MRNY Special Events :: Interview :: Interview with DJ Paulo

The man who put "Tribal" in Lady Gaga’s "Bad Romance," the song of the year, DJ Paulo recently got the call from the Saint-at-Large to play Black Party XXXI, the annual pagan paean to everything debauched and decadent that takes place during the weekend of the vernal equinox at Roseland Ballroom in New York Fucking City. Given that Paulo (also known as "Lord of the Drums") has played Black Party twice before, this year’s version of the Saint-at-Large’s Rites make this Paulo’s Triple Crown, as it were.

Fresh from his sensational gigs in Rio for Carnaval and Sydney Mardi Gras, Paulo, co-founder of Pure Music Productions, took a break from the studio where’s he’s been mixing tracks for Black Party to tell us about what he’s got in store for his devoted tribal tribe on the night of March 20th, 2010.

MRNY: Congrats on your upcoming Black Party. This is your third time playing, right? When were the other years?

PAULO: Off the top of my head, I don’t remember. I think it was 2002 and 2004.

MRNY: That sounds about right. You know, Paulo, the buzz on the street is that this year the Saint-at-Large got it perfectly right in choosing you, and Hector Fonseca, and Ana Paula.

PAULO: That’s good to know that people are digging the line-up.

MRNY: Yeah, it definitely increases the anticipation. Black Party is one of those events where people seem to be feel personally engaged in the selection of the deejays. What is it about Black Party that attracts such dedicated music people?

PAULO: I think people just want to make sure they have a good time and that the music is appropriate for the party. You don’t want to put just anyone in charge of that party musically.

MRNY: Had you ever been to the Black Party before playing it? What do you remember about your first Black Party?

PAULO: Yes, I went to Black Party in the late 90’s, a couple of times. I was impressed at the size of the room.

MRNY: The largest ballroom in New York.

PAULO: Now that I’ve spun that room five times, it doesn’t seem as big anymore. [laughing]

MRNY: Yeah, as Norma Desmond says, "I am big; it’s the pictures that got small."

PAULO: [laughing] Or kind of like going back to your elementary school and how much smaller everything seems.

MRNY: Exactly. And speaking of the past- Black Party has musical traditions that stretch back nearly thirty years. And we’re talking tracks such as "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff’s cantata, Carmina Burana, and Erasure’s "Blue Savannah, and Abba’s "The Visitors," and about a dozen other songs that a certain contingent yearns to hear every year.

PAULO: Yes, I believe you have to approach this party differently; it has a history.

MRNY: That first year that you played Black Party, how did you reconcile the Black Party musical traditions with your own set list?

PAULO: I just did a lot of research. I have been going to clubs since the 80’s, before AIDS, when clubbing was so different, when music was the main reason people went out. A lot has changed since then.

MRNY: You know, there’s a documentary "Gay Sex in the Seventies," which addresses that point: how music was the driving force behind so much of the sexual energy. Where’d you get your nightclubbing chops?

PAULO: I was going to clubs in D.C. when I was in high school: Tracks, Lost & Found, Badlands, you name it.

MRNY: D.C. has always had a strong night vibe-somewhat greater than its size.

PAULO: When I moved to Paris for five years, I used to go out all the time. That’s where I started deejaying. Then [I lived] in London for a couple of years [where] Heaven was the hot spot. Then I moved back to the States in 1991 and I did the circuit thing a bit. I’ve always been immersed in the club life, but initially more as an observer than a participant.

MRNY: It seems like we’re kind of saying that our history is written in our music. So what does that mean for a Black Party deejay?

PAULO: A deejay just can’t just go in and play his current set for Black Party. One has to diligently weave some old stuff into a much more current sound. And I don’t mean play the original track either-because music has evolved.

MRNY: Building on the old to create the new.

PAULO: One has to remix, re-edit, and rearrange music so that it sounds current, [which I’ll] do with a few Black Party Saint classics-but both Steve Pevner and I agreed that it was time to bring the party to a new era while finding a way to give a nostalgic drop here and there.

MRNY: Which is really a question of retaining the best of the past while moving Black Party into the future-sounds good. Does that mean we’ll be witnessing the emergence of a new sound from you?

PAULO: This year, I’ll be playing very differently than my last two gigs at Roseland. My job is to create a very sexual vibe and I intend to do that.

MRNY: As if that’s ever been a problem with you. You’re pretty much noted for being the aural personification of sex.

PAULO: [laughing] People know that, musically, I’m very versatile.

MRNY: We’re not touching that.

PAULO: [laughing] I can spin a Work Party, which has an edgier sound, or an Alegria, with its bouncier feel-good sound, or a very sexual leather event, or I can do an early club event. It just requires doing some homework.

MRNY: So, this year, you’ve got the center spot in the three-act production, which is traditionally when the floor at Roseland is most packed. What are you thinking?

PAULO: I’m working with Saint-At-Large to musically work on their theme "revolutionary cell block tango." If I had to describe my sound for that night in two words: sexual and masculine. We’re not going for cha-cha or cunty on this one.

MRNY: Sexual and masculine. We’re calling John Bartlett right now.

PAULO: I want to create such a sexual vibe that the whole dance floor turns into a huge orgy-like the last episode of "True Blood." [laughing]

MRNY: Texting Chi-chi La Rue, as we speak. So what track is gonna get this orgy started?

PAULO: I really dig this bootleg I did of Latour’s mix of "People are Still Having Sex". It’s very appropriate.

MRNY: Given your intentions, it sounds perfect. Your latest podcast is called "Tribal Romance," which is obviously a kind of Paulo/Lady Gaga marriage-if Nurse will pardon us for saying so...

PAULO: It’s no secret that I like Lady Gaga and even though I will not be able to play her "vocal" tracks during Black Party, you can be assured that you’ll hear her voice talking one way or another somewhere during my set.

MRNY: Excellent-because let’s face it, Gaga and her theatrical skills embody at least some aspect of the Black Party. The backstory treatment for this year’s Black Party runs to twelve pages-of incredible detail. What did you think when you read it?

PAULO: In a way, it’s almost as if I am creating a soundtrack for a movie, which in this case is the backdrop of the Black Party. You’ll have to see it to believe it.

MRNY: That’s what people always used to say after seeing the original Saint, which was, previously, Fillmore East. For the past nineteen years, Roseland has done a pretty good job of standing in for the original Saint. As someone who’s played Roseland five times, what do you think it is about Roseland that makes it special?

PAULO: It has the ideal club layout: two levels, [with the advantage of] being able to look down from the second level. This compounded with its enormous size-

MRNY: And then when you mix in the extraordinary production values employed by the Saint-at-Large to transport Black Party celebrants to a completely unique time and place-

PAULO: I have always been impressed by the lights they bring for this event. For me, it’s more about the music and how the music works with the lights than [it is about] the décor. It’s the sexual vibe that one has to create, with the synergy of the lights and the music, alongside the "theme" of the party.

MRNY: On your website, you give thanks to those fans who "get" the music. What do you mean by that? Would you say that your music requires some education?

PAULO: Absolutely. I have never been one to play too commercial. I’ve always strived to find the right balance between entertaining my crowd and educating them with new sounds, whether it be tribal, progressive, tech, or whatever. The tremendous support I have gotten lately has been overwhelming and I am truly always thankful for the support of my fans and those who "get what I do." It keeps me motivated to bring more and to work harder.

MRNY: We know Paulo fans who would follow your lead into oncoming traffic-and these are often music heads who are truly immersed in the music world-and they’re very particular about who they listen to-and you’re their man. What aspect of your music drives these people?

PAULO: I think [that] musically, after some time, one matures with their musical style. It keeps changing and evolving. I, myself, try to see where music goes, who’s doing what. It’s important to have an open mind to new musical genres.

MRNY: We’re not even in the spring of 2010, and already this year, you’ve played Carnival in Rio, and Sydney Mardi Gras, and now Black Party. Is 2010 your "monster fame" year?

PAULO: A lot of people are saying this is my year [and] I’m grateful for that. I have several other big things coming up: Gay Days Arabian Nights, and also I’ll be returning to Alegria this year for a really special event to be announced soon.

MRNY: You know, Paulo, we remember first meeting you at Billboard Live some ten years ago, thanks to Nurse, and it’s been really wonderful to witness your growth as an artist during this past decade. Here’s to you-and to this year’s Black Party revolution!

PAULO: Thank you!