PRATO: A Breakbeat Life

PRATO: A Breakbeat Life

By: Slap It Records

Some people are drawn to music through lessons or lineage. For Prato, it began in the record bins.

“I was into music from a very early age,” he says, “but the desire to make music came through DJing.” That desire, sparked during the tail end of the '80s and flamed by the raw energy of hip hop and new wave, laid the foundation for a decades-long love affair with rhythm, vinyl, and the club underground.

Back then, hunting for the 12” version of a track wasn’t just about length—it was about discovery. “You got extended versions with additional parts,” Prato recalls. “Before long, I had a large record collection.” By high school, he was already DJing parties and piecing together mix tapes, a hobby that turned semi-professional when a gear purchase led to a club residency. “I ended up playing in clubs late in high school and early into college.”

His sets expanded in scope and tempo when he joined a record pool and got his first taste of house and early rave sounds. Then, in 1992, things exploded.

“That UK Rave sound—DJ Seduction, Prodigy’s first album—it hit hard,” Prato says, describing the eruption of “hardcore” breakbeats. He dabbled in jungle but found his groove in slower tempos. Then, in 1999, Plump Night Out landed like a meteor. “That was it. I had found the sound I would eventually write music in.”

From there, Prato evolved into a tastemaker. In 2005, he launched Frosted Breaks on NSB Radio—a show that would help shape the breakbeat ecosystem. “I’ve been releasing music commercially since 2007,” he says, “but the style has been heavily influenced by the mix of sounds I’ve played weekly on my show for 20 years.”

That mix—“techy, proggy, and funky”—is the engine behind his catalog. “I write what I would want to play on the show,” he says. “So it’s a very symbiotic relationship.”

The Process, Perfectly Imperfect

Prato’s workflow is less about discipline and more about momentum. “My process is undisciplined, though getting better,” he admits. “I start a lot of tracks that don’t go anywhere until I have one that catches.”

Working in Ableton with a carefully curated template, Prato has streamlined the setup process to avoid wasting time—especially with drums. “I’ve got drum racks for kicks, vetted one-shots, and free tambourine patterns by Citybox as Vital presets,” he explains. “That part used to take forever. Now it’s fast.”

But the drop? That’s where things get dicey. “It’s usually the scary part,” he confesses. “Not finding the right bass idea strong enough—it's where sketches go to die.”

Human vocals, even tiny ones, are key. “Some sort of spoken word, or sung phrase. I’ve even used synths that sound like human voices,” he says. “It gives the listener something to latch on to.”

He doesn't chase themes; he lets them emerge. “My process is just experimenting until you find something. Letting it tell you what it needs to be.”

The Summer of Prato

While many producers release a track or two every season, Prato’s 2024 summer run was an avalanche. “It was just serendipity,” he says, “but it really elevated my profile within the breaks community.”

It started with “Enough” on Close Your Eyes. Then “Bad Behavior” on 83 peaked at #12 on the Breaks 100. A Diesel Recordings EP followed, plus a remix of Pete Wilde’s “Funk Legacy” on Wildfire Recordings, which sat at #5 on the release chart. He closed the summer with “The Count” on Electrobreakz.

One track stands out. “‘Ishmel’ on the Diesel EP has a special story,” he says, smiling. His daughter had a running joke—leaving notes or voice recordings that said “hey… ishmel,” a warped version of “you smell.” In the middle of producing, he got a voice memo. “So I put it in the track and named it after the joke. Right after the release, she got engaged. It’s dark, but has this funny inside joke built in.”

Art vs. Industry

By day, Prato leads creative at an ad agency. “TV, radio, billboards—you name it,” he says. “The work is creative, but it’s also filtered through clients, budgets, and focus groups.”

Music is his creative refuge. “It’s truly mine. No compromises.” He likens it to crafting something meaningful in a medium most see as disposable. “In both cases—advertising and dance music—I’m trying to do them in a way that makes them lasting.”

That mindset has made him a realist about the music business. “Breaks is the most despised genre in all of EDM,” he says. “It should be the gateway drug—the entry point to dance music. Instead, it gets renamed and rebranded constantly. It’s insulting. Lol.”

Still, he’s not going anywhere. “I’ve got a single on Close Your Eyes coming out in December. I also scored over ten tracks for a documentary on the rise and fall of a Vegas nightclub that got picked up by Miramax.”

Looking Forward, Playing Out

With grown kids and more freedom, Prato’s looking to return to live DJing. “I didn’t DJ out a lot while raising my kids. But now there’s no reason not to,” he says. “Being on famous labels and not DJing out is like having a business card you never use.”

His advice for new producers? “Use DJing to fuel production. Don’t do it like me. Haha.”

Final Word

“Thank you to anyone who listens to my show, buys or streams my music, or just supports this genre. Special thanks to Wes and Slap It for inviting me to share my story.”

You can catch his sets on YouTube by searching Prato Live Sets, or stream his music everywhere under the name Prato.

Prato has a new single titled “Sounds Dope” out on Slap It Records on August 29th.

https://hypeddit.com/prato/soundsdope