5 Minutes with… Be Morais
Be Morais is a Brazilian producer turning heads right now! His latest dropped on the Not Another imprint and featured a number of stellar reworks, we spoke to the main to jump deeper into the mind and what went into this release.
How are you? How is summer so far?
I’m great, thanks! Here in Brazil is now winter, but were I live, Recife, is actually summer the whole year! These last month I’ve been spending a lot of time in studio, some partys… So… Realy good!
There isn’t much info on you out there – introduce yourself for those that don’t know?
I’m a 26-years-old Brazilian Producer. My name is Bernardo Morais (shortened to Be Morais). This year me alongside with 4 producers/friends started our label, Not Another, which is delivering some great Music with a lot of Live involved.
When did you first get into dance music and why?
I think it was about 2008/2009. My brother (Rodrigo Ilino) took me to Nox club and some raves. At Nox we heard a lot of trance, it was a great club! He introduced me to George (GRG/Shades of Light) and they both influenced me a lot to start djing and producing.
I think what most inspired me was the possibilities. I Remember listening Moderat I for the first time and asking him “what is that for a genre?”. He could not tell… That was amazing for me!
How long till you found your own sound? Are you still looking?
I think I’ll aways be looking for that, I think. It took a lot of unfinished or poorly finished songs until I decided to release something. Danny Oliveira has aways been great at mentoring me in this timming. It took me almost 2 years to find the first tracks that I could release and make sense to me. I think I’m looking more for a signature than for a genre. There are so many interesting sounds out there, there is no need to block inspirations and influences.
What are your aims as a DJ and producer – what do you try and achieve with your tunes and sets?
I think the most present aspect in my sound is depth and the love for contrasts that emphasise distinct elements should show in my music. Beauty and Darkness, depth and strength..
Sets must tell a story! Must also have a connection with the dancefloor. Blending these two aspects is something that I aways seek to achieve.
My aim, both as a dj and as a producer is to not get stuck in one formula, or sound… keep experimenting and, if possible, keep some sort of signature in my sound.
Do you write music for certain places, times in the year, dance floors etc?
Until now I focused mostly on the dance floor. Try to achieve nice grooves and melodies that speak with the dance floor is aways in my head. But I do have some ideas of more thematic music. I think all needs to be done in due time and right now, dance music is what I think I should be doing.
What gear did you use for it? Have you any favourite toys or tricks or tips?
Most of my music is done inside the box. I use the NI Maschine for sequencing drums and some other stuff. I have also a D.S. Mopho which has been providing me some very interesting sounds. Sometimes I get my hands on other analog gear and then I’m able to bring somethings different. Inside the box, I’m using the Arturia Collection V and a LOT of tape emulations! I sort of a tape maschine addicted. I actually have an old AKAI tape machine, but it is broken and I’m trying to find someone to fix it, so that I can add it to my processing gear =D.
What are you excited about or have you got coming up for the rest of the year?
There are some things that I’ve done still on Beyond’s vibe! What I’m really excited about is the process of finding new sounds right now. It’s the same process that led to the Beyond series and it’s aways awesome to work on something new. I’m also looking forward to the next releases on Not Another. This is a very important project for me and all the crew, and things are happening nicely.
What was the last record you bought and why did you buy it?
I think it was the 12” Cosmic Cowboys “Zero Gravity Love”. Is expensive to buy vinyl in Brazil, so I don’t buy a lot (far less then I wanted to). I bought because it was something different, it caught my ears. It comes with 2 great remixes too =D.
What do you use in the DJ Booth – vinyl or digital, does it matter, why do you use what you do?
I play it digital, with CDJ’s. As I said, is very expensive to buy vinyl in Brazil, as much as this could be fun, it has it’s costs. Also, I’m trying to play more and more of my own music in my sets, things that are to come. Playing with computer for me would only be an option if it brought something different, and now I find it would take a lot of time to prepare something in that format that I would rather spend in studio making music.
Pick up a copy of Be Morais’ latest here.
