Complex Sessions 086: Vintage Culture (House Music)

This summer, Brazilian DJ and producer Vintage Culture launched his new residency at Pacha Ibiza, Affairs. “In our Affairs, you are never alone,” the residency tagline promises—and there’s definitely something of the old spirit of rave in the residency and in VC’s output as a whole.

Vintage Culture’s music carries that burning, passionate rawness that’s very much rooted in Brazil’s uniquely intense club culture while still lending itself very well to dancefloors around the world (he’s also expected to hit Pacha NYC later this month). He hasn’t really enforced any sort of no phones policy or anything like that, but reports on the ground speak of a palpable sense of community and togetherness when Vintage Culture’s behind the decks.

Speaking to us about his residency, VC kept coming back to the emotional side of rave, and stresses the importance of authenticity at every point. For him, there should be no line between the underground and the mainstream; if anything, he says, there should be a much stronger connection between the two and no stigma about one borrowing from the other.

Ultimately, quality should be king. “The obsession with production that sounds impressive on paper but doesn’t make you feel anything on the dancefloor,” he says, “is a problem. If it doesn’t move you, it doesn’t make sense.”

To celebrate his Pacha residency, we caught up with Vintage Culture for the latest Complex Sessions mix, plus a conversation about what’s really important on the dancefloor. Dive below.

Complex UK · Complex Sessions 086: Vintage Culture

Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.

This mix is really a reflection of where my head is at right now. There’s a throughline between the underground and the more melodic, emotional side of house music, and I wanted to capture both in the same journey. You’ve got tracks like Nick Curly’s “Underground” and Cour T.’s “EREMITA” that are rooted deep in that raw, club-focused energy, and then you have moments like Formentera and the Mehen remix of “Alive” that open things up emotionally. I’m always trying to connect those two worlds—that tension between the dark and the uplifting is what I find most interesting to play with, which also reflects in my own music, and I think this mix captures that honestly. This mix is also a good preview of what I’ve been bringing to my Affairs residency at Pacha Ibiza this summer, and what people can expect when we take it to Pacha New York this July.

What was the one track you absolutely had to include?

Mine and Vinter’s remix of Benito Bazar’s “Back To Life”. That record means a lot to me, personally. I came to it as a fan first, and being asked to put my touch on it was a real responsibility. Every time I play it, the floor responds in a way that feels genuine and not forced. When something hits like that consistently, you know it belongs in any set you’re building around connection and feeling, and that one was non-negotiable.

Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?

There were a few records I was rotating in and out right up until the last moment: a couple of tracks from my recent studio sessions that aren’t out yet, which always creates that dilemma of whether to include a debut in a mix like this. I tend to pull back on that. I’d rather the music exist in its own moment when it releases rather than get buried inside a mix first. So some of those were close but stayed in the folder for now.

What’s the first single or album you ever bought?

I grew up in a small town in Brazil, so access to music was different back then. I remember getting my hands on Michael Jackson’s Thriller on CD, and it was genuinely one of those moments that shifted something in me. The production, the range of it, the way it moved between moods without losing you… I didn’t have the language for it at the time, but looking back, that record was already teaching me how to think about an arc; how a body of music should feel like a journey.

What’s the last physical record you bought?

I was digging in a store in São Paulo not long ago and came across an original pressing of a classic ’90s house record I had been hunting for a while. I’m not going to say which one because I’m protective about what’s in the crates. But it was one of those finds where you pick it up, look at the label, and feel something. Physical records carry a different weight. There’s a ritual to it that I still think matters.

What do you hope to see happen musically over the next 12 months?

I hope the underground and the mainstream stop treating each other like enemies. Some of the most exciting music being made right now is happening in that space where those two worlds overlap, and I think when artists feel free to move between them without being judged for it, that’s when the most interesting things get created. On a personal level, I’m excited to keep building the Affairs concept. We’ve had an amazing run at Pacha Ibiza this summer, and bringing that same energy to Pacha New York feels like a natural step. I also just want to see more originality. More artists are building their own sonic identity rather than chasing what’s already working.

What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?

The obsession with production that sounds impressive on paper but doesn’t make you feel anything on the dancefloor. There’s a lot of music right now that ticks every technical box and goes absolutely nowhere emotionally; complexity for the sake of complexity. What moves a room is never about how much is happening in a track—it’s about what’s happening between the notes. I’d like to see more patience in production, more space, more trust that the groove itself is enough.

Tracklist:

1. Nick Curly – Underground
2. Tough Art – That Funk (Original Mix) Mood Child
3. Benito Bazar – Back To Life (Vinter, Vintage Culture Remix)
4. Fancy Inc – Been A Long Time (Original Mix)
5. Vylow, Dekho – Handle That
6. Fat Cosmoe, Luca Luper – I Know My Name (Original Mix)
7. Vintage Culture, Kevin Brauer – Formentera
8. Vintage Culture, Max Styler, Ali Love – Freaky1 (Bruno Furlan Remix)
9. Michael Gray – Universe (Extended Mix) Toolroom
10. Vintage Culture – Nirvana (Kevin Brauer Remix)
11. Talón – The King (Original Mix)
12. Vintage Culture, Departmento – Copycat (Extended Mix)
13. Polovich – My Frequency (Extended)
14. Cour T. – Eremita (Original Mix)
15. Pablo Say – Recognize (Original Mix)
16. ID
17. Vintage Culture, Frankie Wah – Alive (Mehen remix)