Parra for Cuva
Nicolas Demuth, known by his stage name Parra for Cuva (born in 1991 in Göttingen) is a German electronic music producer and DJ. Career. Life and early music career. Nicolas Demuth grew up in a small town close to Göttingen in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. When he was 11 years old he learned to play the piano and became interested in pieces of the French composer Debussy. After his piano teacher changed, he started to be engaged with jazz improvisations, with a focus on the jazz piano. In 2009 Demuth started to print out midi  piano notes with the help of a simple program, and then mixed his first piano pieces with hip hop elements. After his A-levels Demuth moved to Berlin to study audio design. He first called himself "Natur-Klang" before he decided to choose the stage name "Parra for Cuva". His stage name originates in various Spanish words and means "between the world / for / Cuva". 2013–2014 career. Nicolas Demuth and Anna Naklab grew up in the same town as neighbors and have been friends ever since their youth. Under the stage name "Nianband" they published different songs and had some local  performances. Demuth took over the piano part whereas Naklab played the guitar and sang. The Nianband's musical focus was based on calm and rather relaxed compositions. In the spring of 2013 Demuth and Naklab published "Fading Nights" on the French label Delicieuse Musique Records followed by a joint production of "Something Near" on the label Well Done Music! from Berlin. In September 2013 the cover (remix) single "Wicked Games" was released by Demuth and featured Naklab. The song is a cover version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Games" and was published on the label Spinnin' Records. "Wicked Games" was  released on Beatport, a U.S. based electronica website. A mainstream release in France in October 2013 was followed by a German release in February 2014. The song charted at number 6 in the United Kingdom. The song also charted in France, Belgium, Netherlands and other European nations. This popularity led to Demuth's international breakthrough. In November 2013, the instrumental single "Luhya" was released on the label Delicieuse Musique Records. November 2013 also brought the Aérotique and Parra for Cuva release of the EP (short track album) titled "Unique", with four tracks, on the label Sinnmusik. In February 2014, Demuth  along with artist Egokind and Jona Mayr released an EP titled "First Chapter", on the label Lenient Tales. Soon after, Demuth, Ascii Code and Viken Arman released the EP titled "Veiled in Blue", on the label Traum/TRAUMV179. 2015: debut album: "Majouré". In January 2015 Nicolas Demuths debut album "Majouré" (French for "superior force") was released on the label Lenient Tales Recordings. It contained twelve songs, with iTunes offering a bonus song. The song "Devi" features hip hop artist Nieve; the title track "Majouré" features Casey K; and the song "Champa" features Monsoonsiren. All songs feature distinct foundations of electronic  music mixed with a variety of musical influences of other genres. 2016: second album: "Darwîś". A darwīš is a religious monk dedicating his entire existence to the advancement of faith and meditation. Although he believes in Allah, he can be described predominantly as a mystic. Refraining from any form of material wealth and even societal appreciation, holy enlightenment is his true aim. After finishing up their semester at university, Nicolas and Jonas – or Parra for Cuva & Senoy – decided to pack all their gear into their camper and go on a road trip down to the eastern coast of Spain. With  the car filled with all kinds of gear, from synths to speakers, guitars, and percussions amongst other tools and toys, three creative weeks ensued, creating music with a view out to the sea. While taking everything in and doing daily trips, the two were able to create enough song ideas in three weeks to spend the rest of the year at home in the studio to finish all arrangements and mixes. Inspired by the Spanish way of life in a small and historically rich port town, a stark contrast to life Berlin, and soaking up diverse musical influences, the individual  titles are highly personal and reflect on specific emotions or intimate experiences. During the arrangement of the title song, the percussion track was accidentally dragged to infinity, which resulted in a trance inducing meditative sound that gave them the idea for the title. Watching Turkish dervish dancers while listening should therefore enhance the listening experience. 2017: "Mood in C". "Mood in C" is the latest EP by Parra for Cuva. Following the highly acclaimed album "Darwīš" together with Senoy on Project Mooncircle, the release is a collection of songs that were created in and around the previous year. The title  song "Mood in C" was composed after the Ethiopian pentatonic scale that is deeply intertwined with both the spirituality of the people but also the war-torn and deeply trenched history of the country. Furthermore, it combines guitar effects with synths and all sounds were recorded analog with the help of effects units. The song "Unfinished Colours" together with "Others" is the first collaboration of a future joint project of the two friends. All percussion was either recorded on journeys and travels or at home with everyday objects to give the EP a unique sound. 2018: "Paspatou". Berlin producer Parra  De Cuva, aka Nicolas Demuth, has been on a roll these last couple of months with his oft cinematic sprawling, hypnotic shuffling electronic tracks. In fact, the platinum selling artist just released his new full length, Paspatou, exactly a month ago. A slew of enthralling music videos have surfaced for scintillating tracks from the record, including Cleopatra, featuring May, which you can view above. May’s silky soulful voice dances effortlessly over Parra De Cuva’s lavish pleats of skittering percussion and rumbling beats, culminating an awe-inspiring, heart-bursting beauty of an electronic opus. Also not to be missed  is the striking visual accompaniment for album track Cupa Cupa, below, an ambient world-beat inspired electronic masterpiece, plus the video for title track Paspatou, a breathtaking expanse of wonder that illuminates the world around us in a bittersweet yet sanguine light. 2020: Planet Ujou / Parra for Cuva, Trashlagoon. It's tough to pigeonhole exactly what the Berlin-based composers Parra For Cuva and Trashlagoon are shooting for on their new collaboration "Hotel Moonlight." "Kid A"-era Radiohead comes to mind, and the song is certainly in the lineage of downcast, jazz-inspired electronic music that came up in that album 's wake. Instead of pale imitation, though, "Hotel Moonlight" cruises at a sunlit altitude of its own emotional resonance, buoyed by groovy and emotional textures that further reveal themselves with each subsequent listen. 2021: "Juno". Thinking of dreamy, melancholic electronic music with an organic approach Parra for Cuva is one of the names which come to mind immediately. After Nicolas Demuth´s previous highly acclaimed album, Paspatou, the busy producer from Germany kicked off the journey to his new album Juno (out July 16) with the single ‚Ordel‘ that already accumulated 2Mio+ streams and "Dream Reverb" showing off just how much  Nicolas is an explorer of sound who cherishes collaborations and a multi-cultural approach. For a remix of “Her Entrance” Parra for Cuva teamed up with Innellea who was named best newcomer by Groove Magazine in 2017 and took the scene by storm with releases on Innervisions and a recent Cercle set at Jaisalmer Fort. Innellea´s interpretation of "Her Entrance" was shaped by his desire for extensive and intense club nights. He adapted the mysterious mood from the original and added dynamic hihats and driving basslines to create a remix suitable for any dancefloor. Music style. The songs produced by  Nicolas Demuth combine elements of house and pop music, piano compositions and downtempo. Many of his electronic pieces find their origin in piano music through sketches or with the help of complete solo pieces. Artists such as Ludovico Einaudi and Bonobo are Demuth's sources of inspiration next to many others. His set "Plains of Ostara" starts with Einaudis' piece "Andare". Next to the piano many other instruments such as a kalimba, steeldrums, carillons, guitars and accordions can be found in Demuth's productions.