The Red Bull Music Academy is a multi-layered conference / marathon studio session / festival / all-out musical extravaganza, celebrating the pioneers of what we call club culture today – and showcase those who will be soundtracking our summer nights in years to come. While the 15th edition took place in New York City last month, we teamed up with them for a series of exclusive mixes by artists from their stellar roster of graduates, covering the full spectrum of electronic dance music and beyond. For this eigth edition we present a mix from Barcelona's master of bass-heavy techno and Boys Noize cohort Cardopusher.
Normally I don't approach making tracks with a particular strategy. I just sit down and start producing track after track. It basically depends on the mood I am in at any given time. Once I have enough material together, I'll send it out to labels that I think might be interested.What convinced you to start your own label with Nehuen?
The idea behind our label Classicworks was simply to put out our own musical vision and also to try to have more control over our own work. We were a little bit tired of waiting for others to put out our music, and also being misunderstood at times. That's not to say we don't like to work with others, but we just felt like we needed some kind of freedom.It's interesting that you are both RBMA graduates but from different years. What role did that play in bringing you guys together?
I think the Red Bull Music Academy experience is one of the best experiences you can have as a producer and musician. You get so much inspiration in those two intense weeks of working with other people, listening to lectures, partying and sharing ideas. After my own turn in 2008, I was very inspired to keep working and growing as a producer, and just after Nehuen had his go in 2011, we came up with the idea of starting a label. We've also been collaborating with other RBMA folks, like Nick Hook for example, who just released a track on our label.The label is still in its early stages. What kind of direction are you going for with it?
As of now, we're keen on keeping things connected to house, acid and techno, just not in a purist sense. We want to have the freedom of doing whatever we think works best for the label. We might take some different turns on our upcoming releases, but it always has to carry the Classicworks label stamp.You were featured on Loose Squares' Escape From Chicago juke compilation. Was that more of a one-off experiment or are you working on some more of that stuff at the moment?
Yeah, I think this is one of those one-off experiments I made for fun. I made about four or five other tracks in that vein, but I don't have any plans to release them. I really like juke and footwork but I'd rather leave it to the masters from Chicago. No one can beat them.Who were some of your musical idols in your formative years?
Aphex Twin, DMX Krew, LFO, Venetian Snares, Soundmurderer, Boards of Canada, Drexciya, The Bug, Mike Patton… These are all people that still inspire me today.Anything special planned for your Sónar set with Nehuen?
New tunes from us that we haven't played before, lots of acid and techno, forthcoming Classicworks stuff and some tracks from our friends.
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"I want people to be surprised." Cardopusher's modus operandi is about maintaining as many modi as possible. "I try to come with something special and different with every release. The music universe is so big, and I'd rather challenge myself to add something new than to stick to any genre in particular." The native Venezuelan has molded his sound into many different shapes ever since he first emerged with some heavy-hitting breakcore in 2006. Since then, Cardopusher has stepped on virtually every stone in the club music quarry, cranking out three full lengths and an impressive arsenal of singles, the connecting factor of which is mainly the high voltage flowing through each of his productions. In 2012, the Red Bull Music Academy graduate founded the label Classicworks together with fellow RBMA alum and Barcelona resident Nehuen, focussing currently on the rougher side of house and the sparkling side of techno. Ahead of his b2b gig with Nehuen at Sónar Festival, we asked Cardopusher to put together a mix for us, and also had some questions on his working mode.You've released on so many different labels in the past. How do you approach your tracks as far as release strategy goes? Do you ever make tracks with a label already in mind?
Normally I don't approach making tracks with a particular strategy. I just sit down and start producing track after track. It basically depends on the mood I am in at any given time. Once I have enough material together, I'll send it out to labels that I think might be interested.
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The idea behind our label Classicworks was simply to put out our own musical vision and also to try to have more control over our own work. We were a little bit tired of waiting for others to put out our music, and also being misunderstood at times. That's not to say we don't like to work with others, but we just felt like we needed some kind of freedom.It's interesting that you are both RBMA graduates but from different years. What role did that play in bringing you guys together?
I think the Red Bull Music Academy experience is one of the best experiences you can have as a producer and musician. You get so much inspiration in those two intense weeks of working with other people, listening to lectures, partying and sharing ideas. After my own turn in 2008, I was very inspired to keep working and growing as a producer, and just after Nehuen had his go in 2011, we came up with the idea of starting a label. We've also been collaborating with other RBMA folks, like Nick Hook for example, who just released a track on our label.The label is still in its early stages. What kind of direction are you going for with it?
As of now, we're keen on keeping things connected to house, acid and techno, just not in a purist sense. We want to have the freedom of doing whatever we think works best for the label. We might take some different turns on our upcoming releases, but it always has to carry the Classicworks label stamp.You were featured on Loose Squares' Escape From Chicago juke compilation. Was that more of a one-off experiment or are you working on some more of that stuff at the moment?
Yeah, I think this is one of those one-off experiments I made for fun. I made about four or five other tracks in that vein, but I don't have any plans to release them. I really like juke and footwork but I'd rather leave it to the masters from Chicago. No one can beat them.Who were some of your musical idols in your formative years?
Aphex Twin, DMX Krew, LFO, Venetian Snares, Soundmurderer, Boards of Canada, Drexciya, The Bug, Mike Patton… These are all people that still inspire me today.Anything special planned for your Sónar set with Nehuen?
New tunes from us that we haven't played before, lots of acid and techno, forthcoming Classicworks stuff and some tracks from our friends.