- A friend of mine recently told me the thing he liked about Gui Boratto was his reliability, meaning that there was something comforting about both his release schedule and his productions. One man's reassuring steadiness is another's tedious predictability, though, and Boratto has been walking the fine line between the two postures since 2003 with his numerous releases for labels such as Audiomatique, Vendetta, Defrag Sound Processing and Kompakt.
This Renaissance release, quickly following M.A.N.D.Y. in the Renaissance: The Mix Collection series, starts where Addicted Volume 2, Boratto's first double disc mix left off. Except this time, out of the 23 tracks composing the mix, nearly a third are originals or remixes from Boratto himself, something that only furthers the homogeneous feel of the compilation. M.A.N.D.Y.'s showcased a more wide-ranging selection and daring technique. Next to it, Boratto's seems crucially underwhelming.
This is especially apparent on CD 1, as the producer's usual aesthetics (the measured sweeping and trance-ish synths, the emotion-ridden pads à la Superpitcher and quirky-sounding samples à la DJ Koze, the accentuated, almost Joy Division-esque live feel of the basslines) are exhibited through new takes on singles "Take My Breath Away" and "Azzurra," the humming "Telecaster" or the Bomb the Bass collaboration "The Infinites." That said, there is nothing there you haven't heard before on Boratto's 2009 long player. Even his reinterpretation of Ada's "Lovestoned," as faithful as it is to the original, can't help but feel a little morose and ordinarily familiar.
CD2's Hatzler/Gabe & Marcello V.O.R./Stimming sequence, for instance, is particularly bouncing with saccadic beats and carefully designed clicks and bits, but the stream is rapidly interrupted by "The Glam," a recent Boratto production that buzzes with electrifying, distorted pads and sub-level frequencies. Needless to say—notwithstanding the undisputable quality of the track itself—the transition comes across as forced, unnatural, as if the DJ felt the raging impulse to leave his own mark again. The mix switches gears toward the end as it goes into more uplifting techno mode, with Motor City Drum Ensemble's sharp remix of André Lodemann's "Vehemence of Silence" and Max Cooper's rousing "Stochastisch Serie" right before stepping into a depression-inducing but fitting coda with Tricky's muddy and sluggish "Past Mistake"—one of the rare passages from one genre to another that is graceful and, aesthetically speaking, justified.
It would be perverse to hold Boratto's consistency against him, especially when he keeps releasing 12-inches as efficient and enthralling as "I Feel Love" or his Trentemøller-esque, better-than-the-original rework of Massive Attack's "Paradise Circus." But what seems obvious here is that for the Brazilian producer, the mix CD format is more akin to another masterful studio-bound experience than a truly unique way to explore untried avenues. Reliability, in this case, unfortunately verges closer to redundancy.
トラックリストCD 1
01. Oliver Koletzki feat. Fran - Hypnotized
02. Gui Boratto - Take My Breath Away (John Tejada Remix)
03. Paul Kalkbrenner - Azure
04. Bomb The Bass & Gui Boratto feat. Paul Conboy - The Infinites
05. Dominik Eulberg - Daten-Übertragungs-Küsschen
06. Lusine - Double Vision
07. Gabriel Ananda - Schnee
08. André Sobota - Forgotten
09. Mathew Jonson - When Love Feels Like Crying
10. Gui Boratto - Telecaster
11. Gorge & Dubnitzky - Smile In My
12. Oxia - Sun Step
13. Robert Babicz - Astor (Gui Boratto Remix)
14. Ada - Lovestoned
15. Gui Boratto - Azurra (It's Not The Same Mix)
CD 2
01. Gui Boratto - Thrills
02. Christian Smith - Milky Way
03. Kiki feat. Pirica - Immortal (Anja Schneider Remix)
04. Guido Schneider meets Jens Bond - Eijeijei
05. Ben Klock feat. Elif Biçer - OK (Kenny Larkin Remix)
06. Josh Wink - Dolphin Smack (Martin Buttrich Remix)
07. Hatzler - HNO (Lemos Remix)
08. Gabe & Marcello V.O.R - Funky Zeit
09. Stimming - Chemistry
10. Gui Boratto - The Glam
11. D-Dub - Deep Blue (Stimming Remix)
12. André Lodemann - Vehemence Of Silence (Motor City Drum Ensemble Perspective)
13. Max Cooper - Stochastisch Serie
14. Tricky - Past Mistake