Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/106003
GUESTLIST Issue 47 / 2013 www.guestlist.net 11 7 RENATO RATIER AHEAD OF THE D-EDGE We got the lowdown from Renato Ratier the owner of D-Edge, one of Brazil's finest clubs. Even within the realms of electronic music - where dreamers, free spirits, sycophants, entrepreneurs and all sorts of artistic rogues and unique characters tend to occupy a fair chunk of the space - Renato Ratier's story is still a fairly exceptional one. Born to wealthy farmowning parents from Brazil's countryside, Ratier has gone on to weave his story in his own inimitable style, and it's one that's as indebted to the music he loves, as it is to his unquestionable industry acumen. For not only is Ratier a shrewd businessman, but he's also the brains behind globally renowned Sao Paulo nightclub D-Edge, as well as a partner in another of Brazil's clubbing wonders of the world, Warung. It's not often you speak to someone who almost singlehandedly influenced the sounds and trends of a city of over 18 million people, but then Renato Ratier isn't your average guy - as Guestlist discovered recently on a balmy Sao Paulo afternoon… "My family's main business is agriculture and farming. They also own a few warehouses too, so I started [working] with that. But it wasn't until I was about 16 that I started doing parties. Then I stopped for a while when I went to university, where I studied a sort of agricultural science. Then I moved to Rio to study law, but I actually quit that and moved to the US for a few years. After that, I moved back to Brazil and started working in fashion and doing parties again. And then in '99 I started a club. And it's kind of snowballed from there." Indeed it has, and what He continues: "There was never just one type of music, I listened to anything I could back then". It soon becomes clear therefore, that Ratier is a man who finds it difficult to stand still, and a person consumed with numerous eclectic activities. Which perhaps explains why he credit for. The stone-cold truth however, is that Ratier was (and still is) a pivotal cog in a scene that's every bit as fledging as Brazil's economy. Having opened the original D-Edge in Campo Grande in 1996 (close to where his parents live), Ratier was forced to close the club "D-Edge isn't so much inspired by other clubs, it's very much a unique entity, which is what we always wanted" a story it's been. Nowadays, Renato Ratier is amongst Brazil's most high profile figures in what's become a burgeoning electronic music scene. His journey to this point was kickstarted in LA, for it was here where Ratier "first became truly obsessed with music". "A year later" he tells us, he "moved to Newport Beach, and was going to all these different type of parties, everything from raves in desserts to crazy disco parties." is obsessed by both musical and business ventures. Nonetheless, he is quick to point out that he's "careful to strike a balance the two", before he races into a five minute tangent about the importance of maintaining this equilibrium. Another aspect of his life that he is similarly clear and outspoken on is Brazil's electronic music scene: a scene that he – perhaps with some sort of artificial modestly – doesn't like to take too much after a hospital was built directly opposite, making it logistically impossible to run a club in the location. When he closed the club, he soon realised his life "had to take on a different direction", although it did force him to learn "not to give up, to persevere, to believe and to be patient." So rather than becoming disheartened, Ratier set his sights on the current club in Sao Paulo, a nightspot that over the course of the last decade or so, has become arguably South America's most globally renowned. To truly understand why, it's advisable that you experience a night at the club first hand, although Ratier's philosophy goes some way to explaining its success too: "D-Edge isn't so much inspired by other clubs, it's very much a unique entity, which is what we always wanted. Mitu, the designer, had a similar mentality, because we wanted to do something different. When we came up with the concept we wanted to do something that was like a machine, like there was loads of different ideas and all the rooms were like giant hardware systems. The first room we always wanted loads of colour, the second room is almost retro yet futuristic with all the lights. And that's like Sao Paulo is a way." Ah, Sao Paulo. Ratier's adopted home and a place he holds dear to his heart. For more information check out www.d-edge.com.br