Brasil Meu Amor - Entrevista com DJ Ferrari

Recentemente, um post no sempre interessante fórum Soulstrut conduziu-me até uma excelente mix de título Brasil Meu Amor da autoria de um participativo membro dessa comunidade que responde pelo nome de DJ Ferrari. Depois de contactado por mim, Dj Ferrari aceitou responder a algumas perguntas por mail. As respostas encontram-se abaixo, em inglês. Decidi não traduzir porque os leitores deste blogue entendem perfeitamente a língua de James Brown. Desta maneira ficam a conhecer DJ Ferrari um pouco melhor, têm acesso ao seu site que tem várias outras mixes para descarregar, perfeito combustível para o iPod e para os dias de sol que se aproximam.
Boa leitura e boas audições!

DJ FERRARI - BRASIL MEU AMOR

Can you please introduce yourself? Where are you from, how long have you been djing and collecting?

My name is Ivan aka DJ Ferrari. The name does not originate from the car maker, but rather from my mother, Susan “Red” Ferrari, an accomplished pianist and composer. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and am a Silicon Valley Marketing professional by day and a hobbyist DJ/producer/record collector by night. I’ve been DJing since 1998, but it took a few years after that to develop an appreciation and obsession for the artifact itself to consider myself a collector.

What would you say are your main areas of interest, musically speaking?

I like to think of my musical tastes as being very diverse due to the vast catalogs of rare records worldwide, but in reality it is quite narrow with a focus on funk, soul, jazz and psychedelic music from the 60s and 70s. Even so, the music and the records are endless. Everything from funk 45s to Latin and African funk to psych to Brazilian and more. I do appreciate some newer music, but I mostly focus on the old stuff.

You just presented a brazilian mix on the soulstrut board. How long have you been collecting brazilian music?

I’ve been interested Brazilian records for about 5 years now, but only seriously collecting for the past 2 or 3 years. It all began when I just happened to pick up a Jorge Ben Greatest Hits LP from a nearby record store’s dollar bin. At the time I was mostly a funk, soul and psych collector so the introduction of regional samba and bossa nova sounds to what I was already into really appealed to my tastes. My obsession really blew up when I went to Brazil. I came back with a ton of records and haven’t stopped. This mix is the first in what will be a very long series of Brazilian mixes ranging from mellow to dancefloor oriented samba, bossa nova, MPB, soul, funk, psych, folk and jazz.

So you went to Brazil to dig for records?

I went to Brazil for the first time this past November by myself on a sort of pilgrimage. Music is where my love for Brazil originated, but I have since become fascinated by all aspects of the culture including the language, music and dance. I spent one week in Sao Paulo and one week in Rio de Janeiro and plan to return soon. I spent a solid portion of that trip digging for records, but also spent time exploring the areas and beaches, meeting interesting people at cafes, bars and clubs, drinking way too many caipirinhas and poorly attempting to samba dance with all the beautiful women.

My favorite and most sketchy digging story happened in Sao Paulo. At the time, my Portuguese was very poor, but I managed to contact a record dealer to look at his private collection. His English was as bad as my Portuguese, but we managed to arrange a meeting at my hotel where he would then drive me to his house. He, like everyone else in Sao Paulo, drove like a maniac and I was clutching my seatbelt for dear life. We drove quite far out of the city into the more disturbing areas of the surrounding favelas. After about 30 minutes I started to panic because I thought there was a good chance this was an old fashioned tourist kidnapping. I had been warned heavily to be careful, but had not even considered the danger because I was blinded by the prospect of records. 45 minutes into the drive we arrive at his house. The streets are crowded with kids and everyone is just staring at me as I get out of the car because of my extremely white skin and obvious tourist look. All was okay in the end, he was a very nice man who lived with his mother and had a room full of thousands of records. I spent a few hours there picking through everything and walked away with some serious heat. He then nicely drove me back to my hotel.

Why would you say brazilian music is so appealing even for people that do not understand the portuguese language?

It is definitely an acquired taste, but it is appealing to so many people because of the fusion of so many styles. Brazil is such a diverse country with so many influences and that shows in the music. Also, the language itself is beautiful even if you don’t understand it. I was joking with a friend recently that the actual lyrics could be something simple like Happy Birthday, but we’d never know or care because it would still sound amazing.

You are a very active member of the soulstrut comunity. What's your best soulstrut story? A trade, a friend, something you read on the board...

The Soulstrut community has been an invaluable resource to my DJing and collecting, but the best part about it is the real world encounters. There’s not a place in the world without a Strutter willing to host or show you around. Even in Brazil I had a Strutter take me to all the record stores and flea markets. I’ve been an active member and contributor since the beginning so it would be hard to settle on one best story, but I’ll try with one that sticks out in my mind. I live in a big house with a pool and a hot tub in the backyard so I host a lot of summer parties. One time I had a few Strutters over because a prominent New York member was in town. We all shared the turntables in the backyard while drinking heavily all day. Needless to say, hilarity ensued. The NY Strutter disappeared at one point, but we found him 4 hours later asleep in his running car in the driveway. You had to be there to appreciate how funny it really was.

Do you think there's still enough vinyl out there for people who are just now starting to collect?

There will always be enough vinyl out there to start collecting, but people will either have to be extremely more resourceful or willing to pay market value if they want to build a solid collection. The days of finding well known rarities in local shops or even thrift stores for a dollar are fading rapidly. I’ve been fortunate to become successful enough in my professional life that I can afford to pay market value for my records. The only time I get out there and dig anymore is when I’m travelling. I did put in my years of daily thrift store and early market flea market/garage sale digging, but I’m over that for the most part. I do think that is a necessary step to becoming a serious record collector because it really makes you appreciate what you’re digging for.

Give us a top 5 of your Brazilian heat.

I have a hard time with Top 5 lists because I hate to leave anything out, but I’ll give it a shot. First of all, I’d say almost all of Jorge Ben’s records are at the top. I treat his records to Brazilian music as I treat James Brown’s records to funk music… start there and move on… until you’re buying an original Arthur Verocai LP like me.

Top 5 of the rare flavor

Paulo Bagunca - e a Tropa Maldita
Arthur Verocai – S/T
Vox Populi – S/T
Luiz Eca y La Familia Sagrada – La Nueva Onda de Brasil
Cravo e Canela – Preco de Cada Um

Top 5 of the more common flavor

Novos Baianos – Acabou Chorare
Joyce – Feminina
Antonio Carlos e Jocafi – Mudei de Idea
Gal Costa – 1st S/T
Os Caculas - S/T

The Brasil Meu Amor mix series dedicated to my passion for all things Brazilian will cover all styles including bossa nova, samba, MPB, soul, funk, psych, folk and jazz. The first mix leans more towards the psych and folk realm. Over 70 minutes of the best and rarest Brazilian records from the 60s and 70s. All original pressings of course... yes, including the Verocai! Stay tuned for more deep mixes in this series soon.

Brasil meu Amor Mix