A conversation with Steven Redant.
Recognized internationally as a progressive force for tribal house on the global circuit over the years, Steven Redant is better known in New York City for his UltraMaroon and Fire Island Pines sets that speak to his full range of styles that keep dancefloors energized. A Belgian native that now calls Spain home, Redant has played for Mardi Gras Sydney, Hustlaball Berlin, Circuit Festival Barcelona, Life Ball Vienna, Black & Blue Montreal, and a coveted spot at Winter Music Conference Miami. UltraMaroon is proud to welcome him back to NYC this Sunday, Oct 1, to open Season Five along with resident Someone From Berlin at Blue Midtown.
Photo: Jeff Eason
DXD: You started your nightlife career at 19-years-old as a bartender at the infamous La Démence in Brussels. What a start! Tell us a little more about where it went from there.
SR: I was dancing way too much to be a bartender, and when I saw Laurent Garnier dancing really funky to his own music I knew that is where I needed to be. I was already DJing for years by then, but for fun, not in a club yet.
DXD: 2023 marks your 35th year as a DJ. How did you get your start?
SR: I bought my first New Beat record when I was 14, and at 16 I started DJing at my local youth club. They hated me so much. I was behind the decks with my then girlfriend and we always played the same danceable pop tracks while the patrons were mostly alternative rockers. Good times.
DXD: You have had quite a career in the international circuit. How have you seen the music of those events change over time?
SR: When I started out it was mainly handbag music, pop tunes remixed for the main dance floor, and house remixes by David Morales, Junior Sanchez, etc. in the house rooms. It was still very new and very exciting. It was the start of the tribal sound in Miami and New York. That sound was the underground. Then Brazil came into play and energized that sound and spread it around the world to the tribal beats on steroids we still hear today. I was a pioneer of that sound, and I loved it because it let me play on the main dance floor, but it hasn’t evolved much since then. Now I’m back to my roots with a tribal house sound with different styles, but always the same happy vibe. I want to make people smile!
DXD: You have also worked as a producer, including your partnership with Danny Verde as the producer/DJ duo Bent Collective, and have garnered No.1 Billboard dance hits with the likes of Avicci, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga. Is there a production that stands out as particularly special to you?
SR: Definitely the Avicci remix. That shit was nuts. We had three million reproductions on SoundCloud in one month. When it hit five million, they took it down because the record company wasn’t making any money on it and the success was just so huge. We exploded onto the scene with our very first production. It was just nuts.
DXD: You adopted the alias Blue Ant in 2019 and began the Blue Ant Beach House Radio podcast series, which features more deep and melodic house and ran through 2021. Tell us about how that developed for you.
SR: As I was growing more tired of the tribal sound, I started something new under a different name. It was really going somewhere until the pandemic hit. I kept it going for another year, which was very therapeutic.
DXD: Would you say Redant and Blue Ant have in some ways found balance within you as a singular artist now?
SR: I changed my name because I didn’t want the two styles of music mixed up. I was a purist on that. Now I realize it’s all me, and as long as I deliver quality music, the right people will understand and follow.
DXD: The beach and water both in Spain and Fire Island definitely seem to be what speak to your soul when you are off the decks. How do those spaces recharge you as an artist?
SR: Agua salada es agua sagrada. Salt water is holy water. It heals the soul. I had some trouble with substance abuse and when I’m near the water I calm down and forgive myself. I surf which is the best high ever. It absolutely saved me. Quite literally. Now I'm sharing that knowledge and newfound joy for life on my Rainbow Surf Retreats. Surf retreats for ze gayz.
DXD: You last played the Pines Party Beach Party in 2015, and returned this year to play with Derrick Carter in a weekend that many have said is one of the best they have heard in many years. What do you feel happened that night that captured the right energy so perfectly?
SR: Wow, that organization is just perfect. The venue is just perfect. The crowd is just perfect. I felt so welcomed, so part of the community, and that creates the freedom to play whatever I want. It allows me to take risks. And it just flowed, it absolutely just flowed. As a DJ I try to have a conversation with the crowd. In the beginning I do a lot of talking, hoping to get a reply from the dancefloor. And it doesn’t always happen, especially at big events. But when it happens, like it did, it’s just magic. It’s the biggest buzz there is, better than sex, better than any drugs, better than a stolen kiss on the neck from your true love. I’m still buzzing from it now.
DXD: You mentioned that prior to this Beach Party that you had considered it to be your last major gig; however, you changed your mind afterward. Why?
SR: That’s absolutely true. I was doing a Michael Jackson: This is it. But I ended up being Cher on a never-ending farewell tour. I had too much fun. It was a gig like all gigs are supposed to be. I felt so free and liberated and stressless. Magic happened that night.
DXD: You have been a mainstay with UltraMaroon over the years, appearing as its first special guest in February 2019. What about UltraMaroon speaks to you most as a DJ that has played on pretty much every stage in the world?
SR: UM is an unpretentious silly party with the best public around – a bunch of weirdos living their best lives, being their best selves. I absolutely feel connected with them and they don’t really care who I am, as long as I play good music, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. Stuff me in a dark corner with views of the dance floor where everyone is dancing with each other. I don’t need to be center stage (anymore.) It also helps that Someone From Berlin is the main weirdo and shares the decks. He knows what’s important and what it’s about. It is hands-down my favorite party in the world right now.
UltraMaroon Pride 2022 / Photo: Jeff Eason
DXD: It’s Saturday night and you’re not working. Where are you at to have a good time?
SR: My bed. Because I’m getting up at first light to go surfing. Nothing gets me more excited.
DXD: What are you looking forward to most about opening Season Five of UltraMaroon this Sunday?
SR: Seeing all the familiar faces, sharing hugs and smiles, and playing new and exciting music that makes everybody smile.
Thank you Steven Redant! You can be part of the magic this Sunday, Oct 1, as he rejoins Someone From Berlin on the decks at Blue Midtown for the Season Five Opener of UltraMaroon. Get your tickets here. Doors open at 6pm with a 2-4-1 drink special until 6:30pm. Keep up with Steven on Instagram and Soundcloud.
Xx,
DavidXDaisy