Hollywood Forever summons Gui Boratto for its Halloween Party

Ahead of his live show, the Brazilian techno producer reveals details of a 'Best of' comp and fifth album

It's a night of undead enchantment this Saturday as Egg's Hollywood Forever Halloween Party celebrates the ghoulish and the glamorous. Dress to impress/distress.

With an ear for a timeless melody, Brazilian techno producer Gui Boratto heads up the line-up with a live show featuring material from his four albums for Kompakt alongside the latest ideas from his studio.

Joined by L_Cio from his own D.O.C label, alongside DJ Spen & Karizma, Manu Gonzalez and more (full info and tickets here), we spoke to Gui about being a self-confessed studio nerd, his forthcoming 'Best of...' compilation and plans for album number five.

You're headlining the Egg Halloween party. Do you believe in the supernatural?

No, I don’t. I believe in mathematics, music, energy and God, but not in creepy sensationalistic things.

How live is your live show, in terms of on the fly performance? Are you limited in the kind of set-up that you can actually take it on the road?

It depends. Of course when I'm playing without computers, it’s pure improvisation. When I play with a laptop, despite the fact I have lots of original separate stems of my own productions, I still can improvise. I can mute this or that, change the structure or even notes from the original melodies and harmonies and re-program all drum steps on the fly, as my TR-8 I use on the stage is my step sequencer, which makes it possible to do different rhythms on the fly. It’s always fun!

Do you finish everything that you write and play or do some ideas get filtered out during your live performances?

Lots of things are out. Of course, I love to play unfinished and unreleased stuff, but people still want to listen to some of my old songs. I have four albums and lots of singles. It’s really hard to decide what to play in two hours. It’s always a hard decision. Also, I change my mind about what I planned to play, as people come to me with their mobiles asking for this or that song. I want to make them happy. Always!

You studio set up looks incredible and almost all analogue. Are you still adding to it? Are there any particular bits that make the Gui Boratto sound what it is?

I think my style comes from my background, not from an specific gear. I have my manias. It took some years to develop my own signature sound. But of course, I have my favourite ones. Now, I'm kinda into the Eurorack thing. I already have some of them and I'm enjoying them a lot. I also love soft synths. I'm definitely not a purist.

We saw that earlier in the year you teamed up with Elekfantz to perform. How was that experience? Growing up listening to bands like The Cure and New Order, do you ever wish that you were in one?

I had some bands when I was young. I was a guitar player. With Elekfantz, it was pure fun. I composed and produced their album. It totally made sense to do a different show. Leo, half of the duo, is a great drummer.

Does performing live, rather than DJing, give you a different ear when it comes to A&Ring your label D.O.C?

I’m not a DJ. Of course, it’s a different skill. I wish I could DJ like DJ Marky or Laurent Garnier. But unfortunately I'm a studio nerd, always been. But, on the other hand, I have a slightly different ears compared to a DJ.

Can you tell us about L_cio, who joined the label last year and also plays at Egg. How did this relationship come about?

Well, it was Ale Reis, who always helps me to dig around for new talents. When I’ve heard him, I loved! He came to my studio and he played live in front of me, with his flute and everything.

Then I heard a scrap from 'People Talk', with this amazing vocalist called Aroop Roy. I loved it and decided to produce the song with L_cio. Afterwards we did other productions like his latest release on D.O.C., called 'Traffic'. It’s a bomb. I’ve played it many times during my performances. People love it. L_cio is preparing one more release with us before his debut album!

We see that there's a 'Best of' on the way. Why did you decide it was time for that particular milestone?

Well, people were asking me to do a nice selection of my own favourites. Also, for this new generation, I’ve observed that many kids don’t have a clue what 'Beautiful Life' or 'Mr. Decay' are. Or even songs from my second or third album. Plus, it was a great opportunity to pack my favs into one box. It’s a nice story told by music. There’s music from my four albums and it shows a bit of my career till now. It was on the right moment to do that!

What's next in terms of releases and life in general?

I'm focused on the production of the new Elekfantz album. I'm lso doing a nice project with Roberto Menescal and Marcos Valle, both pillars of the second generation of Bossa Nova. And, of course, I'm already working on my fifth album. It has no name yet. But I'm very happy about my first songs. I'm already playing one or two.