909originals meets Batukizer – two DJs dedicated to discovering ‘un-Shazamable’ Brazilian vinyl
If you’re a fan of world music, particularly the rhythms of Brazil, chances are you may have stumbled upon Batukizer, either on YouTube or through their myriad of mixtapes on sites such as The Vinyl Factory or Le Mellotron.
The DJ duo, Carla from Brazil and Rasmus from Denmark, embarked on a quest some years ago to uncover the ‘lost classics’ of Brazilian music, discovering vinyls that are, in the words of the pair themselves, ‘un-Shazamable’.
Blending a myriad of regional genres with funk, disco and house music, their DJ sets are an exploration of all things undiscovered and tropical. They have played festivals and events in locations as diverse as Oslo, New Delhi, Paris, New York, Berlin and São Paulo, and they also recently started a show with NTS Radio, which you know is going to be special.
And if you’re wondering about the name, Batukizer is a combination of ‘Batuque’, Brazilian percussion with African roots, and ‘-izer’, a suffix to English verbs associated with actions or transformation.
909originals caught up with Batukizer’s Carla and Rasmus to chat about the project and their dedication to uncovering lost gems.
How did Batukizer come together – what concept did you have in mind when you started working together?
We are a couple that originally met through music. Carla was touring Europe and met Ras in Copenhagen.
Batukizer started as a ‘dogma’ DJ concept of trying to make purely Brazilian DJ sets matching the club energy of disco, latin, African and house music. The intent was never to cater to ex-pats or playing mainstream music, but to draw on Brazilian rhythms and music styles to curate soundtracks to open and curious crowds and dancers.
We played our first gig in 2015 at a legendary Copenhagen electronic festival called ‘Sunday Friends’ and the following year we played at Roskilde Festival and Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
We are currently living in Copenhagen, but our point of reference is always the Brazilian scene with regards to DJs, diggers and – of course – new music and artists.
Batukizer happened as a result of living two years in Brazil. Ras became a fluent Portuguese speaker and studied Brazilian culture and history. He was mindblown with the richness of Brazilian music and the fact that amazing music and rhythms are still being re-discovered. Enter some heavy digging sessions that never stopped.
What do both of you bring to the project, do you think, and why do you work so well together?
We’d like to think that the reason our mixtapes are hugely popular is that people appreciate our work to find and expose quality tunes and regional music styles. We try to go into new territories.
The formula of our discoveries and mixtapes is quite simple. Carla has a huge knowledge of Brazilian music from her background as singer and dancer, and Ras soon became determined to re-discover old and amazing tunes that he could surprise Carla with. We still work that way.
Ras is very much the active digger, running wild and always looking for records, and Carla is the deep researcher and the knowledge filter that makes the executive decisions on the important purchases and the context.
Carla, I would imagine you grew up in a musical family? How much of your record collection was previously owned by your parents/family members?
We did end up with a few records from friends and family. I grew up in Rio but with roots in Pernambuco and Minas Gerais. So I was born into the diversity of Brazilian culture.
I started dancing at a very young age – at age 6 – and my father was an avid samba fan, so memorising music, moves and rhythms are in my blood. In my teens I became a professional dancer and later back-up vocalist. So I toured all over Brazil’s 27 states with music, picking up knowledge wherever I went.
How long have both of you been collecting records, and what record shops have been essential in terms of helping you build it?
Vinyl is our thing, but we are not purists. We also enjoy playing digital and new music. We started collecting actively in 2014/2015. But we bought records many years before that.
What has helped us more than specific shops is to travel inside Brazil and discover sounds and sellers. Spending endless hours with street sellers and second hand ‘sebo’ stores play a more important part than sending lists to the top dogs in the vinyl biz. So we buy from a long list of old and new friends.
In São Paulo – the vinyl capital of our world – we love to visit Casarão and the shops at Galeria Nova Barão. The traditional street fairs in Rio and Recife are also amazing.
Many people’s idea of Brazilian music revolves around samba, bossa nova, maybe some baile funk. When preparing your sets (particularly for European audiences), in what ways do you seek to challenge their expectations?
People need to escape the algorithms, and bossa nova!
We just try to go deep and give people a really great experience. Thanks to a lot of dedicated people, DJs and record labels, the perception of Brazilian music is changing both in Brazil and abroad. We’re happy to be part of that revolution.
We try to bring energy, rich rhythms and ‘un-Shazamable’ grooves every time. We also layer our sets with bits of live percussion to enhance the rhythmic elements.
You are dedicated to playing vinyl, and I know that old vinyls in Brazil suffer from wear and tear – humidity, sun damage, mould etc. Is that a problem you encounter regularly when building your collection?
Of course. Most tropical countries have had challenges of preserving the vinyl media, both the covers and records are often damaged. That’s just life. We just try to find an affordable decent copy, and sometimes you must be patient.
But it has actually become easier. During the pandemic, vinyl sales went up by 40% in some countries and Brazilian sellers online have multiplied. Just remember you can always ask a serious seller to send you sound samples on WhatsApp before you buy.
We think it is fair that Brazilians are now profiting selling their own music directly on platforms like Instagram and Discogs, as opposed to the past where European and American sellers would profit hugely on reselling their records they found in Brazil.
With that in mind, what is your opinion of re-issues? Do you prefer the originals?
If you play or collect music – original vinyls, reissue or digital – we don’t care. Its more about what you bring to the table or your playlist.
We have a tendency towards original vinyl – because we are freaks – and it has allowed us to re-discover a lot of tunes, but once a song is digitised and distributed, it doesn’t really matter.
Since Discogs came along, it seems that the price of old records has risen hugely. Is there still value to be had out there?
Some smart people say that value of used vinyl has risen on average 10% a year.
But the real value is about spending hours immersed in a record store, gifting someone a longtime wanted LP or building your personal collection and enjoying it.
What advice would you give for somebody eager to build a record collection of rarities and lesser-known tracks, either from Brazil or elsewhere?
Start with the 1980s. There are plenty of cheap records and many things are still being re-discovered. Plus the sounds are fresh, wild and synthy. Get your classic grails on decent re-press, and spend your hard-earned money curating your own style and to travel – sustainably – to make musical discoveries.
We’re coming to the end of the year, what were your highlights of 2023, and is there anything in particular that you are looking forward to in 2024?
Our new residency on NTS, going deep into Brazilian dance music. Also playing a sold out Jazz Café in London with our friends from My Analog Journal, and doing two tours in Brazil, covering four cities and 20 gigs.
In 2024, we are looking at more international gigs and festivals. See you out there!
Thanks Carla and Rasmus for talking to us. Keep up to date with Batukizer via their Instagram page. Main photo by Caroline Bittencourt.
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