Beat the heat at a Brazilian dance party tomorrow

Here’s a new suggestion for overcoming the Korean summer heat this weekend ―party like Brazilians do, according to Miggi Chi of Sway Productions, one of the capital’s better known party planners.
Tomorrow, the posh WooBar located inside the W Seoul Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul will feature “Essence of Brazil,” a dance party. The exotic touch to the summertime soiree will be traditional Brazilian cocktails and some funky deep house and bossa nova house music. The bar’s resident DJ, Jinwook, will be joined by his fellow Korean DJ Jinu.
Brazilian-style music is becoming something of a hip alternative to Euro-chic lounge music these days. Earlier this month, Choi Jin-woo, a.k.a. DJ Jinu, released a CD titled “Groove Gliding” (Kang N Music), which Mr. Choi says consists of easy-listening Brazilian and bossa nova made with Italy’s Irma Label music.
“Instead of danceable house music, I made the music light and easy so it can be enjoyed in cars and at home,” said Mr. Choi, who began deejaying over five years ago in Sinchon and Hongdae clubs in northwestern Seoul. DJ Jinu is now regularly invited to various parties.
Tomorrow night, partiers can sample DJ Jinu’s latest Rio-inspired sound from the new release.
Outside the club scene, though, Mr. Choi is an established musician, the bassist of a Korean pop band, Rollercoaster. Since the three-member band’s first album release in 1999, Rollercoaster has received rave reviews for its hit songs, including “Last Scene,” and its strong live performances.
By releasing his own CD as a DJ recently, he wishes to encourage fellow DJs to pursue creative projects outside dance clubs. “Korean DJs play in clubs but don’t really work on personal music and release albums,” Mr. Choi said. “But now that I did it, I see a few DJs, such as Jinwook, working on their own music and releasing mix albums.”

by Ines Cho

The “Essence of Brazil” party is from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. A ticket costs 30,000 won ($30), including one Brazilian cocktail. For more information, call Sway Productions at 02-544-3467 or WooBar at 02-2022-0333.