Terminal V Podcast 035 || Cinthie x Meat

Next to grace the Terminal V podcast decks is Cinthie. Her place in the house stratosphere is further assured with each passing day as she tirelessly pushes her feel good brand of the genre through her remixes, DJ sets and hotly received record labels. From We_r House, Beste Freunde, Beste Modus and 803 Crystal Grooves Cinthie’s labels have really helped to shape the house landscape as much as Cinthie herself.
Her new school meets classic house approach has garnered her with legions of fans and this is set to grow and grow. As well as her own labels Cinthie has done the business for the likes of Aus Music and her new EP has just dropped on Shall Not Fade. Her discography bristles with new and inventive ideas and it is these movements that see her at the top of many remix want lists. However, it is her skills as a selector that finds her way to our podcast series and for the occasion she has linked with her equally skilled DJ beau Meat…
Great to have you join us Cinthie, how has your summer been?
Big thanks for having me. My summer has been really really nice.
What has been the biggest highlight of the summer for you?
The biggest highlights have been to be able to go out again and see some friends, finally being able to get vaccinated and play a few festivals. The best one has definitely been Lost Village this year. What a vibe.
It is safe to say that Berlin clubs opening again is a massive relief, what have you missed the most while the clubs have been closed?
It is indeed. Berlin is still known as THE city with the best clubs and parties. It’s the cities heartbeat but it almost felt like someone has made that heart stop beating. Good to be back and breath again. I mostly missed seeing friends from all over the world. Luckily, I saw a handful of friends at least once a week. But just going out, get a bit loose, forget about the stress during the week, having a boogie or just do simple things like have a chat with friends in a cafe, I really missed a lot.
How have you spent your time in the city during this period?
Mostly working hahah. I thought I would slow down a bit but for some reason I was even working twice as hard. I spent a lot of time with my daughter and boyfriend, in the studio and in my record store.
How are things going at Elevate? How have you found running the shop at the same time as spending time in the studio and gigs?
Elevate is exploding at the moment. Luckily it gave me work and a decent income during the pandemic which I’m very thankful for. It felt like that people spent more money on records now that they weren’t able to spend it at parties. But now the gigs picked up again, it’s almost not doable with everything. It’s just too much cause I’m doing the job of 4 or 5 people at once. I tried to clone myself but that did not work, so I’m now looking for an assistant to have more time to curate the records at Elevate and do music at the studio.
What labels and artists have you been supporting lately in your store?
Ouff a lot. Next to selling a lot of reissues of older stuff on for example Groovin Records etc. I sold a lot of stuff coming straight outta Frankfurt from Rawax and all the sub labels, DBH and others. But I have to mention Shall Not Fade as one of the bestselling labels in my store. I’m now patiently waiting for my record to arrive on Shall Not Fade. Unfortunately, it was sold out at the distributor so fast that I dint not even get any records and now have to wait for the repress. Also, stuff from my dear friends HDSN from Munich and St David from Italy is always a sure shot.
How important is playing on vinyl? Is digitising records at all a part of your own personal process or are they always played as they were made?
It’s very important for me, or well not let’s better say it’s more fun for me. I always believe I play much better with records. It’s a whole different vibe and workflow. And if the turntables are set up nicely it’s just pure fun. But playing a few more festivals now here and there, I decided to at least bring a little back up of what I’m currently playing on a USB key. I always played new and unreleased stuff from the key and usually I know all tricks to make it work playing with records but at a few festivals the wind was quite tough and there is nothing you can do against it.
Digitalising records is not really a thing for me. Usually I’m very well connected with most artists and they are happy to provide me with the files. On the other side playing vinyl and the whole culture around it, has always been such a big part in my life since I started working in a record store in 1996. You are meeting like-minded people, socialise and get some great music recommended by the store owner. Especially during the pandemic, it was a whole new experience to share music and connect with people in the store rather than in a club.
Turning to your own music, how is your professional whistling career coming along?
It’s been pretty good. Had a lot of time practising at some gigs recently hahaha. I think I’m reaching the next level now hahaha.
Seriously though, remixing ‘The Whistle Song’ must have been a career high point?
Oh, yes indeed. Frankie Knuckles has always been a role model for me and I always looked up to him. His passing has left me very heartbroken but when they reached out to me to remix that track, I could not have been happier. It’s such an honour remixing it. But it’s not the first classic I put my personal touches on, a while ago I had the pleasure to remix “On and On” by Jesse Saunders which is called the first ever house track. My remix appeared next to a remix by my dear beloved Paul Johnson who I miss a lot since he passed away. But being on the same record with him, has been a personal career highlight. There are a few more to come…
Apart from your ace album on Aus Music what else would you count as a discography high point?
Uh thanks for the compliment, I’m happy that you like it. The album has really been one of my discography high points. I had it on my personal wish list for a long time but never did I think I would achieve this goal and then even on such a great label like AUS. Another high point has been my first Crystal Grooves cause it was the first time after a long time I felt 100 percent confident with my own stuff and confident enough to release an EP with only ma own stuff. There will be another really big high light for me early next year but pssst, can’t give out more info at the moment.
What else has been going on the studio lately? Anything that we will be enjoying soon?
Besides doing a looooot of remixes and helping a few friends with their tracks, I just released my new EP on Shall Not Fade and there will be a remix for Dusky, coming out on Running Back. I have a handful of labels I really love and I’m happy that they all reached out and want traxx from me. I just need a bit more time, clones myself or just work faster hahah oh and there is this other really special thing coming out soon.
Of course, we need to discuss your mix for us as it is a B2B with your boy MEAT. Tell us more about the mix?
I usually don’t like b2bs so much cause it’s really hard to find a good b2b partner who can mix and also has a good selection. I played with my man just for fun in Berlin at the beginning of the summer and it worked out soooo well. So, we decided to record one together for you. Meat has been really active in the Frankfurt scene in the last 30 years I would say, running his record store Freebase for almost 22 years and releasing on several labels. And to keep it all in the family, we recorded the mix at my newly opened second hand basement at my Elevate record store.
How do your different styles “meat”? What makes your sounds work together so well?
We come from a pretty similar background and also like a lot of the same kind of music. Also, he has played a lot of my tunes including the “Offenbach Anthem” on Shall Not Fade which I wrote for him. Although we played a bit different in this mix, our music usually fits perfectly together. It’s a lot of fun to play favorite records to each other and that’s pretty much how we recorded this mix. I’m looking forward to play a few more gigs with him together.
Interview by Stu Todd