Barbuto: techno's tempo and vibe fits my true personality and is my honest sound

Radio Intense is pleased to welcome our next guest, Barbuto!

Back in his native Australia for the first time in over two decades following a twenty-five-year stint living in the USA, Antipodean producer, DJ and label boss Barbuto is a man on a mission. Boasting a slew of hugely successful releases on the likes of Octopus Recordings, Tronic, Phobiq, Unity, OFF Recordings, Transmit Recordings and his own Mavic Music imprint over the past few years, the Sydney-born talent now looks to grab 2022 by the horns as he unveils his latest musical offering, Techno Colour Dreams.

Released via his burgeoning label Mavic Music alongside a trio of remixes from some of the most exciting up-and-coming artists on the Australian circuit, Techno Colour Dreams is a veritable masterclass in modern, driving techno, courtesy of a producer at the very top of his game right now. Inaugurating the four-part package with the uncompromising title track Techno Colour Dreams, Barbuto's relentless opener exudes raw, energetic dynamism across its six-minute duration as he combines pulsating basslines and cutting-edge production techniques with MC Flipside's inimitable spoken word topline to open his 2022 catalogue in emphatic fashion.
— Hello Barbuto and happy New Year! How are you today?
— Thanks guys, doing really well. A serious pleasure to be with you guys today.
— Where in the world are you right now?
— I'm in a small town called Bowral, it's just over an hour south west of Sydney in a gorgeous winery type area. Very productive place to be with no distractions, close to my parents and and easy train ride to Sydney for gigs and flights.
— What's the music scene like in Sydney right these days?
— For me it's as good as anywhere in the world. It's actually my favorite city and place to play. Great crowd, great promoters and just straight fun.
— Massive congratulations on your upcoming release 'Techno Colour Dreams' on your label Mavic Music. Can you talk to us more about this record?
— Thank you very much I am very proud of it and it has been a memorable adventure putting it together with all the people who have been involved. It started as a track that was not straight peak hour but something groovy that I could play myself at an earlier time of the night if needed. It was this way with just the beats and no vocal for close to a year and it did great on the dance floor but I thought amongst all the noise these days we have to do more to stand out so I started thinking of the right vocalist and MC Flipside from Vancouver came to mind. I hit him up and he loved the beats and wrote some great lyrics for the top line. There is definitely a message in there and it carries the tune well.
— The single comes with an epic remix package from Mike Turing, Lisa May and Ludovic. How did those connections come about and what do you think they each bring to the release?
— I've known these producers now for a few years as they have been releasing on my label Mavic for a while. Since this is my first release after moving back to Australia after 26 years I wanted all Australians to be remixers so these 3 came to mind because they are cool people and dope in the studio. They all sound different and gave truly fantastic versions each. I have been playing all of them equally.
— Going back to your early raving days, can you tell us when you fell in love with electronic music?
— It was back in 1999 New Years night at a mini golf, fun house type place in Sacramento California. It was called Fuzzy Wuzzy Kingdom lol. I tell you what it was the most intense most fun jaw to the floor fun ever. The following year was all about DJs and music (any genre) and figuring out this new scene. Ultimately (pun intended) it was Ultimate Bass by Carl Cox mix CD that sealed the deal. I saw him play that year at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco that year and he was a mad man. So cool.
— Why did you choose to pursue techno over other genres of electronic music?
— Techno's tempo and vibe fits my true personality and is my honest sound. When I sit down to make beats it's what comes out even though I am a little more on the groovy slower tempo style. I still love tech house though and can get down with pretty much anything as a fan.
— Let's talk about your label Mavic Music. How's that all going? Are there any other projects upcoming that you're able to share with us?
— Mavic is ridiculously busy. I am a sucker for cool tracks and cool artists so I sign way too much. We have a release pretty much every week. I am committed to being more picky but for whatever reason the release list is still way out till August now. It's allot of fun and I like chatting with producers and pushing them to make their tracks better. I personally will be mostly releasing on my own label from here on out but always open to releasing on labels of nice people if they are hard workers.
— Looking forwards, do you have any specific goals or objectives you would like to achieve next year?
— I truly hope to break into the Australian market. It's hard here, very competitive and the DJs are in my opinion a little better than in other places. The producers here even though many are unknown are so good it's a bit shocking. 2 big releases will be great and I hope to help allot of new artists with their music careers.
— Finally, do you have any other projects coming up soon that you'd like to share with us?
— Yes I have a collaboration with HART from the UK that is a serious party groove bomber EP and a single called Anytime Funk that is a serious one too. Thanks guys so much for this interview I love your publication.