Berlin-based DJ, producer, label owner of 803 Crystal Grooves and its sub-label Collective Cuts, we_r house, the Elevate record store, and proud parent Cinthie has risen to become one of the most prominent DJs in the house scene of 2022.
Photo Credit: Marie Staggat
Her music and DJ style has gained her recognition across the board from many of the legends she grew up listening to out of Chicago and Detroit through to many other leading figures in today’s house and techno scene. Djing since the early nineties as a teenager, Cinthie’s depth of knowledge radiantly shines through in her sets and her productions, which traverse through a broad range of classic and contemporary sounds, encompassing the broad spectrum of electronic music in her vinyl-focused, often extensive sets.
Ahead of her performance at Your Paradise Fiji, EG caught up with Cinthie to learn more about her recent release, future plans, and more.
EG: Hi Cinthie! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you based right now?
Cinthie: Hi EG! I’m still based in Berlin and I guess I will still be here for the next few years.
EG: So, what has your summer been like? Any particular highlights?
Cinthie: My summer has been great, but quite intense doing all the gigs that have been moved from the previous Covid years. It felt like everything started from 0 to 100 within one week. But I don’t wanna complain. It has been great with a lot of highlights. Went to Fusion Festival as a guest which was great, played at Amnesia Ibiza four times which was fantastic too, cause I lived on the island in 2001. I also played a lot of great shows and festivals, especially Smart Bar in Chicago is always amazing, Eastern Electrics was cool, my all night long in Paris at Badaboum, but also any other party I played in Paris is always great. The list is long, (laughter)!
EG: Congratulations on the release of your new ‘Light A Fire’ EP! What has the initial reception been like?
Cinthie: Thank you. I’m very proud of my 4th or was it already the 5th release on Aus Music? Can not remember, but Aus Music grew into a very good partner for my music. A home away from home, and after my album, I was happy to be back. My fav track is still ‘Everything’, but for some reason, people liked the title track ‘Light A Fire’ more. Tastes can be so different sometimes.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on ‘Light A Fire’? Is there a particular concept powering this EP?
Cinthie: I never have special concepts when I release an EP, but I do make sure to show a variety of sounds rather than releasing 3 or 4 relatively similar-sounding tracks. ‘Everything’ is a more emotional track, very housey still. ‘Keeping Strong’ I would say is a typical Cinthie track. Very raw, very 90-ies. And with ‘Light A Fire’, it’s a more ravey track. Overall, I tested all of them on the dancefloor and they work really well.
“The scene is very confusing for me at the moment, to be honest. It’s diving more and more into pop music with all the attitudes”
EG: By the way, you’re about to perform at Your Paradise Fiji. How excited are you about this one? What can your fans expect from your performance?
Cinthie: I’m so excited to play in Fiji, I’ve never been and I’m able to stay for a couple of days to relax. Music wise I will bring my groovy and housey stuff, hope people like it.
EG: Speaking about making time…how do you manage to balance running your own 803 Crystal Grooves and its sub-label Collective Cuts, we_r house, the Elevate record store, and your career…? Do you take on it all at once, or do you have to be in the correct mindset for each particular thing? How are your labels and the store doing?
Cinthie: As I said before, this year has been quite intense and sometimes it’s hard to make enough time for everything. My family always comes first, then the studio, then the shop, then the labels. With the crazy waiting times for vinyl releases at the moment, I pushed the label work back a bit to wait for a better slot at pressing plants. Waiting for more than six months is not so much fun.
The shop is still going strong, and it’s also a lot of work, but luckily my boyfriend supports me a lot. Plus, I have an amazing team now working at the store.
But there will be some changes in my schedule from next year. I’m gonna take one weekend off per month. I feel like I will get more stuff done, keep the quality up and have enough time for family and friends and the studio. I only released a couple of remixes this year, plus the DJ Kicks and 1 EP. It’s ok, but I wanna go back to my steady output from next year.
EG: What are your thoughts on the current state of the scene? What would you like to see more and less of?
Cinthie: The scene is very confusing for me at the moment, to be honest. It’s diving more and more into pop music with all the attitudes. It’s ok, times are changing and the values we had many years ago when we started this movement are long gone. But now the scene needs its stars and, unfortunately, it’s not so much about music at the moment. Just my humble opinion. But it seems like it’s more about status, etc. Hope we can grow a strong music community with the new generation again.
EG: What’s next for Cinthie? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to now?
Cinthie: Yes, I got a few things in the pipeline. I’m currently preparing my first live set. It’s the next logical step for me. I just don’t know yet which machines to bring as I have too many, hahaha.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Cinthie! We wish you all the best for the future.
Cinthie: Thank you so much for having me, guys. Always a pleasure talking to you. 🙂
Cinthie will perform at this year’s edition of Your Paradise Fiji. Purchase your tickets here.
Follow Cinthie: Instagram | Facebook | Soundcloud | Spotify
