About Me
RICARDO DA COSTABe careful what you set your heart upon, for it will surely be yours, the James Baldwin credence to the old clich that if you want something bad enough, it really can happen has special significance for DJ Ricardo da Costa, who at 25, has been perfecting the nuances of his craft for the past 9 years. A far cry from a start equipped with no more than a smattering of vinyl & his trusty, steel twins, the foundation of Ricardos professional DJ career, his self taught mastery of dance floor devastation, was laid by unrelenting tenacity & a diligent work ethic. Widely admired & highly respected, Ricardo is regarded as one of South Africas most skilful mix masters by players & colleagues in the industry but more importantly down & dirty on every dance floor, in every nightclub, where it truly counts!!Every DJ is mindfully aware of being only as good as his last set. Yet, Ricardo, never fails to prove his worth! Time & again, he is relied upon to provide a roof ripping performance that is technically flawless, quality consistent & crowd pleasing!! Securing street-cred & respect from the dance underground is a daunting task for any DJ. To acquire & maintain a rep of Ricardos calibre is virtually unheard of. His impeccable track record & faultless reputation is the hard earned result of steadfast professionalism & integrity. Ricardos always affable exterior belies a wicked & intensely sarcastic sense of humour, virtuous sense of purpose & conscience & an ever present optimistic vitality. Unassuming & refreshingly unaffected, he is an inspiring presence in an industry where money & ego is God. Purposefully oblivious to dance musics internal politics, he chooses instead to focus on his near evangelical love of house music. His inner beat & inherent rhythm stem from a proud Brazilian birthright. And it is the natural musicality of Ricardos Latino roots combined with his penchant for nail to the grindstone hard work & the propensity for tearing dance floors to shreds with a self cultivated, distinctive house sound that have earned him well deserved status as one of SAs true DJ elite.To witness him rip a dance floor apart with his music, etching an indelible impression whilst instantly unhinging every party animal on it, is proof of his incessant desire to rock the house, thump the beat, pound the bass & shake every damn coconut on the planet!! Heed this warning! There is no warm up DJ on this spin doctors club crawl. When at the helm, Ricardo wastes no time in heading straight for the party jugular! Under the masterful manipulation of his fingertips a heat-haze of signature, sex-infused slick funk & tribal grooves are interspersed with seductive, moody vocals & seamlessly laced with dark sounds & tough, dirty slices. His is bassline heavy house & brooding rhythm guaranteed to entice even the shyest wallflower onto his dance floor.By no means a newcomer to the industry, Ricardos ascent began at Azurri Cafe on Johannesburgs East Rand in 1994 with his recognition & draw card status climbing steadily ever since. In Jhb alone he has held residencies & played regularly at clubs from Flyhouse, Tramps, Bump & DNA to Therapy, ESP, Nexus & Truth amongst countless others. Resident of SAs largest, outdoor dance event, H20 since its inception in 1998, qualifies Ricardo no stranger to rocking expectant, 10 000-strong crowds to obscene levels! Further afield, he has graced the decks in venues all over the country including Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Ballito, Durban, Bloemfontein & even neighbouring Mozambique. Too modest to boast his inclusion in the support line ups of numerous past & present dance tours, Ricardo has played alongside many of the most prominent & revered international names. Most notably, in support of Cyprus Hill at Lucky Strikes infamous underground events, the Ministry of Sound Splash, official Jamiroquai Afterparty with Smokin Jo, every H20 since the dawn of time & local productions featuring Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Paul van Dyk, Tall Paul, Junior Jack, Kid Crme, the Boogie Pimps & Tim de Luxe.In the early stages, pursuit of his destined career shared centre stage with studies towards a BCom in Marketing. In 99, Ricardo was hired as store manager of Mental Groove Records in Bruma Lake. A 5-year stint at Mental Groove immersed him daily in the selection, order, import & trade of vinyl & imparted him with indispensable knowledge & understanding of the record business, local music industry & global dance scene. Such immediate access to the latest releases & hottest tunes afforded Ricardo an added advantage - the coveted means by which to maintain that elusive DJ edge. In April 2004, he embraced an opportunity to move on. He played an integral part in the opening, establishment & instant success of Retro Music, a new breed of record store located in Linksfield, Jhb. Retro comprises an ultra modern, state of the art record outlet, fully equipped in-house production studio & dedicated DJ school providing the choice of separate instruction in the art of trance & house mixing. After less than a year in operation, Retro Music is already considered SAs industry leader & standard bearer in local & imported vinyl trade.
Having served almost a decade on deck duty Ricardos hunger for turntable control & absolute dance floor supremacy shows no sign of abating. To the contrary, 2003/4 was the start of his his busiest, most lucrative period to date. Apart from continued commitment to his DJing, the successful release of no less than 3 albums, Subliminal SA, Definitive Sound of Ricardo & Ricardo presents Funksensual were instrumental in raising Ricardos profile to record levels. During this time, Ricardos residencies at Jhbs most successful nightclubs, Truth, Sutra, Evolution & Natural Groove paved the way for his international DJ debut in October 2004 at the legendary Dubai nightclub, Oxygen. He has also become a regular feature on 5FM jock Roger Goodes weekend dance show the Saturday Surgery. Since airing of the show first began in late 2002, Ricardos weekly residency on 5FM has exposed his technical prowess & unforgettable house sound to a vast national listenership.On a production front, Ricardos 2003 collaboration with Unathi & First Project produced the Greatest Invention, a track which was snapped up & signed to Grooved Records. Prompting numerous local remixes, this first production outing was well received & at present resides on three compilations, Definitive Sounds of Ricardo, Truth Volume 2 & Flipside House 4. Teaming up with Justin V in 2004 resulted in Basement Sessions Vol. 1, a funky house belter intended for & included on Ricardo presents Funksensual. The track gained 5FM radio support, was showcased by Roger Goode during the Ibiza 2004 season & has stimulated serious interest for international release.Never one to rest on his laurels, Ricardo has pushed on during 2005, compiled & released his fourth compilation album, House Anthems, juggled several personal producing projects whilst heading up management of Retro Music and still maintained a frenetic weekly DJing schedule. He is finally reaping the fruits of his labour. Chosen from a shortlist of his peers at the close of 2003, Oakley awarded Ricardo full Product Sponsorship whilst Stanton singled him out in mid 2004 for Artist & Equipment Sponsorship. Acting as an official spokesperson for both brands in South Africa he actively endorses & promotes their products within the local dance scene. Besides official Artist Sponsorship from Oakley International & Stanton Magnetics, 2005 has seen Ricardo perform alongside Martin Solveig, Sandy Rivera, Simon Dunmore & Jeremby for Defected SA, Erick Morillo, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk & the D.O.N.S. for SAs Unity events as well as Kiss with Tom Novy, Natural Groove with Brandon Block, Axwell, Rebekah & Milk n Sugar & closing the year off in support off Sarah Main at Pacha NYE 2005/2006.Unceasingly blazing the trail that is funk, Ricardos uncanny musical foresight continues to attract attention locally. With his star set firmly in the ascendant, Ricardo has shown that he possesses a tremendous power.... the rare, instinctive talent to mix & manipulate records in a way that makes an entire dance floor fall in love. And it is the key to becoming a truly great DJ!
