Chapter 1: Barac’s evolution on the Romanian scene
Romanian’s scene is renowned for its array of highly regarded DJs and producers specialized in minimal. Labels such as [a:rpia:r] and icons as Thomas Melchior, Baby Ford and Steve O'Sullivan have worked over the years to shape this particular sound which can be characterized by dubby overtones, rolling grooves and abstract sounds.
Yet, even if the genre has seemed to be propelled into this dimension of eternal perfection minimal tracks tends to send you to, a new breed of Romanian artists have added to the genre their hues of melodic pads. It was time for Barac’s generation to give a new dimension to minimal.
Barac Nicolae is originally from Bacău a city located in Moldavia in the middle of the country. There Barac has met his friend Raresh who will soon shake Bucharest’s club scene with him and develop their own aesthetic.
High-school has been the main starting point with his implication into a radio station project where he used to play records from 70’s to 00’s. This diversity of sonorities and epochs have forged him a strong knowledge of music’s evolution as well as a large catalogue of sonorities. It was also there when he started to practice to mix in tracks from harder repertories such as techno thanks to his own show.
This experience has connected him to friends such as Rhadoo and Raresh who have introduced him to minimal sounds. This introduction has been the sparks for Barac who was discovering the exact type of sound he will be able to dedicate his whole life to. Then through their apparition behind the deck of the Zebra club in Bacău and their sets to the Sunwave festival on the Black Sea, they have begun to be more and more popular with their minimal shaky tracks yet transcended with a great use of melodies.
Chapter 2: A variety of different feelings
Barac’s first tracks were designed to shake the dancefloor with obsessive rhythms in order to catch the room. Yet, his sound has begun to evolve to something more ethereal with a culminating point with his first EP on Metereze Raresh’s label - A Variety of Different Feelings.
This EP can be seen as a kind of manifesto and a starting point for a new chapter flirting with spiritual atmospheres. The tracks are confronting diverse types of sonorities shifting from tropical pads like on Marea Neagră which evokes the vibe of Romanian coast. On the contrary, the EP can offers darker sonorities perfectly distilled to plunge the dancefloor during long hours set into something deeper.
The wide amplitude of emotions his music can awake is the directive line of his label - Moment. This name is a reference to the different states of mind one can meet during a long hour set on the dancefloor enabled by the long winding loops.
Chapter 3: The vision of the Shaman
Barac sees his music like a ritual which can help you to open the gate of introspection. Influenced by shamanic rituals and writings his conception of music is to let people’s emotion vanish into a cathartic dance.
“The shaman rituals are done to heal the body, the mind and the spirit. So when you are able to make contact with a lot of people and talk with them and see what problems they have and why they are happy, then it's easier to go into the studio and try to put it into music. It's why I chose this moto for the label: initiation, journey, healing. Yes, rhythm is for dancing. But also, for me, the rhythm is for helping people follow what I'm doing with a track. The message. If you do some research about shaman drummers, you'll see that there's someone helping the shaman in their ceremonies. They're playing a drum loop, because it helps to keep the people focussed when the shaman is singing different things.”
Resident Advisor - Barac: Insight and inspiration