Following the hard-hitting release of her huge Rocket Fuel EP back in December 2019, Berlin-based techno maven and FORM Music favourite Simina Grigoriu now returns to the revered French label as she closes out a prolific summer of releases in emphatic fashion with her latest two-part package, Interpol 2020 EP.
Out now, Interpol 2020 is Simina Grigoriu’s fourth full-blown EP on POPOF’s imprint, following her Matching Numbers EP in 2015, the three-part Slush Fund EP in 2017 and the aforementioned Rocket Fuel EP in 2019. The release also comes off the back of Simina’s mammoth Line Runner EP on Prospect Records, which has been receiving hefty international DJ support and media hype ever since its release in early September.
We caught up with Simina at her home in Berlin to talk early raving experiences, her label Kuukou Recordings, life outside of music and more…
WWD: Hello Simina! Welcome to When We Dip! Dare we ask – how’s 2020 been for you so far? How have you been keeping busy with everything that’s been going on?
Errr.. mixed feelings. There were a lot of highlights but also a lot of concern for things such as: our careers, the future of our industry, safety in general and the immediate (and future) state of our world.
We don’t have a nanny so we spent the whole time as a family doing wonderful things and just being together. Isabella learned to ride a bike sans training wheels. She learned to swim without floaties and she learned gymnastics and Kung Fu. I love teaching her these things. She also started to produce music on her new DATO machine with Paul. Oh yeah, we also conceived a baby, due Feb 2021. These things would have happened anyway but were facilitated by uninterrupted family time. This is bliss.
Having said that, we don’t know when we will go back to work which is not only a concern for my bank account but also for my soul. I thrive on this job—all elements of it. While many DJs despise the travel bit and would rather teleport themselves to the stage, I cherish every moment of “me time” starting with the taxi ride to the airport. I feel it’s part of me and this part has been lacking this year. Come February, it will be one whole year of not playing music for an actual audience. Sure, streams are awesome and I love to showcase my music, but it’s not the same. Nobody can really let their inhibitions go at home watching even their favourite DJ playing on a screen. I can’t relay that energy to my audience. I can’t be there with them. That really sucks.
WWD: Can you tell us how you got into electronic music?
I discovered a bootleg The Prodigy tape on the street in Romania when I was 11 on holiday visiting family. I didn’t know who or what they were but I was in love from the first track. The album was Experience and it was 1992.
WWD: How would you best describe your brand of techno?
Boys’ techno for girls. That’s how it was described to me once, meaning that I play hard but also with soul. You cannot sing a track—you can only sing a song. Marc Houle said that to me a long time ago and I think of this quote every time I sit down to produce. It’s about making/playing music that’s both danceable, essentially effective in the club, but also memorable.
WWD: Who or what were your biggest musical inspirations growing up?
Mobb Deep. Nas. The Prodigy. Aphex Twin. Sneaker Pimps. Nirvana. Hole. NIN. Metallica. Madonna. Whitney Houston. The Bangles. Dire Straits. Bob Dylan. Bob Marley. Big L and most East Coast 90s rappers. ANY jungle DJ from the 90s. Classical music. Traditional music of all nations. Rock. Reggae. Everything. The list goes on….
WWD: Can you share some memories from the days you started raving/DJing
Yes, but those are two very different time periods. I was introduced to my first rave at E-Party in Toronto when I was 15. It was a dingy place at the end of St. Claire West station and I had no idea what I was in for. I knew what electronic music was, and I had loved it since I was 11 and had discovered The Prodigy in Romania via bootleg cassette, but at that rave, I fell in love with Ragga Jungle. Over the next few years, I juggled my high school career, family life and the Toronto Rave Scene, which, by the way, changed me forever.
I started DJing many years later when I was working in a club in downtown Toronto while putting myself through university. I was a bartender and at one point I was like, NOPE I’ve gotta be doing what he’s doing. Controlling the music, not slinging cocktails. I borrowed a pair of decks from my buddy Alex, whose techno brand “Platform” is responsible for introducing most German techno DJs to Toronto, and that was the start of it for me. In fact, it was through Alex that I met Paul when he invited him for a booking in Toronto in 2008, but I digress. So yeah. I spent every waking moment (when not working or studying) learning the craft. It was not easy and no part of me (at the time) wanted to do this professionally. I just loved to play. When I moved to Berlin in 2008, I decided to jump in with the sharks. I was either going to work hard and make something of myself or I was going to drown in the ocean of DJs that is Berlin. Because Berlin is essentially that:
Hollywood for Techno. People move here with high hopes and big dreams only to find that it’s not as easy as they had imagined. But again, I digress.
I had some experience with Ableton via tutorials with friends in Toronto but it wasn’t until I moved here that I really took accountability for what I wanted to do. About a year later, I released my first EP “Mukluks & Ponytails” and got myself a booking agency. The rest is history.
WWD: Congrats on the upcoming release of your incredible new EP ‘Interpol 2020′. Can you talk to us a bit about the record?
Sure! This year has rocked our world and way of life that it feels like Interpol is coming to get me for a crime I didn’t commit. What used to be normal is not anymore and the “new normal” is not normal at all. We all feel trapped and insecure about the future of our industry and the world in general. For those of us who have kids, it’s even scarier. So these tracks are aggressive. Hard. Unforgiving. Just like this year has been on all of us. It’s not lost on me that we’re part of the lucky ones. We’re healthy and happy and together and safe but it’s still a whirlwind of change and the “not knowing” is terrifying.
WWD: Let’s talk about your label Kuukou Records. What is your vision for the imprint?
I started Kuukou as a platform for my own music and others like me, who needed a home to express themselves musically. I like to work with both new and established artists. I am perpetually learning. I love the label but had no experience prior on how to run one and so I found the best of the best to help me find my way. I work with Grise Agency and two amazing label managers that help manage the day-to-day of the label but who are also my sounding board for all Kuukou-related decisions. I hope to continue with this project, providing opportunities for up-and-coming artists but also for myself. It’s my passion project and I enjoy seeing it flourish. It’s been five years so far and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
WWD: Do you have any specific goals for the label over the next 5 years?
Yes! I’d like to continue providing a platform for artists to showcase their work but also gain recognition and credibility as a brand. We get tons of demos and while I would like to give them all a chance, it’s just not possible. We release ever six weeks so that’s only ten records a year so we’ve got to be pic ky and choosy. I hope to grow the label over the next few years and build up Kuukou showcases and shed more light on what we do.
WWD: What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not making music?
Spare time? What’s that? I am a wife and mother and we have another little one on the way. The only spare time I have is at night and by then I’m exhausted. I unwind with a good book (I read about a book a week) and movies. It’s my only escape into another dimension, as I like to call it, but I also enjoy consuming Hollywood media. Oh yeah! I also love to work out but I do it at home because going to the gym would eat up half a day and I need to work out daily. Weights and boxing are my go-to. Women get soft and I’m almost 40. I need to be supermom for a long time and exercise brings me that energy and strength I need to do it.
WWD: What’s your favourite part of being an artist?
Being free to be me. No expectations and even if there are some, I don’t have to comply. This was the best part of leaving the corporate world and pursuing my music. External pressure will always exist but being free to choose what we do and how we express ourselves is priceless.
WWD: And your least favourite?
Showcasing my music takes me away from home on most weekends. Or at least it used to. As Isabella gets older, it’s becoming harder to explain to her why Mommy has to work overnight (especially during the fun two days of the week). She can’t understand it yet but I try to empower her with my example of following your dreams.
WWD: Do you have any other releases planned in the coming months? Can you give us a sneak peek?
Yeah! Here are my last two for this year:
Hito x SUDO – Kobe EP (incl. SG Remix) – Kuukou Records – out 23.10Simina Grigoriu – Fucked Up Like That EP- OFF Recordings – out 27.11
We will also be releasing the Techno Monkey Remixes starting early next year. Techno Monkey was the very first track I released on Kuukou when I launched it in 2015. We’ve got some stellar artists on board but you’ll hear more about that in the coming months.
I’m also working on a ton of music for my fav labels. Let’s see what happens in 2021.
WWD: Any final words for our When We Dip readers?
Stay in school. Don’t do drugs. Definitely don’t believe the hype. Luh ya!
Thank you!
Simi xxx
Simina Grigoriu – Interpol 2020 EP is out now via FORM Music