Photo by Sergio Andretti
CTSD is a Berlin-based techno producer who has been drawing attention with his raw, industrial edge, creating productions that emit dark, mechanical energies and push the genre’s boundaries in subtle but impactful ways. As an agent of upcoming changes in the scene, Chris brings hope and intensity to a genre that is in urgent need of evolution, and something tells us he is only just getting started.
VOID+1: Hello Chris, welcome on board and thank you for the interview! Congrats for “Dogma 96”, we are happy and proud to have it on Void+1. Can you give us some insight of how it was made and what was your goal during production?
CTSD: Thanks for having me and a pleasure to be aboard!
I rarely, if ever, have an idea of what I’m going to make in the studio before I get to work. Most of my ideas seem to build on themself once the initial elements are laid down and the foundation is set. This usually comes from experimenting on my modular system until I find a sound that tonally fits the aesthetic and vibe I’m after. From there, I jam with it, record long takes and mangle all the sounds to pieces to build the track around. I put those pieces into some kind of sequence, throw a kick and groove underneath and call it a day.
In the case of Dogma 96, I maintained a snapshot in my mind of the overall vibe of the label (both sonically and visually) and used it as a blueprint to create a palette of sounds to work with. I’d played tracks from all of the previous Void+1 EPs endlessly in my sets so I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go with the tracks. I guess in that sense I do have some kind of an idea going into a session, now that I think of it…
You had a great streak of releases recently and there has been a noticeable evolution in your sound. Was this planned? Is there anything specific that was a catalyst for this or was it a result of natural progression for you as an artist?
Mentors are a really powerful tool, whether it be in music or otherwise. I think there’s a misconception that being the sigma lone wolf is the way things are done, but I believe it’s quite the contrary. Of course, if you’re a prodigy, by all means, brave the whole process yourself, but for me having solid mentors has been the biggest catalyst in evolving my sound into where I currently am. I recognised the deficiencies in my production process and sought out guidance in those particular areas, which otherwise might have taken a significantly longer amount of time to conquer on my own. Special mention to SlugoS, Endlec and yourself (Scalameriya) for nudging me in the right direction when I needed it.
What do you think makes your sound uniquely yours? Are there any particular elements or techniques you use that you feel define your sound signature?
I really try to hero synthesis in my sound, always pushing it as far to the front as I can. Consequently it’s also what I spend the most time on to really give a track character and personality. Often I make a track exclusively from a single recording on my modular, then twist and turn it into all the required elements, apart from the kick(s), although it sometimes makes its way in there too. This way everything sounds like it comes from the same place, with little need to mix and match tone and key.
On top of all that, I’m constantly drawing ideas and influences from music I’ve fallen in love with over the years, keeping a snapshot of these tracks in my mind, much like I did when I set out to make Dogma 96. It’s important to note that these tracks aren’t all techno and spread across a wide range of sounds and styles, ranging from gabber to d&b and even ambient music. Absorbing all these influences helps to keep my ears fresh and open for new and interesting ideas to try out.
People love to say that creativity surges best when an artist is in the state of ‘flow”. Do you feel that way when creating? Is your process more deliberate and conscious, or spontaneous?
You can only get to said “flow” state from preserving through the process, taking the highs and lows that come with it. And when it does land, it’s better than any drug you can take.
We need to ask you about the “Donks”? How? Why? When?
For the uninitiated, “Donk” is a genre of dance music that’s heavily centered around a synth that’s been aptly named “Donk” as a form of onomatopoeia. The synth is typically made with Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis to give that crispy, juicy donk sound we all know and love.
Being slightly obsessed with FM synthesis, I very often end up with percussive, donk-like sounds in my tracks, and sometimes end up with 8 or even 10 “donk” channels in a project. Once I made a story on Instagram saying “I think I have a donk problem…” and the meme evolved from there, so much so that I even printed a shirt with “DONK” on it and people have asked when I’ll start selling merch 🤣. Special mention to the Weston Audio 2v2 oscillator for this. It creates the fattest donks right out of the box, and it’s in every track I’ve made since I got it. From what I understand it’s made by a one man operation based out of Portland in the US, and every module he makes is a cut above for me. If you want big donks, the 2v2 is your weapon of choice!
Other than making donks, do you have any other hobbies you would like to share with our readers?
Being utterly bemused by my cat takes up a lot of my time…
You worked as a technician in several clubs. Other than how to deal with panic scenarios, what is the most important thing that you have learned that helped you grow as an artist or person?
Consuming large volumes of work in any kind of creative field can really open you up to new ideas and possibilities that you might not have thought of otherwise. Working in clubs has exposed me to hours and hours of DJ sets, which has given me a chance to absorb different styles of mixing, how a DJ reads a crowd, the arc of their sets and even how they prepare their rekordbox for gigs. This has no doubt had a big impact on how I produce music and DJ, and sharpened my ear to what works well in a club environment.
Is there any memorable anecdote you would like to share from your work?
I saw a DJ’s manager plug their USB stick in for them once. Best b2b ever.
Do you think that any aspects of your personality come through in your music? How do you ensure your individuality stands out in our overcrowded scene?
Every artist lifts the veil on their personality in one way or another when they create. In my case, my inner fire and intensity manifests in the form of aggressive, metallic and often challenging electronic music. While my music has a high level of impact and energy, I apply delicate touches to the groove and textures that help support the ferocity on top. Some people do extreme sports, others do crazy shit like drink pumpkin spiced lattes, I make techno.
In general I deliver a level of intensity in my music that is probably better left for the studio than the real world 😅. Strangely, what I like about techno is how tense and, dare I say, stressed it makes me feel when I listen to and create it. As for what that says about my personality, probably best to speak to my therapist about that one…
Breaking into the scene can be tough. What challenges have you faced so far, and how did you overcome them?
Nowadays there seems to be a trend of promoters playing it safe when it comes to bookings, relying on line ups to bring numbers to events rather than the event itself. A consequence of this is DJs and artists (lets maintain a strong distinction between these two categories) on the circuit have positioned themselves to align with this narrative and inadvertently occupy most of the space that would otherwise be available to artists creating new and innovative music. The end result is a homogeneous scene that’s stagnant and stale, promoting the same sound, image and gimmicks as everyone else. When you come along with something new and left field, you’ve actively cemented yourself at the bottom of the pool (with some exceptions of course) behind artists producing music as a commodity or DJs boosted by musically irrelevant metrics like how many followers they have on social media, who they hang out with or how many times they’ve DJ’d in a toilet. Unfortunately, this makes producers wanting to make a living from music bend their art into a direction that’s more commercially viable, rather than what’s artistically authentic and genuine. As for me, I’m a bit too stubborn to be malleable in that respect, so I’ve set my target on getting my music to people that really embrace it, which is more valuable to me in the end, even if economically this makes the least sense in the short term.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out? What’s one thing you wish you’d known when you first began?
If I could go back in time I’d tell my younger self to prioritise mental and physical health, don’t compromise your vision in the face of uncertainty and focus on yourself more than what others appear to be doing online.
How do you view the role of struggle or hardship in the creative process? Do you believe that adversity can fuel more effective results, or is that a romanticized notion?
If being an artist is something you’ve chosen to do, I often feel it’s not a choice, but more an obligation that you need to fulfill. With that comes the undying need to create, no matter how tortuous it might be from time to time. While I do feel that the notion is somewhat romanticized, when you look at many genres of music and where they come from, there’s definitely something to that sentiment, techno included. Fast forward to today and I think the adversity is finding a way to punch through the noise of modern life and the scene, and finding a way to give people an alternative to the dogmatic doctrine we’ve had laid upon us.
Do you feel any pressure to conform to trends in the industry and how do you deal with it?
Every time I’ve tried to (usually out of doubt and frustration) I’ve hated the whole process and what’s come of it. Knowing that, I’ve sworn to reevaluate what I’m doing every time that impulse arises and ask myself why I feel that way. For me, the point of music and art in general is to push boundaries and innovate at all costs to create something new and exciting to myself and others, even if that results in an immense amount of friction on the way.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for your music career, and where do you see yourself in the next few years?
There’s a quote by Mark Ronson from the “Michael Jackon’s Journey from Mowtown to Off the Wall,” documentary that says “The thing that really steeps a record in its era and makes it sound dated is heavily relying on very specific technology of the time.” In this specific context he’s talking about how timeless music transcends any era by defying current trends and creating its own path, so that once the trends have passed, it will continue to sound fresh and exciting, even many decades after it was made. My goal as a producer is to create music that I can both play and listen to far into the future, and still identify with it, despite whatever is happening around me at the time. In turn I hope the scene we find ourselves in in those moments in the future will be able to appreciate the music the same way as I do, irrespective of what might be current at that time.
Bonus question by Scalameriya:
A V10 and a Xone:96 come to life and transform into their humanoid forms. They obviously have beef with each other. Who wins in a fist fight?
The V10 compresses it to death and spirals it out of existence.
CTSD’s social media: