Portugal is very much in the spotlight now and that will only continue with LX Music festival.
It plays out from December 13th-15th on the Targus river in the stunning Pavillion of the Parque das Naçoes and will offer world class sounds from Ben Klock, Dax J, Marcel Dettmann, Paula Temple, Wehbba, and Answer Code Request amongst many others.
It comes from the team of promoters known as LX Music who have been putting on events since 2004 so are experts in their field who have really helped to shape the scene.
Here we find out more from Steve Pimenta ahead of the main event.
Tickets & info: https://lxmfestival.com/
What are the most important lessons you have learnt since you started promoting?
Maximum respect to the person that buy a 15 eur ticket to go to my party.
What sounds, parties are popular in Lisbon? Does it have its own style?
Techno, house, DnB and trance are always the most popular ones. Many people says that kuduro and kizomba are the music of lisbon, but I don’t think so. But we all make the music of Lisbon, the people from Lisbon, born in Lisbon.
Is the local government, police, council helpful? Do they support what you do?
They don’t help too much, you need to know what you are doing. If you can, study advocacy. There are too many laws: if I go to Lisbon council and ask one question, the answer will be different if I go there tomorrow.
What has been the best party you’ve done and why?
Boris Brejcha – Cristo Rei. We weren’t able to do the party, licence problems. Police came and it was chaos. The problem is that the license only allows you to play music from other artists. If you only have on the line up live acts or DJs that only plays their own tracks, like Boris, that’s OK. So I tell the police that Boris only plays his own tracks. After two hours with blocked doors the policeman says OK you can return the party. Boris, with his own tracks, plays seven hours and it was insane. The location, its an open air one above the river. With this place, this music, and this super problem to resolve, it became the best party / moment ever
What’s been the worst party you’ve done?
An open-air with 100 people and an international DJ, but I won’t say the name.
What hopes and goals do you have as a promoter?
That the business doesn’t kill every promoter born today. Goals, I think every day it’s a goal. It’s a pleasure to do what I love.
Tell us about Connect and Mute and how they differ and why you started them?
Connekt is a more techno concept, and Mute low bpms, for parties during the day. They were born to offer the difference between styles, we promote many types of events, from house to techno, that’s the main reason, targeting the fans.
What is your ideal location, crowd set, party time do you think? What is your favourite?
An island, 500 people with a positive vibe. My favorite is Sonar, OFF and the main festival.
Is there a dream DJ or location you would like to work with if you could?
Richie Hawtin, that’s my favorite DJ and I never promoted an event with him. Location, I think we have done many in an epic location, so I am a lucky guy.