The effect of Black American music over the last 200 years has been undeniable, to say the least – its impact is so great, in fact, that you wouldn’t be reading these words without it. One of the most significant innovations from the African Americans was Jazz music. Fluid in its form, Jazz’s concepts of improvisation and rhythmic complexity represented the expressive freedom of a people that were generally only free in name. So strong in fact was the effect of Jazz that it (like its precursor blues) became adopted worldwide. From the Americas to Europe to Asia, Jazz’s influence touched every corner of the world as artists from different countries began to incorporate their local sensibilities into the sound, slowly morphing it into new genres. And nowhere was this more prominent than in the South American nation of Brazil.
Brazil’s impact on the global music scene over the last few decades is nothing to scoff at. It first drew the eyes (and ears) of the world with Samba, a distinct sound conceived through an embrace of African and Portuguese instrumentation and centred around layered polyrhythms. Later came Bossa Nova, which fused the traditional Samba sound with the aforementioned American Jazz influences. When Bossa Nova emerged, Brazil was in its golden years. A growing middle class meant that Brazilians were keen to express themselves in new ways, resulting in a plethora of artists emerging from the country. Fast forward to the 1990s, and once again, Brazilian artists would adopt another black American genre – Techno.
The rise of electronic music was stagnated in its early years, however. The country had its moments with venues like Mau Mau & Renato Lopez’s Hell’s Club and Raveolution events pushing the sound to local audiences in the earlier part of the decade. Artists like Renato Cohen and Anderson Noise brought attention to the country, gaining international fame at the turn of the millennium – but the scene was still bottlenecked due to the economic challenges that came with expensive equipment and the high cost of international DJs.
The dawn of the 21st century, however, was pivotal. When the internet emerged, it brought greater access to music, thanks to the rise of peer-to-peer sharing platforms and venues like the revered Warung, which created a permanent base for the electronic community to anchor itself. All of this led to an explosion in youth culture, allowing artists like our guest, Marcal, to thrive.
Born in Goiânia, Brazil, Marcal began creating music around the 2010s, but his rise started towards the end of the decade. His groove-focused, textural brand of techno is inspired by his earlier forays into hardcore and psytrance. And like the modern musical figures before him, he too fuses the traditional musics of Samba and Bossa Nova with the black American Techno sound to create his strong, rhythm-focused brand of Techno.
Marcal is now known as one of Brazil’s rising techno stars. He has released on labels such as Rekids, Enemy, and Donato Dozzy and Neel’s Spazio Disponibile, and has made a name for himself by playing at events like Alex Justino’s Nin92wo in Goiânia. His music has also received support from Techno heavyweights Ben Klock, Richie Hawtin, DVS1, and Rødhåd, to name a few.
A storyteller at heart, his standout releases, such as Bionic Jungle and Nature Of The Future, blend themes of nature and technology, incorporating the elements of futurism from which the genre was initially founded. For us, he is one of the new school artists who is doing techno the right way, and with his New EP, Enchant & Deceive, releasing on Enemy Records on September 27th, we got together to chat about the music that has moulded him.
When did you first start listening to records?
I’ve been listening to records since I was young.
What type of stuff were you listening to then?
My parents were both passionate about music, so I grew up surrounded by everything from Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd to Donna Summer and Brazilian popular music. Those were my first memories of sound.
When did electronic music come into it?
In my early teens — around 12 to 14 — when the internet was still dial-up, I was downloading MP3s from P2P platforms like KazAa. That’s where I discovered old-school European trance and psytrance.
A little later, around 16, I stumbled across videos of people doing the Melbourne Shuffle. Those clips usually had hardstyle or hard trance playing, and I was even trying to learn the dance myself hahaha. But it also made me think: what if I made my own music like this? That’s how I first discovered music production.
When did you decide you wanted to start mixing?
That whole period with trance and psytrance was my first introduction. But techno came later. It came when I started going out more and experiencing it properly, on big sound systems. Feeling those subs physically gave me a new understanding of what techno is. That’s when I really fell in love, and it pushed me to start DJing professionally.
That moment was tied to a personal turning point. It was a grim time in my life because I lost my mother, and that made me decide to fully commit to music. I’m forever thankful to my father for supporting me through that period. That’s when I took DJing seriously and started building my path professionally.
What were your ‘bangers’ back then? Are they different now?
Definitely different. Back then, my bangers were more in-your-face type of techno tracks like Slam’s remix for Jackmaster’s ‘Bang The Box’ or ‘Kawasaki’ from 2000 And One. I still think they’re amazing, but they’re different from the kind of music I usually play nowadays.
How do you dig for tracks?
In every way possible. I go to record stores, search online on Beatport, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, check out DJ sets, and also exchange music with friends who are equally passionate about music. Sharing tracks with like-minded people is always inspiring.
What are you looking for when digging? An interesting name, a colourful cover, etc.?
When I dig, I’m really chasing vibes and textures that resonate with my sets and production. Names and covers catch the eye sometimes, but it’s mostly about the sound and feeling. Recently, I found a couple of hidden gems — like — that immediately went into my tour collection. There’s something thrilling about discovering music that hasn’t been overplayed, that still feels raw and alive.
When did you start producing?
I started around 16, when I first discovered Dutch hard dance music on YouTube.
What parts of the music you were listening to at the time bleed into your production style?
I’d say mainly sound design. Hardstyle tracks were full of heavily processed kicks, and back then it was hard to get a proper hardstyle kick drum from processing a clean or 909 sample — there just wasn’t much material online. So it became a lot of trial and error, experimenting with layering, distortion, EQ, and all other types of processing to get the punch and character I wanted. That process taught me to really dig into sound design, be creative with what’s available, and not be afraid to experiment.
Has your production style influenced the way you listen to and find music?
Actually, for me it’s the opposite. What I consume shapes how I produce. The records I listen to end up leaving fingerprints on my tracks. When I discover something with a unique groove, texture, percussion or whatever, it naturally inspires me and pushes me to experiment in the studio. My production is basically a reflection of the music I surround myself with.
Talk to us about your Enchant & Deceive EP. How was this record born?
Most of the tracks of the EP were finished around early 2024, just after I had moved to Europe. Back then, I was facing touring challenges that I was still getting used to, and found myself producing mostly on a laptop, often on the move, which forced me to approach things differently. At the same time, I also felt it was the right moment to take a step forward. Many people know me for a certain sonic signature, but I was eager to shift and go deeper with my sound. This EP represents a phase of this transition. Still rooted in my groove-driven identity, but exploring new textures, darker atmospheres, and more complex rhythmic layers. Some of the percussion ideas were subtly inspired by Samba and Bossa Nova music.
What’s next for Marcal?
The focus now is my upcoming Oceania and Asia tour. I’m excited about Australia, it’ll be my first time spending that much time there and playing across multiple cities. Then I’ll return to Japan after two years, which feels really special, while Seoul and Singapore will be new experiences. After Asia, I’ll close this run with two London dates, one with Elata Collective and a Section HQ livestream. London has such a deep connection to electronic music, so bringing my sound there always feels special.
Image Credits: Thiago Daher
Follow Marcal
Pre-order Enchant & Deceive EP here