CURSES TOKYO INTERVIEW

by Fled Tokyo, Tune ouT Tokyo

Tune ouT Tokyo presents its first interview post-pandemic with international DJ, live act, label boss, post punk music producer, the next wave romancer CURSES.

Interview with Curses, Ombra International label boss, and Fled Tokyo for Tune ouT Tokyo.

日本語記事(DIGLE MAGAZINE掲載)はこちら> https://mag.digle.tokyo/interview/169654

THE CURSES TOKYO INTERVIEW

Tune ouT Tokyo: Berlin-based CURSES brings a romantic edge to the dance floor, blending 80’s New Wave, the darker side of Italo-Disco and flashes of EBM with his own ghostly vocals.

The debut album from CURSES, ‘Romantic Fiction’ dropped on Jennifer Cardini’s Dischi Autunno imprint in October 2018, launching his live act which brings the guitars, vocals and energy of the album to stage as a duo. Whether it’s DJng in the main room at Circoloco DC-10, or performing live at festivals like, Nuits Sonores, Curses brings punk and new wave energy to all dance floors of any size.

TTT’s FLED TOKYO: As a Berlin based artist, international DJ, producer, label boss of OMBRA INTERNATIONAL and live musician who is originally from New York…how did you begin your creative journey into music in your earlier years?

CURSES: I owe it all to my parents. They were always playing music in the house. My dad was always blasting opera and classical, my mom more on the David Byrne and Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson side of things. Apparently i was kicking wildly in my mom’s stomach while still in the womb at a live recital of the Opera, Don Giovanni, so much that they considered almost naming me Orlando Furioso, the main Knight in the opera.

Your the label boss of OMBRA INTERNATIONAL releasing a catalogue of music from various worldwide artists. You have also released on various labels from Permanent Vacation, Bordello A Parigi, Oráculo Records, Wrong Era to Belgian powerhouse N.E.W.S. to only name a few.

Do you have any musical influences from Japan in terms of music, Japanese artists or culture?

I am actually a massive fan of  Kurosawa’s films. I feel cinema and visual arts play an integral part in music, helping to convey the emotion and message. With films like Kurosawa’s ‘Yojimbo’, I always found a common thread within the tension, the simplicity and powerful release of danger and emotion. Similar in Felini as well. I try to evoke this same journey in song and club music: tension and release, darkness and romance.

Japanese hardware from synthesizers to drum machines for production to DJ gear for playback have been industry standards for decades.

Do you incorporate any Japanese gear into your production process? What pieces of gear are you in love with these days?

I think once Roger Linn partnered with AKAI in the 80s’ there was no turning back when it came to drum machines and samplers. My very first sampler was an AKAI, and even to this day, we use the AKAI MPC LIVE for the Curses live band as the main skeleton for all drums. Besides AKAI I am also a huge fan of the KAWAI R-100 Drum machine. I had the 50 when I was 16, and the upgraded to the 100 when I was early 20’s. Its got such a staple sound that pounds and is timeless. I can never get tired of the snares and bass slaps of it.

Andrew Weatherall is an icon in Tokyo. He played at Vent in August of 2019 the year before his passing so his living memory still resonates in Japan to this day. In 2019 you played the last Convenanza Festival he organized in Carcassone, France.

Can you share any of your memories of The Guv’nor?

What an absolute legend he was and is. Weatherall was a humble, yet prolific and supportive artist. It didnt matter how successful or up and coming you may be, he took the time to listen to your music, and if it clicked, he would push it to the masses that understood.

There are many memories of the Guv’Nor, but i think the one that stuck with me most to this day was being introduced as the “goth gene vincent sister of mercy” on stage at Convenanze in 2019. It definitely made me more nervous to get up on that stage, but it also sparked a confidence, because it was such a specific reference only a few people would get. What a loss, but what a power that will live on forever.

On February 24^th you have your re-release Curses & Local Suicide “It All Sounds The Same” (originally sold out vinyl release on Tusk Wax) now revamped, remastered, taken to the next level (available digitally & on vinyl) on Iptamenos Discos. 

At Vent Friday are there any CURSES unreleased or OMBRA INTERNATIONAL unreleased music you can share with us?

I will definitely be playing a lot of unreleased Curses and Ombra INTL related things at vent! As well as some new collabs I have coming up with Skelesys as well as Younger Than Me as Y2C. 

An exclusive repress of the last album, Incarnadine (Dischi Autunno) just dropped as well,  with Parisian fashion brand, Saint Laurent, with some extended mixes I will DJ for the first time (just got the masters this week!)

Also quite excited to announce I am currently compiling the follow-up NEXTWAVEACIDPUNX compilation that will come out at the end of the year. This time the focus will be on live electronic acts, and have already secured some amazing music from artists like Nuovo Testamento, Years Of Denial, Ultra Sunn, Poison Point, Zanias and Neuromancer, as well as classics Nitzer Ebb, to name a few…

Lots of new music this year from me and friends, hope theres enough time to test it all on Friday, ha! Super excited for this night, thanks for the chat and see you soon!

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INTERVIEWER: Fled Tokyo, Tune ouT Tokyo

LOCATION: Shibuya, Tokyo

EVENT: Curses @ Vent, Tokyo > February 17^th, 2023

Tune ouT Tokyo thanks Curses, Mustache-X, and Vent.

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