Interview DJ Carloid By Chris, 2 June 2004

On last Traffic in may 2004 I first heard Carloid play in the Café of the Melkweg.
I was happily surprised by the records he played and the fluent mixes.
After asking a bit around and surfing the internet I found very little information about this dj. That's when I decided to mail Bart Skils for his email addres. Besides Carloids mail addres, Bart told me his real name was Carlos Nascimento, he is a nice guy and that he is very good at mixing minimal and harder techno! Time for some introducing questions!

Where are you from? And how's the dance scene over there?
I am from Brazil but I have left the country 6 years ago to live in Holland and only get to know about the scene via the internet (thank God for that) or whenever I go there. During this time I missed the latest electronic music explosion when things became really big and more commercial with mega raves, mega parties, mega everything. The Techno scene started in the first half of the 90s in Sao Paulo where the fresh sounds of techno had a home in the influential Hells Club with the resident DJ Mau Mau.
Brazil's impact on the world scene was first felt with Drum'n'bass (Marky, XRS, Patife) but lately also with Techno (Renato Cohen, Mau Mau). Some DJ's are also touring Europe lately and soon names like Pet Duo and Murphy will become more familiar here. I am sure that I am missing a lot of names since I don't live there anymore.
The scene there is growing fast with a lot of fresh DJ talents and producers but the more commercial aspects are dominant. Still, there are many options to go out and dance every week some of the biggest cities(especially in Sao Paulo) and there are some promoters and organizations that care about quality and bringing new stuff for the people and a few DJ's that are a bit more adventurous but these do not get a lot of exposure in the media and places to play. I guess its pretty much the same as anywhere. What makes it really special is the people and the party locations (not to mention the cheap drinks if you have

When did you start dj-ing?
I started playing records (and CDs) for people to dance around 95-96. At the time I was listening and playing a lot of alternative/indie rock mixed with more known dance stuff (Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Daft Punk, etc.) in the alternative bars and clubs and also at some concerts. I was already listening to a lot of Techno but I didn't have a lot of stuff to play at the time though. Also it was really hard to get anything decent to play if you didn't live in Sao Paulo. Eventually I started to buy and play more techno. My first gig playing techno only was in '97 and then I started to get booked to play in the electronic music clubs.

Do you also produce records? Any future plans?
Not yet, of course I also have the desire to produce but I am still learning and would only put some stuff out when I feel it's right and can make a difference.
For the time I like to concentrate on Djing.

I saw you at Traffic and found on the internet you've also played at Techno Rumba, did you have any other gigs in Holland? (What have we missed?)
That's pretty much it. I played in the old Time(Item)club (nowadays the 020, red.), at Club 8 and some parties organized by Sonic Research (http://www.sonic.action.at) too.
It's easier to find me playing in bars around Amsterdam (Café Vaaghuyzen, DJ Cafi Tetra, etc.). A funny story happened once when I played for 5 hours at a live art exposition where people were doing paintings and graffiti live with spray cans and after a few hours I was getting a bit intoxicated with the smell coming out of it… I finished playing with a mask in my face! I looked like the blokes of Altern8.

Do you like (playing in) Holland?
Yes, the people here love techno and are very knowledgeable in general. Also because of the amount of good DJs playing here the level and the expectations are high and I try to make it as interesting as possible for the people to listen to my sets since they have ears used to good DJs playing. In the end it makes it all more exciting and challenging for me.

Bart Skils told me you are good at playing minimal as well as harder techno sets. What do you like best?
I really like to play music no matter what and have fun playing both. I would say Techno since it is what started it all to me and because of its non-conformity and desire to try and experiment new things.
It was the more minimal and 'dubbier' side of Techno that brought me into the minimal sounds.

Minimal is very hot at the moment, some people even call it a hype!
What's your oppinion about that?
The media creates hypes not the public. If magazines, web zines, etc. decide that it will be the next big thing then it will become a hype, otherwise it won't.
I do have noticed that it has been a bit more of exposure for this sound as of lately and some magazine covers too (Trax, good French magazine actually) but I don't know how big it is around the world or outside of Holland and Germany to make it a hype. Also it only appeals to some fans of House and Techno so I am not sure how big it will be really, maybe only inside those circles. Whenever the English magazines start to promote it and call it the 'future of dance music' or whatever then it might become hype (until something else is 'discovered'). Still, it is a style that allows you to incorporate and mix different stuff and there is room for DJ's that have been playing it for longer to set themselves apart from the ones that will jump into the bandwagon. At the end the public will decide.

What are your favourite Labels and Records at this moment?
Labels:
Perlon, Minus, Telegraph, Trapez, Spectral, Musik Krause, Warp, Arc, Counterbalance, PVC, Tsunami, IM, anything on Downwards.

Records:
HU/Mary, Hu & Anna/Inceptive
Grovskopa/Untitled (Emergence 07)/Emergence D-Knox/A new beginning/Sonic Mind V.A./Animal Worship RMXs/Rodz Konez Gennaro le Fosse/Beg4More/Convolute
V.A./Untitled/Rsb2
Narcotic Syntax/Calculated Extravagant
Licentiousness/Perlon
Unknown/(Must 01)/Must
Wang Inc./Woods Roads: the premixes/Context Tim Wright/The Ride rmx/Novamute

Who are you favourite dj's/ producers?
DJ's:
Surgeon
Richie Hawtin
Jeff Mills
Toky and Dalo
Oscar Mulero
Ricardo Villalobos

Producers:
Surgeon
Regis
Christian Wünsch
Rumenige
Olga+Jozef
Ian J. Richardson
Reeko
Ricardo Villalobos
Wighnomy Bros.
Matthew Dear
Monolake

What are your plans for the future?
Try to play as much as possible in Holland before moving to Barcelona this summer, then try to play as much as possible there

Who do we have to contact for your bookings?
Me directly (djcarloid@yahoo.com) or the guys at X5 Industries (http://www.technorumba.com)

Is there anything I forgot to ask you that you want to share with us?
I was a professional skateboarder in Brazil in the beginning of the 90's… Now really, support your local DJ's, demand more for your money and never forget to have fun!
Thanks for the support and for this interview!

Thanks for your time!

_Chris