Cinthie

The Berlin house stalwart shows us around her newly completed studio

Beste Modus chief and resident Watergate DJ Cinthie is a highly respected figure within Berlin’s house music scene. A trailblazer in the city’s underground house world, Cinthie has been spinning records in the truest sense of the word since the early ’90s. Now resident DJ at Watergate – one of the driving forces behind the rise in minimal techno, her intuitive vinyl-only sets have only enhanced her reputation as one of the city’s finest beatmatchers.

Her first production, All We Need, arrived in 2002, and since then Cinthie has become the creative force behind numerous German house labels such as the prestigious Beste Modus and Unison Wax. Recently, Cinthie decided to focus her attention on rebuilding her studio complex in Berlin, a process that’s taken over a year to complete. Was house music always your first love? “When I first started listening to electronic music, I wasn’t really into house. My cousin gave me a tape with a recording of Sven Väth playing at Omen in 1994 and it had all kinds of electronic and non-electronic music. It blew my mind, as before that I was only listening to a bit of chart music and stuff my parents bought on vinyl. I soon found out about some special radio shows that only broadcasted electronic music and listened a lot to HR3 Clubnight with mixes by Sven Väth, Karotte, Talla 2XLC or Ata and his WildPitch parties with DJ Pierre. It was a bit more industrial, mixed with some techno and house, and I absolutely loved it.” So what were your first steps towards becoming a DJ/producer? “My first boyfriend was a bedroom DJ. He showed me how to mix and was my biggest inspiration at that time, along with a lot of other DJs like Karotte, DJ Sneak, Paul Johnson and Kerri Chandler. At that time, I was just happy to be able to beatmatch two records and my setup consisted of two shitty Monacor turntables; belt-driven of course. It was terrible to mix with, especially with the really bad mixer I had, but you have to start at some point. When I turned 18, a friend gave me his two Technics 1210s and it was like heaven on earth.” You’re committed to using vinyl. How do you go about differentiating between the vinyl and digital realms? “I’ve been collecting and playing records since 1994 and will probably still do it when I’m 80. I just love the feel of a record in my hands because the workflow when you’re playing is completely different. People can see I’m really ‘working’ rather than just using the advantages of all the new beatmatching techniques. I’m also a software developer, so I wanted to keep doing something with my ears and hands. Of course, I still play unreleased tunes using a USB key, but I believe that records will still be pressed for DJs and continue to survive for decades.” You’ve been a long-time resident at Watergate. Have you noticed a change in how club-goers respond to music in a club environment or their musical tastes? “Yes, I’ve absolutely noticed a difference. At Watergate, and pretty much any other club in Berlin, it’s forbidden to take photos, which I highly appreciate. Not just because I don’t like to see my sweaty self the next day DJing with a double chin, but I think taking pictures and videos at a club night is an absolute vibe killer. The big EDM boom is over for me, especially in the US. It died out pretty quick in my opinion, but now people are digging deeper and they want to know what else electronic music has to offer.” As a DJ, how have you adapted to live performance? Are you guided by the technology or is it simply a tool? “Now I’m a bit better known, people love to give me long set times and I have to admit that I’m at my best when I can develop a set or build up a dancefloor over a few hours. I don’t practice a lot but always get asked to record mixes for blogs and clubs; then I’m at the studio, listening to music and mixing all day long. For me, mixing is like riding a bike, once you know how to do it, you’ll never forget. Of course, it’s difficult when you buy lots of new records and you’re not 100 per cent sure what’s happening at the beginning or end of each one. I love my mixes to have a good flow, but if you don’t know your records there’s nothing worse than having two pianos or vocals clashing. I’m definitely not guided by the technology; I like to keep it old-school and simple.” What are you using in your current setup? “At the moment I’m using my 20-year-old Technics, a Pioneer 400 mixer and two Pioneer CDJs. When I’m travelling and playing in other clubs, I’ll use whatever the club provides, but my agency sends a tech rider with two Technics and at least one CDJ included. I love the challenge of playing on different sound systems but always need at least 20 minutes to warm up and get used to the different sound situation.” Do you have any DJ techniques you can share with our readers on how to become a better DJ? “I believe the key to success is to know your records to the fullest and create a nice flow. That’s what separates the jukeboxes from the DJs. Mixing two records into each other is kind of easy these days, but if you want to build up a nice set and create a flow, that’s hard work and you have to practice. I don’t have any special DJ techniques per se, but I do love to use a vinyl stabiliser in order to glue the record to the turntable.” You recently decided to build a new recording studio, what pre-empted that decision? “Last year, I decided to concentrate more on

producing again. I’d done so many things for other people and built such a solid base and reputation that I thought it was time to improve my production skills and make better tracks. I was sitting in my studio working on a track and suddenly I was overwhelmed by all the options I had using Ableton and all the software plugins.

“I was also frustrated about the bass jumping from the speaker to the wall to the window and back, and the lack of natural reverb from my rectangular room. I knew that if I wanted to do it properly I’d need the best environment to improve my skills. I also wanted to work more with analogue gear after jamming at the Cab Driver and Leo Pol’s studio for a bit. I immediately called Christoph from Berlin Acoustics who’s built a lot of studios for artists. He was very happy to come round and start planning my room.” Take us through that process? “My landlord had built a second ceiling into my room, which I had to take down. What a mess that was, but big thanks to my friend Cheng, who absolutely killed it and almost knocked down the whole ceiling by himself. Once that was done and the room was clean again, I put laminate on the floor and built an absorber wall 50 cm in and filled it up with rockwool. Then I started installing bass absorbers around the ceiling made out of wooden panels you would usually use to build a roof on your house and filled that up with rockwool too. I had to cover it with a special plastic foil to avoid it getting mouldy, and on top of that, stapled some black fabric and added solid wooden panels. It still looks and smells a little bit like a sauna, but bear in mind I did that all by myself.” We’d imagine installing the bass absorbers was a bit tricky? “I let Christoph build them professionally. It was a three-day job holding the heavy absorbers and diffusors, but when everything was done, and I switched on the lights we’d put into them for the first time, it was just magic. The sound is incredible and almost resonance-free. I was so proud; I couldn’t stop taking pictures and just lay on the floor enjoying my new room.” Did you end up buying a lot of new stuff? “I’d bought a Roland-808, 909 and 707 to treat myself, the SH-101 and some of my studio partner’s gear like the Analog Rytm and TR-8. I want to make more old-school music and limit myself to get quick results. Luckily, a friend of mine who made music in the ’90s had lots of old gear in his cellar that he wasn’t using anymore. So now I’m proud to say I have a Yamaha DX7, a Juno-106, an Oberheim Matrix, Waldorf Pulse, and some other fun gear I always dreamt about.” How did you go about cabling all of that hardware up? “I was getting a bit stressed as I’d never done cabling for a whole studio. I started to read about it, but as you can imagine, got very confused on which way to go. Luckily, another friend of mine who is a producer legend is a real pro when it comes to putting cables together. He stayed for four hours and virtually set up my whole studio. I can use everything without unplugging and replugging stuff and record it all into Ableton. ” What’s behind your choice of speakers? “I used to use my Genelec 8020Cs but soon realised they’re a bit too small for the room, so I’m using my studio partner’s KRKs at the moment. I guess there’s no golden way of deciding what speakers to buy, but I want to test as many as possible before investing in some better ones.” Now that it’s finished, is the studio looking exactly how you had imagined it would? “The studio is now looking absolutely incredible. When it was finished, I almost cried, as it didn’t look that good even in my dreams. I have all my gear set up with the drum machines to the right and synths to the left and in the front, and if I want to sample stuff, my DJ setup is plugged into the soundcard. My workflow is so much better and everything is easy to reach and the way I wanted it.” You’re an especially big fan of Roland gear? “I use the classic Roland 808, 909 and 707 for drums because I love their raw feel, and I’m a big fan of the 909 anyway. I love how the sounds fit together and

“I want to make more old-school music and limit myself, to get quick results”

the easiest drum loop immediately sounds really good. If you put a little bit of accent on them, they start to swing incredibly well. The 909 is a bit tricky sometimes, as it’s not running very tight, but I love the sound of all of them, especially the 707 with the lowered toms. You don’t even need a bassline for a track made with some lowered toms, but what I love most about the 909 is the hi-hats.” How do you tend to process the drum sounds? “I sometimes use a Boss KM-60 to make the drums sound a bit fatter, but you can also do that by putting up the gain in the mixer or using a bit more saturation when recording into Ableton. I’ll often use the Roland SH-101 for basslines. You can trigger it with the 808’s accent, which is really handy – just enter a few notes with the 101’s sequencer, add a 909 and you’re good to go. I love the classic sound of the 101 because it’s been used in so many house records, but I also love the Yamaha DX200 for basslines – it’s a superb FM synth.” What about the other hardware synths you use? “Two good alternatives are the Waldorf Pulse and the Novation Bass Station. They’re pretty old-school but so easy to use and they always sound very raw so it’s easy to get a good result. My studio partner also has the Waldorf Q, which we just got back from being serviced. I’m pretty keen to check it out when I have a bit more free time. My studio partner also has some nice gear, like the blue and red Electribe and the new boutique Juno-06. I used the Electribes some years ago, but now I prefer to concentrate more on the classic drum machines.” You seem to love classic old-school synths? “On the Jaspers rack I also have the Juno-106, which needs no introduction, and a Yamaha DX7, which is another fantastic classic synth that uses FM synthesis. I also own a Roland D50, one of the best linear synths ever made. Last but not least, the Oberheim Matrix 1000 is really nice for pad sounds. To make my workflow easier, I’ve added a Push 2. It really comes in handy as I can download a lot of Max for Live devices to edit my synth sounds, especially for the Juno-106. That means I control everything via my Push instead of standing up and editing the sound directly into the Juno.” Why do you prefer Ableton as your DAW? “Did I mention that I worked for Ableton for a couple of years? I love the software. Nothing is faster and more efficient than jamming with Ableton. I can record everything into it and add internal effects or other VSTs, so it’s very nice if I want to edit something I recorded.”