hubevents

“Richly textured euphoric soundscapes of electronic music”
Plastic Magazine

“He’s delighted ears worldwide with his soothing, downtempo sounds and worldly melodies”
Earmilk

It’s an amusing paradox how Parra for Cuva’s new album Juno, containing recordings of the South American ronroco, an Indian flute player, and the hammered dulcimer, an ancient Persian instrument, was almost entirely produced within the four walls of the artist’s studio in Berlin. Back in 2019, the German musician found himself in a sort of pre-pandemic lockdown – his girlfriend was pregnant at the time and the couple’s activities were mostly confined to their home. Still, Nicolas Demuth managed to fit the world into Juno – explorations with new instruments and languages, tracks named after African animals and exotic destinations. Interestingly, the album itself, Juno borrows its name from a child that lay safe inside a womb and hadn’t yet experienced the world at all.

That’s the beauty of the 21st century though, one barely has to leave a room to travel far and wide. Parra for Cuva’s previous highly acclaimed album, Paspatou, titled after the butler of Jule Verne’s “Around The World In 80 Days”, already hinted at the musician’s worldly outlook. It also carved a unique position for Parra for Cuva as an artist, who brought a truly original sound to electronic music by mixing emotional dance floor experimentations with acoustic and ethnic soundscapes. Juno takes this global interaction further with the participation of seven musicians from around the world, many of whom Nicolas met online and worked with remotely. For the artist, music-making isn’t about converging ideologies and world views, rather these multi- cultural collaborations were forged solely on the basis of a mutual love of music. In his studio, the diverse display of instruments – from bells to flutes to kalimbas and hang drums of all kinds – makes evident just how much Nicolas is an explorer of sound, “I don’t believe in spirituality in music but there’s definitely something when you take these traditional melodies and put them together with synths and beats – it takes you on a trip,” he says. Juno’s aptly named opener, Her Entrance, which features recordings of an Indian flute player Nicolas met somewhere in the desert of Rajasthan, feels indeed like an entryway into the world, in all its different colours, cultures and creeds.

Parra for Cuva has no problem in mixing it all up – vocals might come in the form of Ordel’s catchy English lyrics, sung by the Australian Kyson or by South African singer Bongewize Mabandla singing in his mother-tongue isiXhosa in Kamara. While the former track uses gentle guitar melodies by British neo-soul guitarist Beau Diako to inspire wander, the latter uses electronic grooves – provided by German analog synthesizer guru Moglii – to do just the same. Genre-wise there’s also a big compound in Juno that spans downtempo to house with pit stops in hip-hop and pop rhythmics, it’s part of Parra for Cuva’s style to surprise listeners, “I always want to have something weird that you wouldn’t expect in my music,” explains the musician. Manila Palm which starts off as the album’s more accessible and straightforward track, suddenly reveals itself through an unpredictable chorus of heavy bassline and a James Brown-style drumset. Somehow having this many influences and styles in the album doesn’t make Juno one bit incoherent – the tracks fit in and flow into one another perfectly. It’s music that’s in constant movement, seeping slowly and carrying you along with it. Despite being based in the city of techno, Parra for Cuva’s music stands in sharp contrast to Berlin’s distinguished hard electronica. Nicolas is making music much more akin to contemporaries such as Christian Loffler and Max Cooper, who are unafraid of infusing their electronic productions with warm, oftentimes melancholic, analog sounds, “As a musician, I see myself as more mature. My sound is calmer, wiser I think,” reflects Nicolas.

Juno is an entrance into a world that’s multi-cultural and teeming with diversity, but it’s also a serene and peaceful space. Given the year at hand, this entry might also be seen as an escape from our current limited and at times polarized reality. Juno is a meditative and dreamy journey, ever challenging the listener with subtle twists that interrupt the hypnotic groove. “Forget language and all of that and just listen. That’s how I want people to listen to the songs, not thinking about it too much,” says Parra for Cuva.

Unique electronica quartet Stavroz, the Belgian band which opened new horizons in the dance genre, will take the stage at Piraeus Club Academy in Athens on September 23rd.

Our special guest, K.atou, will join us for a night full of beats!

“Stavroz is changing the way we listen to dance music.”

Hailing from the land of compromise in the heart of Europe, the four friends of Stavroz found each other in the east of Flanders. In its inception, IJsbrand De Wilde & Gert Beazar focussed mainly on playing DJ sets and creating music in which they loved colliding worlds. Only a few years later they hooked up with Maxim Helincks & Pieter De Meester to expand their DJ activities to a performing band and continued to try and find an unbeaten path in electronic music. This culminated in their delicately acoustic, organic and cinematic approach to electronic music. As a result they were awarded second place for “best producer” and “best breakthrough artist” in national awards for Belgium’s electronic music scene.

In the years that followed, the four kept expanding their catalogue and continued to develop that uniquely own style. Their EP “The Ginning” resulted in an early breakthrough for the four-some. It reached gold status in France, dominated the nr. 1 spot on the Hype Machine and was chosen as vinyl of the month by Germany’s “Faze Magazine”, mainly thanks to the B-side “The Finishing”.

In order to keep freedom in their music production and to be able to support other artists with a like minded vision, they started their record label “Moodfamily”. It was on this label that their second hit single “Gold Town” was released. It kept the nr. 1 spot on Beatport’s “Electronic Top 100” for several months and was picked up by Rockstar Entertainment and added to GTA 5’s (already) excellent in-game music. Although Stavroz is now 11 years old, many of their songs are still relevant and are quietly nudging towards timelessness. Over half million monthly listeners and over 100.000 followers on Spotify alone will concur.

Their intimate live performance grew more dramatic and their unique dj sets spread like wildfire as they started frequenting many international stages. Coachella (US), Fusion Festival (DE), Wonderfruit (THA), Pukkelpop (BE), Strawberry Fields (AUS), Tropico (MX), Three Points Festival (FL, USA) all fell victim to Stavroz’s unusual dramatic, melancholic yet determined approach. The band was quickly invited by the acclaimed Youtube channel “Cercle” to perform a streaming concert at Fort Saint- Eynard in France where once again, they managed to create a wholesome, comforting soundtrack for a place, which no words can describe.

2022 marks another landmark in Stavroz’s history as they release their debut album “Mindibu”

K.atou

Athens based K.atou is a key player in the Greek house and techno scene. Notorious for her love for Detroit techno and records that tend to make you trip as well as her admiration for the Chicago sound.

Purely on the strength of her impeccable DJing, K.atou has built up a reputation that places her at the forefront of the European house and techno scene. From her residencies at Six D.O.G.S and Revolt! in her native Athens to an international schedule across Europe, Russia, South America and the U.S, her warm, hypnotic style has found favour on dancefloors across the globe. Among the many highlights are DEMF after parties, Glastonbury festival, regular appearances at Club Der Visionaere, Circoloco and many more besides.

The ingredients of her particular sound can be attributed to the classic realms of ‘90s house and techno from Detroit, Chicago and Frankfurt, with a penchant for the trippy, dubbed out and sublime. Both warm and distinctive in her approach, it’s not hard to understand how K.atou’s craft has taken her so far already.

Much loved six piece Altın Gün, Amsterdam’s finest Turkish psych revivalists and one of the most interesting and inspiring alternative rock bands on the global stage today, are coming to Fuzz Club on Friday 16th September, 2022.

RELENTLESS GROOVES, EXPLOSIVE PSYCHEDELIA, ANATOLIAN ROCK ❯❯ DANCING TO ALTIN GÜN

“Altın Gün are always a transportive listen”
The Quietus

“A spaced out journey into synth dreamland”
all things loud

“Turkish psych folk band Altin Gün are easy to fall in love with.”
Ato Records

Amsterdam-based Altın Gün are essential interpreters of the Anatolian rock and folk legacy and a leading voice in the emergent global psych-rock scene. They already made a name for themselves, especially in mainland Europe, with their hotly tipped 2018 debut album ‘On’, a hugely popular KEXP performance and hundreds of gigs.

“We do have a weak spot for the music of the late ‘60s and ‘70s,” Altın Gün bass player and founder Jaspar Verhulst admits. “With all the instruments and effects that arrived then, it was an exciting time. Everything was new, and it still feels fresh. We’re not trying to copy it, but these are the sounds we like and we’re trying to make them our own.”

And what they create really is theirs. Altın Gün radically reimagine an entire tradition. The electric saz (a three-string Turkish lute) and voice of Erdinç Ecevit (who has Turkish roots) is urgent and immediately distinctive, while keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, and percussion power the surging rhythms and Merve Daşdemir (born and raised in Istanbul) sings with the mesmerizing power of a young Grace Slick. This isn’t music that seduces the listener: it demands attention. Explosive, funky and transcendent.