"I've been a regular to Gop Tun parties for a couple of years now, and this is the first time I've seen such a diverse audience and lineup," said Kim Salomoni, head of the Brazilian label Tapioca Discos, who was sipping a cup of whisky on the rocks as Motor City Drum Ensemble worked his magic behind the decks. A warm autumn breeze circulated throughout the former Portuguesa football stadium and complex, reminding everyone that summer had just ended. The brutal and somewhat decadent structure located on the northside of São Paulo was transformed into a concrete rave paradise for the inaugural Gop Tun festival. Here, almost 48 artists and five thousand partygoers laid the foundations for what seems poised to become a mainstay in the South American festival landscape.

Gop Tun is a familiar name on Brazilian dance floors. With ten years of activity, the platform headed by DJs Bruno Protti, Caio Taborda, Fernando Nascii and Gui Scott has made a relevant name for itself as a label and promoter. Their parties are fueled by a wide range of house music, and lauded for their good taste when it comes to venues and lineups—from stunning beaches to international first-appearances in Brazil. "The Gop Tun parties kept growing over the last years, and eventually they needed to add a second dance floor while bringing several Latin American artists to Brazil," said Chico Cornejo, Gop Tun's communication director. "All of that led up to this festival, which also aims to make room for different sounds, some noisy music or stuff that didn't fit in Gop Tun DJ sets, so that's why we have DJs Sany Pitbull and Nigga Fox."

The 20-hour-long event featured mainstays of the global dance music scene like Octo Octa and Eris Drew, alongside up-and-coming live performers like L'Homme Statue and rising local talents such as BADSISTA and São Paulo-based DJ and producer RHR. Set in a three-thousand-square-meter area interspersed with tropical canopy trees and green foliage, the festival hosted DJs and performers over four stages, with three named after Gop Tun parties: "Não Existe," "Supernova," "Danceteria" (formerly "Xama").

Paris-based DJ MCDE was welcomed by the packed dance floor when he took to the main stage. It had been ten years since his last performance in Brazil, making it one of the most anticipated sets of the festival. The house connoisseur delivered a captivating three-hour set, melding together well-known titles from his crate—like Kerri Chandler's "The Answer"—with more unorthodox house tracks. With the help of a rotary E&S DJR mixer, he showed off his dexterity when shaping frequencies on the fly, exciting the audience with the local gem "Moral Tem Hora" by Cristina Camargo, Lincoln Olivetti and Robson Jorge.

Shortly after his set playing with the rest of the Gop Tun crew, Taborda told me that during the pandemic he observed different artists, parties and genres within the South American scene connecting with one another—from SoundCloud Baile funk to radical techno, from open-air parties to underground clubs. Such was the case for Cashu and Kenya20Hz's back-to-back. The Mamba Negra co-founder and the bass-oriented DJ and researcher delivered a two-hour-long set filled with leftfield techno, ghettotech, downbeat kicks within a sliver of breakbeat, and various low, belly-shaking frequencies. Baile funk was a frequently heard aesthetic element popping up across the DJ sets—like Cashu and Kenya20Hz's sped-up version of the Brazilian 2000s hit "Tira a Camisa," and later again when BADSISTA played the Não Existe stage, which featured artists from "the fringes of Baile funk and rap," according to the festival. BADSISTA proved once again that she's a skilled selector whose focus is on sonic ambiances rather than BPMs, blending the freshest gqom tracks with harsh, somber hardstyle Baile funk by the likes of DJ Tenebroso.

But Baile funk wasn't relegated to just DJ sets—it was also one of the festival's main features. Producer and MC duo FBC and Vhoor, who are behind one of Brazil's chart-topping songs from this summer, the retro-future Miami Bass track "Se Tá Solteira," don't usually share the stage. But Gop Tun managed to get them for a live performance. It was a rare opportunity to see pop and underground Baile funk coming together, with FBC regular DJ Cost showing off his vinyl scratching skills and Vhoor's tamborzão kicks meeting FBC's sweet and raspy MCing style.

At that same "Não Existe" stage, a semi-cylindrical dome where the air was thick and the crowd danced all night long, Portuguese DJ Nigga Fox had already set the bar high hours before with his exhibit of Lisbon's freshest dance floor tunes. From buzzing amapiano to downtempo Afro-house, the Príncipe affiliate left the crowd in top condition for the Brazilian DJ Sany Pitbull. However, the '80s Rio legend felt somehow out of place with his set filled with pop radio remixes.

Following a '90s rave inspired set by Avalon Emerson, RHR was the final act at the Supernova stage. Unfortunately, RHR's outlandish avant-garde techno—sifted through the sounds of São Paulo—clashed with Valentina Luz back-to-back Gigios, the closing set at the forest-like Danceteria stage, and with much-awaited headliners Octo Octa back-to-back Eris Drew at the main stage.

As the duo started, pulling out high-energy electro and house findings from their bags, the clouds above the Portugesa stadium began to pass, making way for rays of sun. It was a relief. In December, the Gop Tun staff had a major setback when heavy rains affected the coastal region of Paraty, where their New Year's Eve festival, Xama, was held. Showing a striking resilience and better luck with the weather, the label pulled together an impressive first edition of their eponymous festival. Eris Drew and Octo Octa's three-hour set was the icing on the cake, with both of them spinning an ecstatic vibe on the dance floor until the very last minute. When they turned off their turntables after a third encore, it was no surprise to hear some in the crowd shouting out "one more, please!". With a few minor schedule and venue adjustments, Gop Tun has the potential to become a South American festival staple for years to come.