals, labels and projects, there is a continuous thread: the desire to create moments people want to stay in.
That was the case at Lux.
It was the case in his programming work.
It continues to be present in the music he produces.
And it becomes particularly literal with Disco Taco.
Now, with Coast to Coast, there is another journey to take.
This time, along the roads that connect the dancefloor to the Atlantic.
This month, in the Lisbon Party People DJ Booth, we sit down with Ramboiage to talk about his journey, the Portuguese scene, production, programming, his new Coast to Coast EP and what still makes a true ramboia.
And the chosen theme for this edition is Cordoama, Ramboiage´s favourite beach.
