INTERVIEW: Cinthie
We chat to an extremely busy Berlin House producer and entrepreneur…
Bopping away ecstatically beneath the sun, perched behind a gargantuan pink and purple structure that brings to mind the many iterations of cubism is Cinthie. Of course, the structure I’m talking about belonged to Let Them Eat Cake Festival on NYD in 2020, and of course, the Cinthie I’m talking about is the one you would know if you listen to house music. Yes, Cinthie is the brains behind hugely successful ventures, such as her record labels Beste Modus, Unison Wax, Best Freund, 803 Crystal Grooves and we_r_house. She is also a host on Germany’s notorious Fritz Radio, the owner of Berlin’s Elevate record store. Oh, and she’s a mum. And if that’s not all the proof you need that women are superior multi-taskers, then you can see yourself out.
On this particular day, I watched on appreciating Cinthie's technical finesse, as she warmed up the festival's main stage to a crowd of hungry-for-more punters. From her exquisite track selection to her fluid mixing abilities, it became clear why Cinthie is held to such high regard.
She’s so good at multi-tasking; in fact, her self appointed slogan is ‘less talk, more action’, words that the chin-strokers of the world would undoubtedly do good in considering. And more action is something the Berlin selector does with ease. So much so we can’t believe she found time to sit down with us for chat…
Cinthie, you run 5 record labels, a record store, a studio, as well as producing, DJing, radio hosting, and most importantly, you’re a mother. How do you juggle this crazy intense workload, and what do you do in your time off?
I’m very well organised and try to always work efficiently and not waste too much time. But since we are closing down 3 of the labels by the end of this year and I stopped doing too much stuff for other people, this will give me more time for my own production and allow me to spend more quality time with my daughter. If I have any free time I love to read and listen to jazz music.
Your Beste Modus Record Label founded with Diego Krause, stevn.aint.leavn, Ed Herbst, and Albert Vogt has been a really integral part of Berlin’s music scene and has housed works from some extremely influential artists, yourself included. Has your relationship with your Beste Modus collaborators influenced how you work as a solo artist?
Cinthie at Let Them Eat Cake NYD 2020
It’s hard to say, but I guess I always went my own way and did my own thing. But yes, we had some artists on the label that I always looked up to, and I follow them and checked what they do and what I can take over to my workflow.
The beginning of your long-winding love affair with dance music seems to have started when you worked in Humpty Record Store. During this time, the industry was very much a male-dominated space. Were you ever intimidated by the lack of women within the industry in the late 90s, and is there any advice you got when you first started out that still maintains?
For me personally, it has never been a problem being a woman in the industry. It’s been more the opposite. I always got great support and respect from everyone. Some advice I can give though which will always be relevant, is don’t be annoying, stick to your words, be humble, and treat everyone with respect.
You had a bit of a rough time during your skyrocket to success, dealing with the loss of a loved one and separation from your partner. I understand you taught yourself how to produce music whilst your very young daughter slept. Firstly, your dedication and work ethic is really admirable. How do you stay so dedicated and driven to your craft, especially during difficult periods when it might be easier to just give up?
Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words. Well, if you lose a close family member too early, you start questioning yourself, like if what you are doing with your life is good or if you are wasting time. When I Iost my mom, it was a sorrowful moment, and I’m still struggling a lot with it. But it made me realise we only have a very short time on this planet, so I decided to use my time to my best potential to fulfil my dreams, and hopefully leave this planet having made it a better place. Looking back now, yes, I think I have used this time as much as I could. Since my youth music has always been such a big part of my life, and it helped me through many times, good and bad. With its proper vocals and uplifting message, listening to house music, in particular, the stuff from the 90s, can help to clear your thoughts.
When scouting new artists or works to sign to one of your various record labels, is it quite obvious right away which label or sound they align with? Or is there a lot of contemplation?
It depends. Usually, it’s quite apparent where I will release them, but since I have several labels, I sometimes pick one track for a various artist EP to introduce them to the audience and then also try to give them a chance to shine with a solo EP. And I love to find and support unknown artists. Over the years we signed some outstanding artists which helped open doors for them to release on other labels or even spice up their touring schedule. That makes me happy. It makes me feel like the labels are a good sign of quality.
You’ve lived in so many different cities. Berlin, Saarbrücken, New York, and LA to name a few. Do you like moving around a lot, and have you noticed your creative projects shifting as you change landscapes?
This is almost right, I never lived in New York and LA, but for a few months, I did live in Paris and London and one season on Ibiza. After Ibiza, I wanted to move to New York with my best friend, but while I was on Ibiza, September 11th happened, and I decided it wasn’t maybe the best time to move over. But I love travelling, and if my daughter didn’t have to go to school, we would have moved away already. Nothing wrong with Berlin, but I like to discover new places and new cultures a lot. Also every city or country is unique, and I get inspired a lot from it.
Cinthie at Pitch Music & Arts 2018
You built your own studio! Which, firstly, is the coolest thing ever, but what was the most challenging part of that process, and what’s your most prized piece of hardware in your studio?
Oh yes, let’s talk about my incredible studio, one of my biggest dreams have come true! So funny when I look back to 1999 when I started producing with an old Atari and Cubase 2.0. And now, look at my studio. I own all the machines I ever wanted.
My most expensive pieces are my 909 and my 808. Love those old ladies. Unfortunately, I had to move my studio from the first place because the future was unsure and my landlord wasn’t the best. Just when I put in all the effort of treating it with acoustic panels etc., he told me that maybe the building will be sold or knocked down. Since I can’t work with a “maybe”, I started looking for a new place, and I found one very quickly. Lucky me that back in the GDR (German Democratic Republic) we only had five different types of pre-made houses, so my new room has the same size as my old one as it is the same type.
So I somehow moved all the stuff between touring, and my daughters’ school holidays, but finally it’s ready, and it’s a dream. The most challenging part was to put everything together again, and especially with old machines, you have to make sure they are not all using the same electricity plug otherwise you will have a lot of hiss. Luckily, one of my best friends has been building studios for ages. He is a real gear nerd and helped me a lot.
What’s your favourite original production that you released?
That is definitely my first ‘803 Crystal Grooves’ EP and my track ‘Together’. I was holding it back for such a long time, as I thought it’s maybe too cheesy and it would definitely not fit on Beste Modus.
Because you do have so many projects that you’re juggling, it seems you have a lot of confidence in your own judgement and ideas. Do you ever struggle with self-doubt, and if so, how do you deal with it?
No, I’m very confident with myself, but that probably comes from a lot of life experience and also my age. I believe in myself 100%. But I’m very self-critical, and I love to set the quality up high. Out of 100 gigs, there is maybe always 2 or 3 when I think I could have done better. Not that I was completely bad, but sometimes I don’t really get into the flow.
What up and coming artists do you think everyone should know about?
My favourite at the moment is London’s Asquith, maybe not really an “up and comer” as he is in the business for ages, but I love his recent productions. Also keep an eye on Kettamas, Anna Wall, Sandile, Ruff Stuff and there are many more to come (which I’ve signed to my label).
You played your Melbourne debut at Pitch Music & Arts back in 2018, I saw you play, you were amazing! What was that experience like for you? Did Australia seem really foreign?
Oh thank you, that was good fun although I barely slept after arriving in Australia. I also played the night before and went straight to the airport with no sleep. Anyway, Pitch Music & Arts were so much fun and a very good welcome for me. People still contact me because of that set. Apart from the ten kilos of dust on my records and in my nose afterwards, l loved that set too! For me, it’s always exciting to see people love my music because I play very housey. When I first came to Australia, it seemed really foreign but the more I come the more I feel at home. It almost feels like it’s just around the corner from Berlin.
You’re about to return to Australia! You have such a huge fanbase here. Melbourne, in particular, likes to think we’re not too far away, culturally, from a lot of music capitals such as Berlin and London. Do you draw many parallels with our city and your home, or does it feel like completely different worlds when you play here?
Oh wow, do I? That’s so nice to hear. Really. Especially when travelling that far, it ’s always nice to know that some people know me. And Australia doesn’t feel so much different from the rest of Europe. It might be because a lot of European people live here. It’s also very influenced by Europe. I love it here. I was even thinking of moving here one day for a bit, but we’ll see.
The only significant difference from Berlin that I can see, for example, is that you have the lockout rule. In Berlin, we don’t have any enforced closing hours, which is good and sometimes not. Sometimes it’s nice to have a peak time, or for some people, it would be good to have an enforced time to go home. But closing a club at like 2 or 3 is way too early in my opinion. I get why there are lockout rules and what happened, but I think sending everyone home at the same time is not solving the problem.