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. To mark the release, we managed to cop an exclusive hour-long Prima Lux mix from the man himself. Check out the mix and interview with Barbuto now below!

WWD: Hey Christian, a very warm welcome back to When We Dip. How’s it going? 

Absolutely fantastic, thanks for having me today. I was with you guys a few years ago so glad to be back with you.

WWD: Thanks very much for taking the time for putting this mix together for our readers. Can you talk us through it?

No problem. I love mixing at home, I have the new 3000s which I sold a kidney for lol so any excuse to use them. I am mostly known for techno but I have house roots and this mix is right in between. I think you will hear it. I love banging out techno but also like to have fun and this mix was really fun to make (with the aid of a couple of cocktails).

WWD: What are the main pieces of equipment you have in your studio, are you mainly hardware or software based?

Since moving back to Australia 100% in the box. I had synths and drum machines back in Austin but sold everything. I just picked up a 64 gig Mac with 2 terabytes and brought my UAD Apollo, UAD plugs and have the full suite of Arturia plugs. My room is fully treated by Acoustics Australia so it sounds awesome.

WWD: You’re back in Australia after 25 years in the States. What drove you make the move home after all this time?

My parents are here and my wife and I love Australia. It’s my favorite place to play and love the territory, landscape and people. Back in 2016 I came here to play for the first time for the WeLove brand which is led by Nick Reverse. We have become very close and have big plans. The WeLove brand is very strong and has the most fun parties to play in Australia.

WWD: We’re super excited about your new EP on Mavic Music. What can fans expect from the record?

It’s not trendy techno but a solid original record that can be grooved to on or off the dance floor. Flipside is an amazing vocalist and musician so the track is musical in nature but has some solid techno drive. The 3 remixers, Mike Turing, Lisa May and Ludovic are all so talented and did fantastic work. I have been playing them all equally. I played the Lisa May remix in the mix I did for you guys as it has some cool classic house vibes.

WWD: Mavic seems to be going from strength to strength of late. What’s the most rewarding thing about running your own label?

Communicating with artists is a lot of fun. I know how incredibly hard it is to get signed these days so I get allot out of their excitement. The most rewarding part though is finding that track that you know will get played. We have a serious promo list so when we get that big artist downloading its so exciting to send that screen shot to the artists. If you can’t help your peers grow and maybe blow up what’s the point? Allot of our artists have signed to huge labels after Mavic.

WWD: What’s coming next in your schedule, anything exciting planned for 2022? 

Things are up and down with covid here with some restrictions on indoor clubs and dancing so it is frustrating. Staying positive though, making music, doing projects for WeLove and lots of selfless promotion. I’m trying to take the whole social media thing serious and learn how to grow it. I’m playing the WeLove club night on the Gold Coast next week and opening for Victor Ruiz on Feb 26 so yeah cool stuff in Australia.

WWD: Thanks for taking the time to chat to us today mate, is there anything else you would like to add before we finish?

Thanks so much, I love your publication. I just want to add for producers to keep at it and be patient. This is year 23 for me and I am still having as much fun if not more as 20, 15 or 10 years ago and look forward to the next 23.

Barbuto – Techno Colour Dreams is out now via Mavic Music