The Irish capital Dublin has a solid label party for vinyl lovers and good underground music. Real Talks has been drawing attention in the city by promoting regular events through a few gatherings on rooftops. The main one is The Rooftop Series, which takes place at Bad Bobs and has already held three editions.
Created by Royce Laroca, it was in the countryside of the Brazilian state of Paraná — more precisely, in the city of Ponta Grossa — that the project was born. Since it started in 2015, and already including the events held in Dublin, there have been more than 50 events in total, involving great music, amazing vibes and atmosphere, high-quality sound systems and lineups that integrate some of the talented artists in minimal house and techno.
Connect with Real Talks on Spotify | Instagram | Soundcloud
Connect with Royce on Instagram
The boss, Royce Laroca, guided us through his love story with vinyl records that went from Paraná (BR) to Dublin (IE).
Music is what unites people to ‘Real Talks’. Literally referring to that which is not spoken, but felt; when you stop thinking and start feeling the music, that’s when ‘the conversation starts’, and this has everything to do with the concept created by the label.
Real Talks
“The concept behind the slogan is totally related to you connecting with more people, meeting people, getting to know yourself, being present, feeling free to dance and express yourself, disconnecting from the world, social networks, thoughts and having a true connection with and where you are, there dancing, having fun, present, open to meet people, live and be free, free from any kind and form of prejudice. Like we can find in “Can You Feel It” by Mr. Fingers.”, says Royce Laroca, the project’s creator.
With the concept in hand, it was time to make the first event real. Royce believes that “destiny plays its part from the moment you take the first step”. And since he moved to Dublin, he started going to parties and venues that had similarities with the events he wanted to hold, especially events with a more vinyl theme, to connect, mainly, with people connected to this art.
He tells excitedly about his first experiences: “I went to Yamamori Tengu, a venue that always had good attractions, names like Thomas Melchior, Maurizio, Ben Ufo, Fio Fa, among others… in addition to the events of MiniSoul, by the Mexican Do Funkk, where I met a promoter who, after seeing me a few times at other MiniSoul events, invited me to an after-party where they only had turntables for the DJs. Curious fact or not, that same day I had gone to a record store a little earlier and spent like 5 hours listening to records, so I had about 7, 8 records with me, and when he told me that, I opened the backpack and the magic happened. After a few hours of chat turning some records, he invited me to partner up and do some events together, which turned out to be the first Real Talks events in Dublin”.
There is no doubt that in addition to aesthetics, vinyl was a determining factor in opening the first doors to Real Talks events. In the post-pandemic, which happened earlier in Europe, they returned to the Rooftops with full power and with the same quality that they always cared to present, now using Void Acoustics boxes and daring a little more aesthetically.
Playing with vinyl taken as a rule
In the past, when it was still part of the Brazilian dance music scene, Real Talks also led events such as F_ck Rehab, Everybody Loves Vinyl and, in addition to countless collabs with collectives, labels and other components of the Brazilian underground. What most of them have in common is a passion for music and in a certain way all are involved in vinyl DJing, something that is taken as a rule by Real Talks in Dublin.
“At our parties, the DJ is free to express himself with whatever technique he wants, but we cannot deny that, over time, vinyl-oriented parties began to be a Real Talks trademark. Even because this was something that was rarely or almost never seen in Ponta Grossa, and it was a big difference in Dublin as well”, explains Royce.
Vinyl opened many doors for events in Dublin, explains Laroca: “Without a doubt, the passion for vinyl was, again, what connected Real Talks to the folks at Elmnts Dublin, who joined forces for this new journey called The Rooftop Series”.
Dublin is the place to be
Following its potential, the flow of ideas and planning, Real Talks intends to become a 360-degree movement, including label, podcast, premieres, bookings and, as it already happens, event productions.
According to Royce, the music scene in Dublin is growing and has enormous potential, as artists from all over the world come to the city to perform. He says he has plans regarding releases and news for the second half, but before that, he confirms the next Rooftop Series 004 event, which is scheduled for April 29th.
Article by Rodrigo Airaf
