PLAYY. Mix #183 – Parra For Cuva

 

On the title track from his upcoming fifth album Mimose, acclaimed German electronic musician and multi-hyphenate producer Parra For Cuva does what he does best – conjure a sweeping, hypnotic aural experience driven by crisp, dazzling percussion coloured with melodic textures and hooks, a sort of otherworldly groove that speaks toward the wanderlust that belies the soul of his music. Renowned for a distinct sense of worldliness, his music, combined with stunning visuals, creates a magical realm where the resonance of Caribbean steel drums may intertwine with ancient Zimbabwean instruments and transports the listener to distant lands. The artist’s upcoming album promises to follow suit, with his newest project produced during his recent travels and is subsequently titled after the German Mimose, a flower that blooms in Italy, where the majority of the tracks were brought to life. Listen to Parra For Cuva’s mix for PLAYY., featuring the title track below, and pre-save the album here.

 

Set the tone for us. Where is Parra For Cava currently at creatively?

I am sitting here in the South of France where my girlfriend and I are escaping the German winter. I use the time here to work on my liveshow. So a lot of my “creative power” goes into rediscovering old Songs and of course new Songs to give them a new touch. My mind also flies  around the upcoming Album  release which is very time consuming and doesn’t leave much space for making music but I can’t wait for the day where I will be free to write music again as this is what always makes me the happiest.

 

Tell us about the process behind creating ‘Mimose.’ What would you say is the overall theme of this album?

‘Mimose’ was created in the last two years in Winter. Berlin is where i life but it gets really dark and ugly by the end of the year. Days are really short and it’s always grey and uninviting.

With this in mind we thought about why not escaping Berlin for a while. I had no Tour lined up and no real obligation except writing a new album. So why not go somewhere nice. Immediately Italy and Liguira ( which is located in the north west of Italy ) came to my head. Liguria is easy to reach by car and is extremely beautiful.

So we packed the studio and drove down in a little Airbnb which had a small garden hut overlooking the ocean. With this view I started writing ‘Mimose’. The first time we drove down was in 2022 and the second in Winter 2023. I had a lot of musicians, all of them good friends  coming down to help me write this album. Without all of them I would never have been so inspired.  All in all this album is not produced in a fancy studio. We used only a laptop, a Nord Stage and our phones for recording Instruments. Most songs were made sitting outside in the sun. We had good food and drinks and live wasn’t stressful these days.

 

What sorts of sounds, concepts, or aesthetics did you go for on the Album ?

I wanted the album to sound like a new version of myself. I am very happy that I have found my style and a certain Parra For Cuva aesthetic. In general I had the feeling that the last two albums sounded a little the same. ‘Paspatou’ was the old brother of the album ‘Juno’. My aim for the concept was to visit old methods which I have been using but also exploring new musical horizons. I hope I achieved  that by inviting many musicians to work with. Collaboration is the best and most beautiful way to get inspired. For me the artist like “orbit” had the biggest impact on me as he worked much quicker  than me and he always had musical ideas that were simple but genius. Usually I sometimes overwork ideas. I end up with 150 Audio tracks which all contain little sounds so that the main idea gets a bit lost  in all this.

 

How does this mix speak toward your current direction?

The mix contains mainly songs i listen to while traveling and sitting outside and that simply makes me feel good. I am very attracted to ‘world music’. Which basically means to me everything that goes away from Western beats. So in this mix i explored a bit of Afro House by South African artist “Karyendasoul” and also the Song “Mano Mano” is by South African Duo “Thee Suka”. Of course the mix also contains songs by good friends I have meet along the way. First there is the duo Palladian from Barcelona who I recently met – they make great soothing electronica and house. I also featured Il:l, Fjaak, and Rezident, who are all friends.

 

Your latest single ‘Let It Burn’ and ‘Mimose’ is the first taste of your upcoming album, ‘Mimose.’ What made these songs the perfect lead singles, and how does it reflect what we can expect from the album?

‘Mimose’ and ‘Let it Burn’ couldn’t me be more different. The song ‘Mimose’ is a perfect reflection of the music I love to write at the moment. It’s energetic, simple and can give you strong feelings of euphoria. I think it’s the perfect album opener because it quickly transports the listener into the Parra For Cuva world. ‘Let it Burn’ on the other side is one of the oldest songs of the album. It’s a song with a bit of a pop approach. I found a sample on Instagram where the singer ‘Teddy Swims’ sings that phrase in a backstage of venue with three amazing singers. When I heard that for the first time I quickly fall in love with this idea. So I started sampling this and surrounded the voices with a lot of guitar and piano. That’s how ‘Let it Burn’ was born. I always wanted to make music with a choir and I felt that a choir could have a more prominent role on the record. So when the time was right I contacted the Berlin Choir ‘A Song for You’ which is a collective of singers around Berlin. They were up to it and now they are on three songs of the album.

 

 

What can we expect from the rest of the rollout? Any projects or shows that you are particularly excited about?

I am just excited about to finally release two years of work to the world and I hope everybody gets a bit of that Ligurian energy we felt while staying there.

 

 

Follow Parra For Cuva

IG / FB / X / SC