Bawrut is a Madrid based, Italian born producer and DJ. Heavily influenced by the work of Chicago pioneers, established European teachers and every sound he can find on the internet or during digging sessions, Bawrut’s taste toes a wonderfully balanced line between classics and brand new tracks. Made up of music taken from his own digital Silencio imprint, his first physical release on Ransom Note Records boasted the early hits ‘Ciquita’ and ‘1234’ which received heavy support from the likes of Jackmaster, Axel Boman and Erol Alkan. Mixmag, DJ Mag, Test Pressing and Data Transmission also proclaimed R$N001 as one of the freshest releases of that year. In 2017 Bawrut continued his unstoppable run with a pair of instantly sold out records: the ‘Rumba’ EP on Ransom Note and ‘Drums of Passion’, his debut 12” on Hard Fist. On top of that, there was a constant stream of remixes, in particular his take on Joe Goddard’s ‘Lasers’, which definitely made the Madrid-based producer and DJ someone to watch closely.
What’s the story behind your artist alias ‘Bawrut’? Is it a neologism deriving from your first name and something else?
There are a couple of DJ Boruts in Slovenia (my name is Slovenian since my city is divided by the border) so I tried to find an alternative way to title my music project using my first name. I checked how to pronounce the name Boris (Baw • ris) and that’s how I found my alias.
What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?
Playgroup : Party Mix vol. 1 was a supernova, still one of my favourites! Not a proper mix but a groove enciclopedia.
If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?
A young Larry Levan nowadays. Could be great see how he could reacts with the contemporary music and see if it goes disco and house or maybe trap, EDM or whatever…
What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?
This is a polaroid with my first set up: turntables on an ironing board put over two chairs. Cheap mixer and 2 CDJ Gemini!! Now I have my 2 Technics SL 1200 and a Beringher mixer.
In your biography it says that your music is ‘heavily influenced by Chicago pioneers’. When and where did you first get in contact with electronic music and what fascinated you so much that it literally drew you in?
The first time I said ‘this is the music I want to listen to’ was when Ciaky, a friend of mine, played ‘Let Me Ride‘ by Dr. Dre in his VW Polo. That West Coast lead (thanks George Clinton) blew my mind! Then, it was July 14th, 2001, and I was in Jesolo (a famous seaside town close to Venezia) because one of my best friends, Roberto, had told me that Daft Punk was going to DJ there. It was a Crydamoure party to be honest; there was just Guy-Man, Rico, Play Paul and Raw Man, but that night was THE night. After the first record, ‘Holidays on Ice‘ by Le Knight Club, I realized what kind of house music I would listen, play and make! I still have goosebumps when I think about that moment! Now, imagine me listening to ‘Teachers’ and trying to connect the dots between George Clinton and Louie Vega or Dr. Dre and Lil Louis – how you can’t be fascinated by the Pioneers? I don’t know why Chicago House entrapped me – maybe it was the functionality and the simplicity of that music along with the DIY spirit, compared with Disco where everything was played by musicians.
Torture the Artist: Name a track that you connected with during that period of time; what memories pop up in your head when you think of it?
Kool Rock Steady ‘I’ll Make You Dance‘. Not 100% Chicago, 0% pioneer, but it’s the first TRAX record I bought and I still love it.
You released the EP, ‘Jomo’, on Pets Recordings. To what extent is the EP a homage to your early musical influences, as we’ve noted that one of the tracks is named ‘Pioneers’, too?
That track is a deconstructed disco/early-house track. It has disco elements, percussions, strings, and house elements, like a simple arpeggio and a digital bass line. The voices of Frankie Knuckles and David De Pino talking about the Paradise Garage and Larry Levan are my special tribute to all the Pioneers.
Generally speaking, what’s an artist or track you would like to remix, and why?
I don’t know. All the tracks I like are too good to be remixed so it wouldn’t make sense to do so. There are a lot of good producers that I like, but saying that I’d like to remix them is like saying their music needs something more, and honestly, I don’t think it does.
https://soundcloud.com/bawrut/shooreee-2
Having produced music for more than a decade, and having being involved in the scene for so long, what were the highs and lows in your artistic career, and how did you manage to overcome the lows?
I don’t look at the highs and lows; I look at rather what I have achieved and learned from good and bad situations. I think now that I have had a good experience in the dance music business, including relationships between artists, managements, booking agencies, everytime I think about all of these very important parts of the game I remember that my mission is simply just making music – and I forget about everything else. Like a horse race. Right now I’m just focused on what I have ahead and don’t look at what is on my left and right side.
Whilst producing music what is a sound or studio device that always does the job when you perhaps found yourself stuck creatively?
I don’t know. I did a lot of music squeezing the best out of the Roland TB 303 – now I’m exploring the KORG MS 2000 more. And plugins and Ableton Live as well. I’m not a great fan of that studio with 7 drum machines, 12 synthesizers and 2 modulars – too much stuff in one room. The risk of losing myself into the beautiful sounds of all these machines is too high! I think that the less devices you have, the more creative you have to be in always trying to do something different with the same tools.