Getting his start by throwing the now infamous Kunst:stoff Breakz hip-hop parties in Dresden, Cuthead has since made the transition to house and techno, though he most certainly hasn't ditched his roots. His mixes and tracks bubble with hip-hop beats layered with smooth, lush, organic synths - though he still makes straight up hip-hop and trip-hop cuts now and again, like his well received "Everlasting Sunday" EP. Recently, he's connected with the ever-popular Detroit Swindle duo (noticing a big bump in fans in the process), having played their first The Great Escape party at Studio 80, which doubled as an album release party for their recent "Boxed Out" LP.
Along with his meticulous productions and tour schedule, he creates his own beautifully crafted music videos for tracks like "The Sinner." With a new and ever-growing fan base, a newborn, and a bevy of remixes, originals and collaborations on the way, we decided it was time to sit down for a Fresh Blood with Cuthead.
Cuthead Fresh Blood Pulse Radio Mix by Pulse Radio on Mixcloud
I understand you grew up in hip-hop, but found house music back in 2008. How did that transition occur, and who were some of your early house music influences? Around 2000 I started to produce music for some friends who started to rap. It was really loopy stuff and the main purpose was to make the MC sound good. Later I came from really simple rap beats to the more playful trip hop stuff, and also came in touch with IDM and electronic music. I mean, hip-hop is also electronic produced, but it does not sound like that. When I was younger, I really had some blinders on. For example, I did not like four-on-the-floor beats at all and also skipped the track when there were to much synthesizers. Over the years, I opened my mind and discovered genres like disco music, and also found some housey stuff, which made it easy to take my first steps into this genre.
The first artists I dug where big names like Kerri Chandler, MCDE (Motor City Drum Ensemble) and Masters At Work. Up to now, I still prefer the sample-based and organic sound more then the industrial and electronic.
With your history of throwing parties with Kunst:stoff Breakz, do you have any plans on creating your own nights around Uncanny Valley? I think, the period when we did the illegal Kunst:stoff parties is a closed chapter, because most of the other crewmembers moved to other cities and got their own projects there. In the end, it faded out on its own, and it was okay like that. I am not sad that we do not do illegal parties anymore, but I got some good memories about the times. Today I try to focus more on producing music, but sometimes am itching to do another party. We did, for example, a little open air on the birthday of the label.
You have one of the best biographies I’ve ever read, full of orgies, beautiful women, and insect photography. How much is fact, and how much is legend? Everything is true. The wildest episode isn’t even mentioned. I won’t tell too much, it’s got something to do with David Hasselhoff, world domination and roller skates.
What’s your wildest memory from the Kunst:stoff Breakz days? I remember, on one of our illegal parties in a abandon cellar. The power generator stopped working at around 2 o’clock. The whole venue was dark and everyone pulled out their flashlights. We tried to fix the generator, but it did not work out. We had a band playing that night, and suddenly the drummer started playing. Everybody went crazy and people were waving the flashlights. The crowd was dancing to the drum solo for 1 hour, until the drummer had to stop because he had bloody hands!
I love the videos you’ve done for “Vibratin’” and “The Sinner.” Have you always been into photography and filmmaking? Photography is my hobby since I was a teenager. My father was an ambitious photographer too and gave me all his equipment and explained to me everything. The moving picture is something like the Champions League of arts for me, because it combines my favorite elements – music and pictures. We also want to shoot a video for one of the song of the everlasting Sunday EP soon.
I read that you were expecting to be a father this year? Has that happened yet? And if so, what’s that been like? Has that slowed down your production and tour schedule at all, or has in inspired you to make new and different music? Yes my little son was born in January. In the beginning I was afraid that everything will change and I won’t find time to do music anymore, but it turned out that he is a really friendly and handsome kid. It is also very inspiring on the other hand, and I talked to other musicians who also have kids and manage to do both. I definitely had to slow down touring a bit and only play two gigs a month. I think it’s most important to find the right balance between family, party, job and relaxing.
Your productions are very unique, sometimes pulling from your hip-hop roots and sometimes heading towards house. Do you usually head into the studio with an idea or a plan, or do you usually just let it flow? When you are doing sample-based music, you are looking for sounds wherever you go. It can happen anywhere and in any genre of music - suddenly I listen to something creative for my taste, like a special hi-hat rhythm, a cool snare sound or a way an effect is used. I keep it in mind, and when I start a new song I combine the ideas I’ve collected. The formula is like: listen, abstracting and recombine. Sometimes I start with a drumbeat; sometimes I’ve got a nice sample as basis. Usually I don't have something in mind when I start. It’s a lot about tying out different things and letting things flow to a point where i like the result.
Where do you mainly draw inspiration from when you make music? Other musicians, for instance, or is it from things like everyday life, art, books, and film, or something completely different? I find inspiration in other contemporary artists, but mostly in older music from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Sometimes I also find a sample in TV, or a film gets me in a certain mood, which I would like to express in a song. Very important for my music is the coincidence. I really like to experiment and see what happens. Sometimes I keep a beat loop running for hours and take a random samples and slice them somewhere, try different start points, pitching, or effects, and maybe something interesting is happening. When you do a profession for a long time, you usually want to get more control about what you do, but in music it’s very important to let things slide at some point.
Where do you find most of your samples? It’s really easy today to find out what your favorite hip-hop group sampled in their songs. When I started, you were really lucky to find a sample on a record, and we only had these GDR records of Amiga everywhere around in East Germany. Almost everyone had the same collection before the wall came down. For me, it was a good start to look at what other producers sampled in their songs and try to start digging from this point. Today it is really easy to find a group which is connected to another song you already like using Discogs or YouTube. Also, compilations are a great way to find interesting artists from the past and look what else happened around this person.
You’re the first guest for Detroit Swindle’s new club night, The Great Escape. How did that connection come about? And do you have any plans for working with the guys in the studio in the future? One day, the clicks on Soundcloud and Facebook went through the ceiling and I found out that it was because of Detroit Swindle, who had shared my song, “The Sinner,” on their Facebook page. I also liked their releases like the “Guess What“ EP. Early this year, Lars of Detroit Swindle wrote me a message and asked for a remix for their upcoming album, which was really cool. It will be on the second remix EP. Later he also came up with the idea to invite me to the release party.
Finally, what’s next for you and Uncanny Valley? Any big news, releases or tour plans you can tell us about? We will release an album on Uncanny Valley with all my early stuff later this year. There are also some remixes for Detroit Swindle, 6th Borough Project and Son Of Sound in the pipeline. I am also in contact with Sampling As An Art, and would like to release a track on his label. I will play in some clubs around Europe and there are also plans to do a little North America tour together with Jacob Korn later that year, but that is not safe yet.