Balance Selections 230: Cinthie

Berlin based DJ and producer, label owner of 803 Crystal Grooves, Beste Modus , Unison Wax, Beste Freunde, and we_r house, along with being a host at Fritz Radio, a record store owner of Elevate, and a proud parent, Cinthie has grown to become one of the most revered and respected figures in contemporary electronic music in recent years both in her hometown and across the globe.

Her touring schedule regularly sees her playing her inimitable DJ style in hotspot cities like Paris, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Stockholm, Seoul, Osaka, and of course her beloved hometown Berlin where she was born and raised on the ever flowing current of electronic music coming from the city. DJ’ing in said city since the early nineties as a teenager, Cinthie‘s depth of knowledge radiantly shines through in her sets and her productions, which traverse through a broad range of classic and contemporary House and Techno sounds.

Recent times have seen Cinthie look inwards towards her aspirations for the future, and as a result, dedicated a huge portion of her time to building her own studio, featuring a wide spectrum of some of the most noteworthy vintage drum machines and synthesizers in existence.

Cinthie has also recently shifted focus towards Elevate Berlin, a label collective, digital and physical record store in the heart of Friedrichshain, a home for all of the label collectives output as well as releases from friends and affiliates.

Balance Selections 230: Cinthie

Tracklisting:

1. Dana Kuehr – BECAUSE
2. Tilman – On The House (First Round)
3. Bonn – Never Ever (Johannes Albert Remix)
4. Malik Hendricks – Praise (Eli Escobar Remix)
5. Camion Bazar – Divinorum
6. Malik Hendricks – Know Me
7. Ruff Stuff – Badass Groove
8. Roluce – Osmad
9. Floog – Speak & Spell
10. Tiptoes – Strings
11. Tilman & Phonk D – Before Dawn
12. Simon Shaw – For The Love
13. Ruff Stuff – High Club Alive
14. Simon Shaw – Pipes
15. Halal Sol – Cussing Is Bad

Name: Cinthie Christl
Location:Berlin
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Alias/Producer name: Cinthie
Labels affiliated with: 803 Crystal Grooves, We R house, Aus Music

My last 3 releases:

Cinthie – Light a Fire

Cinthie – Organ (as featured on the DJ Kicks compilation)

Cinthie – Offenbach Anthem (as featured on the Free Fall EP)

What music did you listen to as a child?

My parents always collected records back in the day but mostly Top 40 stuff on vinyl. There was no CDs or streaming back in the day of course. I also remember always adding an additional list of favourite music when it came to filling out a particular friends type of books as a kid, where you add favourite food, favourite colour etc. Whenever it came to favourite music, I would write “see attached piece of paper”, and I then put down my favourite artist, track name, and label, which I dug out from my parents records. It was mostly chart music, but also very early dance music. Other than that, my mum played the saxophone.

When was the first time that you realised that you liked electronic music?

When my cousin gave me a tape with music in 1994 from a guy called Sven (Väth). I was totally blown away. Also by the fact it was mixed. He played a lot of different styles back in the day. Since then I was infected, and started working in a record store 2 years later.

When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?

Around 1995 when I first snuck into a club with my much older friends. I can not really remember who was playing. I guess it was some resident DJ there, but not so long after I heard Karotte playing and that was great. Some great 90’s house.

Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?

Unfortunately a lot of my heroes are dead now. Paul Johnson was really one of my favorites and biggest inspiration. Pretty much a lot of the older guys from Chicago, Eddie Flashin’ Folwkes, Ralphi Rosario, Steve Pointdexter, but also producers from New York, Detroit, or Kalamazoo.

If I had to name some artists if today, it’s getting harder and harder to find some true artists that are keeping it real. I really love Anna Wall, Telfort, Lis Sarroca, Adryiano, St. David, UC Beatz, Demi Requismo, HDSN etc.

What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?

My boyfriend recommended me the album of the Fontaines DC. We also went to the concert. It’s different kind of music, I would consider it more as Indie stuff but it’s great to listen to. Otherwise I love Damiano van Eckerts and Massimiliano Pagliaras albums. Some great music in there. Both of which I found through my record store when I bought new records for the shop.

What is your current production and DJ set up like?

For my studio I keep it mostly analog. I have pretty much a Roland museum with lots of old classic drum machines like 909, 808, 707, 606 plus I have the 101, 202, Juno 106 (and 6), D50 etc etc. I used to work for Ableton for a couple of years but then decided to switch to analog gear and only record in Ableton. Some people might say it’s too much gear but I don’t care because it’s a lot of fun to sit in the studio and actually make music and not just move the mouse around. But, it’s everyones own decision of course.

When I play gigs, I mostly play vinyl. I own a record store as well and I play records since 1995. Playing digital is not so much fun for me tbh.

What releases do you have on the horizon?

After my DJ Kicks in the last year and one release on Aus Music plus a few remixes, I’ll now concentrate on more original material again. There will be a new EP on my own Crystal Grooves label, as well as 3 EPs on my other favourite labels. More info soon… Ideally, I also want to start working on my second album. But, I guess that’s a more 2024 project.

Where can we hear you perform?

Pretty much all over the world. I ll continue touring hardcorde but I love it. I’m currently down under and will play at Revolver in Melbourne on December 26th, then at Vent in Tokyo on the 29th and Fly to the Moon at Koh Mak for New Years eve. Next year I’ll be mostly in Europe, then the United States again etc. We are currently working on a few residencies for next year, but as always… More info coming soon.

Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?

This time I had to record it on my laptop as I didn’t have a setup for records on tour. I also played mostly new stuff. There’s lots of good stuff in there from some of my favourites like Ruff Stuff, Camion Bazar, Malik Hendriks etc. to name a few.

My Recommendations

The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:

Blazers – A Side Long Glance