Guti’s name has been on everyone’s lips of late; his collaboration with Dubshape ‘Every Cow Has A Bird’ was championed by pretty much every house jock on the planet and his recent debut album on Loco Dice’s Desolat received widespread acclaim. Now he’s teamed up with Luca Bacchetti – who has built up a solid reputation with releases on imprints on labels such as Ovum Recordings, Wagon Repair, Supernature and Be As One – for their first collaborative release.
The ‘Esa Nena Quiere EP’ contains two sizzling slices of latin-flavoured loveliness, both of which are instilled with an appropriately warm blaze of summer sunshine. Both extremely creative and massively complimentary of one another, this is a collaboration that looks likely to blossom in the future, but for now we caught up with them both to discuss the EP’s origins, their studio time together, and where exactly where the record is best enjoyed…  

This is your first collaboration together – how did you guys hook up?

Luca Bacchetti – I began charting some of Guti’s early productions and he simply wrote thanking me for the support. You can get a feel for someone’s sensitivity from the music; but here I realised from the start that there was something deeper, a mutual understanding regarding the kind of sounds, and we immediately became friends.

Guti – We both love the music in a very special way and have similar views on how it should be treated. Following one of those late night talks you get into we ended up making music together…simple as that.

It’s a great EP and Finale especially has a particularly beautiful breakdown…can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

G – I guess you could say it is a mix of both of our personalities…passionate like me and complex like Luca. ‘Finale’ is the first song we´ve written together and is full of detail. Luca added the finer points that make the song into a beautiful thing, and ‘Esa Nena Quiere’ (it’s me singing!) was just fun.

LB – I really like working on the layout of the songs … the breakdown is really important because it’s the moment when the atmosphere decompresses and allows you to change tack before taking off again with more energy. There’s a lot of “linear” music around … I like to interrupt the flow and then come back with renewed vigour.

What made you guys think that Defected would be a suitable home for the EP?

G – We love the songs and Defected will spread the word and give the record the best chance to be heard.

LB – This EP is a celebration of summer, it’s a party! The track combines our creative energies and the common denominator is our Latin background. We both agreed that it would be interesting to have the track released on Defected because it is a historic label on the house scene with openings for other musical genres and has always had the capacity to surprise.

Who did what when you were in the studio – how did the creative process work?

LB –  We worked both in the studio and apart. The studio work is very instinctive, in line with our individual personalities. I am very concerned with the construction of the beats and the rhythmic textures, and then together we try to merge other elements. Guti is a very talented pianist and has a great sense of pop…something I think we share. He is not too ‘easy’ without being too sophisticated either: he knows just how to capture the emotion with simplicity.

G – Luca is amazing in the studio and I am a musician. He is in every detail, giving me the chance to get my sound to another place and I learned a lot from him. The thing that I like the most about working with Luca is the space he gives me for my ideas and how he make them happen, almost in real time…it’s crazy!

As you say the record has a real summery vibe to it…did you have Ibiza in mind when you produced it?

G – Not especially, although ‘Esa Nena Quiere’ turned out totally Ibiza. We were more into bringing our own influences, I’m from South America and Luca from Italy and our cultural influences came quite naturally.

LB – Lately my own personal imagination is filled with beaches and far flung places, so Ibiza also fits into the picture.

Guti – You’ve just released your album on Desolat…what has the reaction been like so far?

So good, I’m enjoying it so much. It was a big thing for me and the label, and it has been made with so much love. The reactions are amazing, and everybody plays the songs which gives me another connection with the people.

Luca – You’ve previously released tracks on some incredibly influential labels– what else do you have planned for the next few months?
I’ve always worked with eclectic labels and in the coming months some new things are going to happen; but I don’t like to anticipate: I like the element of surprise. Obviously there will be a new EP on Hideout; but also lots of new music…a lot of playing.

Do you have plans for any further collaborations?

There is a really special song we made some months ago in Barcelona so guess at some point will be a record.
When and where is the perfect place to listen to the EP?

G – Deep in the dancefloor, peak time!

LB – Yeah…every party should be all about the dance floor!

Tell us something about one another that we wouldn’t otherwise know…

LB – There’s something which happens in the studio, I’m sure he isn’t even aware of it…when Guti is at the piano I don’t watch his hands or the screen but look at his eyes and from them I know exactly where we’re headed. He’s such an amazing guy!!!

G – He is one of the sweetest guys on earth I ever met, always positive and with a big smile…and he wears good hats!

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