Fly Project
Vintage Culture — is the stage project of Brazilian DJ and music producer Lukas Rafael Ruiz Hespanhol, born on 7 July 1993 in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. At different stages, his music has been associated with deep house, Brazilian bass, house, tech house, progressive house and melodic house.
Vintage Culture gained international recognition through tracks such as In The Dark, Slow Down (Vintage Culture & Slow Motion Remix), It Is What It Is, You Give Me A Feeling and Nightjar. In 2024, the artist released his debut studio album Promised Land.
Early years
Lukas grew up in the border region between Brazil and Paraguay. He spent part of his childhood in Katueté, Paraguay, and later lived and studied in Mundo Novo, Mato Grosso do Sul. His family was involved in agriculture.
His interest in electronic dance music began after Lukas found a hard trance CD that belonged to his uncle. Among his main early musical influences, he has cited New Order, Depeche Mode and The Cure.
After finishing school, Lukas moved to Maringá, in the state of Paraná, and enrolled in law school. His studies soon became secondary, as he devoted most of his time to making electronic music and teaching himself production software. He also learned DJing and music production independently.
The emergence of Vintage Culture
The Vintage Culture project took shape in the early 2010s. In a 2014 interview, Lukas explained that the name reflected his love of old music, cars and art. The name Vintage Culture became established during the period when he was working on his own version of New Order’s Blue Monday.
In 2013, one of the project’s first official releases, What U Want, appeared. At the same time, Lukas was publishing unofficial remixes and reworks of well-known songs online. His versions of New Order’s Blue Monday and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall gained particularly wide circulation.
It was the SoundCloud version of Another Brick in the Wall that became one of the first turning points in his career. As the track began spreading rapidly, local promoters started booking Vintage Culture. At that time, Lukas had very little experience as a full-scale DJ, so he developed the performance side of the profession alongside his first shows.
Hollywood, Drinkee and the international stage
On 19 August 2016, Vintage Culture released Hollywood on SOURCE, a label associated with Spinnin' Records. The release marked a period when the artist increasingly began moving beyond the Brazilian club scene.
That same year, together with Slow Motion, he produced an official remix of Drinkee by American duo SOFI TUKKER. That remix, along with the soon-to-follow Wild Kidz, became an important release from Vintage Culture’s early international phase.
In The Dark and the growth of an international audience
During the second half of the 2010s, Vintage Culture continued releasing original singles, collaborations and remixes. This period included I Will Find with Rooftime, Pour Over, Intro (Rework) and In The Dark with Fancy Inc.
In The Dark, released in 2019, became Vintage Culture’s most notable success in the US charts up to that point, reaching number one on Billboard Dance Club Songs.
2020–2022: Beatport and new collaborations
In 2020, Vintage Culture and Slow Motion released a remix of Maverick Sabre’s Slow Down featuring Jorja Smith. The version gained wide exposure on streaming platforms and became one of the most recognisable remixes in the artist’s catalogue.
In December 2020, It Is What It Is featuring Canadian singer Elise LeGrow was released on Defected Records. The track became Vintage Culture’s first release to reach number one on the overall Beatport chart.
In July 2021, Vintage Culture teamed up with Fancy Inc and Roland Clark for Free on Catch & Release. That same year, he released You Give Me A Feeling with British producer James Hype.
In January 2022, Vintage Culture and Sonny Fodera released Nightjar featuring British vocalist SHELLS. The track also reached number one on the overall Beatport chart.
Evolution of the sound
By the early 2020s, Vintage Culture’s musical approach had changed noticeably. The project’s earlier international period was more closely associated with deep house and Brazilian bass, while later releases and DJ sets showed a stronger influence from house, tech house, progressive house and melodic house.
DJ Mag noted that after the pandemic, the artist’s sound became deeper and more melodic, with a more prominent role for vocals and extended club arrangements. In DJ Mag profiles from 2023 to 2025, Vintage Culture’s main styles were identified as house, tech house and melodic house.
Promised Land
On 24 May 2024, Vintage Culture released Promised Land — his debut studio album. The record contains 16 tracks.
The album combined the project’s club-oriented side with more song-driven and melodic material. Contributors included Paige Cavell, MAGNUS, Goodboys, NoMBe, Maverick Sabre, Tom Breu, Tube & Berger, Kyle Pearce, Armonica, braev, The Temper Trap and other artists.
The tracklist includes Promised Land with Paige Cavell, Nothing Ever Changes with MAGNUS, Chemicals with Goodboys, Weak with Maverick Sabre and Tom Breu, Come Come with Tube & Berger and Kyle Pearce, Time with braev, Too Far Down The Trap with The Temper Trap and Find A Way.
Before Promised Land, Vintage Culture’s discography had been built primarily around singles, remixes and collaborations, making the album a distinct stage in the project’s development.
Festivals and extended DJ sets
Extended DJ sets have become one of Vintage Culture’s defining characteristics. Rather than building a programme solely around his own hits, he uses a multi-hour format that allows him to move gradually between house, tech house, progressive and melodic house.
Over the years, Vintage Culture has performed at Tomorrowland, Coachella, Ultra Music Festival, Creamfields, Electric Daisy Carnival and Burning Man. He has also held club residencies in Ibiza and Las Vegas.
Culture Shock and Affairs
In September 2021, Vintage Culture launched his own radio show, Culture Shock. The first episode aired on 11 September and featured new house music, the artist’s own productions, festival versions and releases from other producers.
At the end of 2025, the programme was renamed Affairs — the name of Vintage Culture’s new label. The first episode after the rebrand was number 148, published in December 2025.
Today, Affairs is released monthly. The programme includes new tracks from Vintage Culture’s collection, exclusive versions and guest mixes, as well as recurring segments Vintage VIP, On The Road and Vintage Memory.
Affairs Records
In 2025, Vintage Culture founded his own label, Affairs Records.
The label’s first release was Upon Your Skin with Noah Kulaga, released on 12 September 2025. The Affairs catalogue subsequently expanded with music from Vintage Culture himself as well as other house producers.
Current phase
In 2025–2026, Vintage Culture continued releasing club music after the Promised Land album. Notable releases from this period include Upon Your Skin with Noah Kulaga, Freaky 1 with Max Styler and Ali Love, Hands Up with Volkoder, Together We Are Free with Eddie Thoneick and Kyozo, and Toxic with DEPARTAMENTO.
Freaky 1 was released on 10 April 2026, Hands Up on 15 May, Together We Are Free on 4 June, and the two-track release Toxic with DEPARTAMENTO on 3 July 2026.
At the same time, Vintage Culture continues international touring and extended club performances. In the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2025 ranking, he placed at number 11.
Musical style
Vintage Culture’s sound has evolved alongside the project itself. His early work is characterised by deep house, reworked vocal and instrumental elements from older music, and the aesthetics of Brazilian bass.
Later, tech house, progressive house and melodic house became more prominent in his music. Contemporary tracks are often built around a dense bassline, a distinctive vocal hook and gradually developing club arrangements designed in part for extended DJ sets.
An interest in 1980s music remains part of Vintage Culture’s creative foundation. New Order, Depeche Mode and The Cure were among Lukas’ early influences, while the project name itself reflects his interest in the culture and aesthetics of previous decades.
Charity project Só Track Doa
In 2020, Só Track Doa, a charity project associated with the Só Track Boa brand, helped raise around $100,000 for organisations working with homeless people in Brazil, who were particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DJ Mag Top 100 DJs
Vintage Culture first entered the main DJ Mag Top 100 DJs ranking in the mid-2010s and subsequently climbed significantly.
He ranked number 30 in 2020, number 17 in 2021, number 11 in 2022, entered the Top 10 for the first time at number 10 in 2023, rose to number 9 in 2024, and finished at number 11 in the 2025 ranking.
