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Discogs profile: Born in Brazil, now residing in New York, Renata Do Valle has made it her mission to marry the sounds, aesthetics, and flavours of her South American roots with those of her adopted home's past, present and future. A regular in many NYC clubs and the captain of her own Hello Sailor imprint, she lives to explore Disco, Funk, Jazz, Afrobeat and everything between and beyond through her eclectic daytime-to-dusk DJ sets and colorful records
Renata Do Valle: Instagram Soundcloud
Home is where my musical journey begins…we travel the world in search of discovery just to return and find a renewed appreciation for our ordinary day-to-day lives. When I moved to NY 13 years ago, all the way down from southern Brazil, I might have underestimated how homesick I would feel in the coming years, and how this experience would inform what my work as a DJ and music curator would become today. The lack of “Brasil-ness” as I call it, in living overseas is the reason I started collecting records in New York. I wanted my son to absorb a portion of Brazil and Portuguese language through music, to instil some South American flair into his veins. Being a native New Yorker as he is and growing up surrounded by so many beautiful cultures, it truly is a special place to learn about the world. Home is where everything comes together and music has always been the soundtrack when departing, navigating, and returning.
Through the years I reinvented myself and catered to this passion for music, which was a dormant talent until NY offered me the platform, and the music community empowered me to express my creativity. I am forever grateful to anybody who has invited me to play records, the ones who taught me and mentored me. It had to be in NY - The place of experimentation and opportunities.
The way I select music for my sets is always a love letter to both places: Brazil and NY but also that very place inside all of us who are willing to learn and be themselves, in their imperfect manners. I enjoy playing records whereas I am not mostly concerned with mixing tracks meticulously but rather telling an interesting story while keeping the integrity of the songs. Some are meant to be played from the beginning to the very end, and some are meant to be transitioned, slowly into something else. Regardless of the route it's taking, the audience, small or big, is your guide. It is a gentle dance between you and them.
When Monitor Audio offered me to try out their speakers I was very excited about the new addition to our home listening space. My living room is all off-white with lots of wood detailing (and some uninvited mice) so it was important to me to keep everything within the same neutral and serene ambiance. M.A has a few options that fit in with the aesthetic but also the audio quality is as important to me as the design. It really brings the space together and everyone that’s in it! The clarity of its sound is very soothing. I call it our little safe haven and it also happens to be HOME.
Now sit back with your favourite libation and enjoy the selection of soul songs I’ve put together for your listening pleasure with a sprinkle of street and disco, as a warm-up to your night out or for your next adventure…
Listen on: Spotify