Gui Boratto: A Breathtaking Sound

"I saw Gui Boratto at Creamfields... he was amazing!" An out-of-the-blue text message from a disco-loving ex-girlfriend last year perfectly illustrates how the Brazilian producer’s brand of melodic, emotive techno holds an appeal that goes beyond the underground clubbing fraternity.

Delivering his sophomore album Take My Breath Away last month, Boratto originally burst onto the electronic music scene four years ago with his debut on Cologne label Kompakt. However, this wasn’t the first step but rather a new chapter in a musical career that has taken a somewhat unusual route.

Starting out in 1993, he recorded jingles and radio spots for the advertising sector, a year later moving into production and sound engineering for major labels such as EMI and BMG. This saw him becoming involved with an array of both Brazilian and international artists including, surprisingly enough, country singer Garth Brooks.

Although he spent time working on his own material, it was very much a bedroom activity at this point. He eventually reached the decision to go it alone, as he explains:

“After producing two remixes for the soundtrack to the City of God movie in 2003, I decided to try to get more tracks signed under my own name. Two years later, I was listening to one of Kompakt’s TOTAL compilations and really identified with the sound of the artists on it, so I sent two tracks to Michael Mayer, who runs the label, and these became my first EP for the label, ‘Arquipélago’.”

In the next two years he released further singles for Kompakt as well as recordings on Plastic City, Harthouse and Audiomatique, before producing first album, Chromaphobia in 2007.

Coming as a breath of fresh air at a time when the less-is-more approach of minimal was beginning to reach saturation point, Chromaphobia’s emphasis on melody and harmony seemed to highlight the benefits of Gui’s residence in his native, sun-soaked Brazil and his dislocation from the European club scene, not to mention his particular musical past. His output since also gives credence to the importance of these factors, though he argues its not quite so clear-cut.

“My earlier experiences definitely helped me a lot. Not only recording lots of different instruments, but arranging, producing and dealing with so many different styles. Of course, a musician or producer or any type of artist is influenced by their own environment but I’m in the studio most of the time rather and not DJing regularly in clubs like many other producers, so that perhaps takes me away from the ‘scene’. However, I’ve completed ten different tours in the last two years and they’ve helped me reconnect with what’s going on in clubs. But, overall, I’d say my background and musical taste has the biggest impact on the final results of my music.”

Previous interviews have seen Gui discuss how broad this taste is: he’s cited acts such as Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure and perhaps a little more surprisingly the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, Led Zeppelin and Kiss as influences.

“These bands have all helped me to shape my own sound probably more then most techno artists,” he confesses. “When I was young I played piano and guitar player. It wasn’t until later that moved away from the basic rock band formation (bass, guitar and drums) to a more synthesized sound, incorporating electronic elements into my music.”

The success of Chromaphobia may have perhaps led his follow-up to suffer the notorious difficult-second-album syndrome, but Take My Breath Away simply builds on the signature sound Boratto set out so successfully on his first album, and this time offers a musically more mature approach.

“It’s more mature in a way,” he admits. “Two long years have passed since Chromaphobia, and I’m tired of single note basslines. Maybe it’s because of my musical background.”

However, his follow-up does feature a track not dissimilar to Beautiful Life. The uplifting No Turning Back again features the vocals of Gui’s wife, Luciana Villanova, and combines guitar, piano and a sawing synth melody to suitably anthemic effect. Easily the most accessible production on the album, it definitely has the potential to become a cross-over hit. How important is it for him to create recordings that reach out beyond the expected techno and house fanbases?

“First of all, I really like to experiment. I also love vocals and guitars. I didn’t do No Turning Back to be a second Beautiful Life. I did it because I wanted to. They are very different from each other in my opinion.”

Looking to the rest of 2009, it seems Boratto will be kept very busy. He’s already started working with Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass fame and a tour to promote Take My Breath Away is in the pipeline.

“I already have a hard schedule coming up,” he confirms. “Lots of gigs to promote the new album and probably some work on new remixes and singles. I’m also producing the new Bomb The Bass album. I’ve completed twelve tracks with Tim and we’ll also be recording several collaborations over the year.”

Finally, can we expect any gigs in the UK, in particular Scotland in future?

“I love to play in the UK, but it’s rare for me to be there. I don’t know why, it just seems to be hard to fit into my schedule. However, in the past I’ve played at The End, Fabric, Plastic People and at the Retox after-hours party at Sosho. Maybe this year, I’ll get to visit. I’ve never actually played Scotland and unfortunately, there are no plans for me to come anytime soon. Some of my friends have visited and they’ve told me it’s incredibly beautiful.”