- You’d think that being the owner of São Paulo nightspot D-Edge, co-owner of Warung Beach and a touring DJ would be more than enough to keep any one man occupied. In 2013, though, Brazilian Renato Ratier also decided to launch his own production career, and did so with four solid enough EPs. Immediately following those comes his debut full-length, Black Belt.
That said, Black Belt is unmistakably a collection of club tracks that could have easily been a series of EPs. Each one is curiously short, at an average length of four minutes or so, yet there are 17 of them. It gives you the impression Ratier is feeling around to see what works, trying to create versions of every sort of track he's heard in D-Edge over the years.
There are indeed some interesting starting points here, but also lots of inoffensive filler. Tracks like "Love Me Tokyo" and "Miss Stereo," though not wholly derivative, sound a little too box-fresh, too formulaic. When the Brazilian tentatively breaks out of the mould on efforts like "3 Bulls," where some Middle Eastern strings are allowed to breath above slightly more muddied beats, there are signs of promise. "Redlight," too, sees Ratier push the envelope a little more, layering slapped snares over police radio transmissions that might have been culled from GTA.
It might have come too soon in his production career, then, but at least Black Belt isn't just an appropriation of fashionably house sounds. Instead, it reflects both sides of his own D Edge: clean lines and flashy lights, as well as deeper, more discerning fair for those who want it.
Tracklist01. Love Me Tokio
02. Kissu
03. Jamaicanese
04. Kozaboa
05. Midnight Sun
06. Miss Stereo
07. Teatime
08. Temple Talent
09. Chakomigo
10. Gueixa Star
11. 3-Bulls
12. Keymono
13. Black Belt
14. Readlight
15. Fetisshu
16. Kataí
17. Kung Fu'n'k