In his decade-long career São Paulan electronic hero Gui Boratto has never made the same album twice surprising fans with each twist and turn as he continues to raise the bar a little higher. The same holds true with album four Abaporu which couldn’t be any more different than his last full-length go-around 2011’s III.
Abaporu is very much the day to III’s night trading the dark subterranean atmosphere of the latter for something brighter and altogether more colourful. Abaporu is hardly a one-trick pony though.
Here you have hazy opener “Antropofagia” the kosmische-tinted “22” and the majestic grand piano-quipped “Joker” while “Please Don’t Take Me Home” is pure feel-good vibes with the track — funk guitar and all — sounding like an alternate-universe Daft Punk if they continued to explore the realms of house and techno instead of teaming up with Tron and Pharrell. There’s also a strong pop thread running through Abaporu as vocals repeatedly enter the fray — in a good way. At its core though Abaporu is pure Boratto packed full of thick and meaty beat work beautifully textured production and one killer knack for melody. Yes the album takes some chances but Abaporu is all the better for it.
