Rui da Silva is a name synonymous with charted dance music success. With its progressive acid house experimentation, and tracks like So Get Up back in 1994, his infectious Underground Sound of Lisbon dance outfit of the early nineties was supported by NYC legends Danny Tenaglia and Junior Vasquez, whilst the seminal classic 'Touch Me,' reached thousands of clubbers and dance floors worldwide when it ascended to number one overall in 2001 – a resounding success for a track that is still regarded as one of the greatest and well-known dance records of all time.
So indeed what has Rui been getting up to? The Portugese DJ and producer has armed himself for the new era of dance music in the form of the “New Lover” EP on his own label, Kismet Records, serving a hypnotising blend of tribalised vocals and lustrous house. Sophie G James caught up with Rui to dig the dirt on the latest. Read on, and don't forget to download Rui's exclusive mix for Pulse Radio below.
The latest track, “New Lover,” is absolutely stunning. It's great to see you're still serving up such delightful electronic treats. The production is seamless and vocals are super tight. How did the collab with Penny F come about? We share the same publishing company, and when I was still living in Ibiza, I organised several weeks of writing camps, and Penny was one of the writers that came to one of those camps. We have since then written countless songs that still has to see the release one day. This first song is just a taster of things to come and we are very excited with the reception we got from it. The beats and bass are super tight and Penny's hook is just the icing on the cake.
You've been quiet for the last couple years - where've you been and what have you been up to? I've been locked away in the studio creating tunes and been busy writing a couple of albums that are nearly ready for release. This year is seeing also the coming back of Underground Sound Of Lisbon, so it is shaping up to be an extremely busy year.
“New Lover” sits so perfectly with where many people's heads and hearts are at the moment. Have you been following your compadre’s outputs continuously, and if so which other artists are you enamoured by at the moment? I'm always following what my piers are up to, and I'm always curious of people that are pushing boundaries. Current people that are grabbing my attention are people like Clams Casino, Jon Hopkins, DJ Koze, Daniel Avery and few others...
After the success of “Touch Me,” did you feel you had to conform or redeliver, or did it creatively open doors? After “Touch Me,” I felt that I needed to find out what I wanted to do next, and I decided to take a break from working with songwriters, vocalists and songs. So I took a sabbatical in Ibiza for several years to dedicate time to my family and to focus on re-learning my craft and skills.
Have you ever thought about giving “Touch Me” a modern day reboot, or is it too timeless? I think it is a timeless classic and my focus has been on creating new music.
Does it drive you mad that people will always ask you about that track? Not at all, I think it is part of who I am and what I have achieved, and I'm always happy to tell people what they want to find out about the track.
Spanning your career, are there any particular unrelenting inspirations you find yourself drawing on? I think I find most of my inspiration from listening to other people's music and wanting to create a similar emotion with my music.
What have been some of your favourite labels to work with? Which do you feel are really contributing something truly creatively unique? I enjoyed working with Tribal America right at the beginning of my career. They were all a very creative, like-minded bunch of people making good quality house music. From Murk to Deep Dish to Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez and countless others, we all came through from the determination and drive of the original label manager, Rob Di Stefano, in believing in the music we were doing.
Any big projects in the pipeline for your label, Kismet? Yes, we have a busy year of releases on Kismet records with new artists getting signed, and we also are looking to start a sub-label that’s focused on the more song-based side of dance music with potential cross over appeal.
And for you in the coming year? I'm involved in finishing my solo album and also working in developing other artists as a producer and beat-maker. I also have a new project called Lisbon Kid with an album scheduled for later this year. Underground Sound of Lisbon are also back headlining Rock In Rio in Lisbon with a live show, so there is plenty going on for this year.
Do you suffer for your art? I suffer for my art daily.
Tell us your secret life philosophy. Persistence, Practise, Perseverance
The "New Lover" EP is out now on Kismet Records: http://www.beatport.com/release/new-lover-ep/1234256
Listen to Rui Da Silva on Pulse Radio.