- Parana is a Brazilian state that lays in between the country's most vibrant places for electronic music: São Paulo and Santa Catarina. Vibe Club is located in Curitiba, Parana's capital, and though it's been hit-and-miss for the last decade—it's closed a few times since first opening in 2001—now it seems to be on the right track. Renovations took place from December 2012 until last month, when it reopened with more spacious toilets, a larger bar area and a rooftop built specially for extended afterhours. Caring for the lineup has always been the club's main priority, with many artists making their Brazilian debuts there. KiNK is one such artist.
I arrived just in time to see the opening moves of his live/DJ hybrid set. The Bulgarian artist had an enormous grin on his face as he threw jazzy notes over a slow and soft vocal house track. But before the crowd could get too chilled-out, he turned the BPM up and started what would be an energetic three-and-a-half-hour performance. The first peak was his own "Express," followed by the long and melodic break of "Existence." Before long he got into more straightforward techno, but never for more than two or three tracks in a row. From start to finish it was impossible to guess what was coming next: melodic eyes-closed moments and harder, jacking bits came in equal measure.
KiNK seemed to be having a great time throughout, alternating between a laptop, his hardware and the turntables, and showing his gear to the audience whenever possible. His set embraced an impressive array of influences, from acid infusions, to broken beats to his signature brand of house and techno, which gained a whole new color played live.