Interview: Gruuve

The internet has seemingly lead to an over-saturation of mediocre, insincere and often lazy, music, but one talent who has definitely avoided any connection to cutting corners is Gruuve.

The Argentine, who now calls Barcelona home, has releases with labels such as Lapsus, Lemon-Aid and Deeperfect, and his latest outing will find him debut with Dennis Cruz and Eddy M’s MÜSE Imprint.

Chatting to him about the new release, we got to hear how the tracks came together in the studio, how they landed on MÜSE, what we can expect from Gruuve’s own MUUV label and more. Get the full discussion below.

Let’s begin with your new ‘Krush’ EP, did anything in particular inspire you when in the studio for this one?

Well, for this particular EP I had the idea of making a combination of powerful & intense tracks. I love hypnotic music, so I tried to make a nice percussive groove and start adding some elements such as synths and vocals to go from the beginning to the most fierce part of the song. I don’t know if it was through inspiration, but these tracks have been in my head for some time.

And how would you describe the release, in three words?

Hypnotic, groovy and fierce.

The release comes on Dennis Cruz and Eddy M’s Muse imprint, how did you come to sign the track there?

I really love both Dennis Cruz and Eddy M’s music, they are also great guys. But I’ve been following & talking with Dennis since 2014, at that time I was starting to make some decent music so I sent him some tracks for his label Lemon-Aid. Over the past few years I’ve released several tracks with him including my most successful one, ‘You Say’ in 2018.

Also, he is the artist who has supported me the most during my career and he’s also a big influence on my productions. So basically when MÜSE was launched, Dennis asked me for some tracks and I didn’t hesitate for a second!

In general, what do you look for when considering a label for a release?

The most important thing for me right now is to see if the label has had strong support from key artists, if they’re able to support the EP with some nice promotion and don’t spam and release music every week.

Can you give us any info on other labels you’ll be releasing with in the coming months?

I can’t tell you anything yet as I’m waiting for some labels answers. I’m dying to know too!

You’re from Argentina but live in Barcelona, how would you compare the two scenes?

I’ve been living in Barcelona for the past 6 months and I’m in love with it. I came here for the ease of making contacts and traveling ’cause in Argentina it’s very difficult. But on a clubbing level, we have some great clubs & parties that artists from around the world are always dying to come back to play at. For example: Mute in Mar del Plata, Río en Buenos Aires, the Metropolitano in Rosario to name a few. Also, the crowd is so energic there! I think both scenes have their charm, it’s hard to pick one.

Alongside your own music, you also manage your own label, MUUV, who might we expect to see on there in the near future?

I founded MUUV with the sole purpose being to help colleagues and up-and-coming artists from around the globe, so generally our releases are from new names in the industry. I have the idea to start making some showcases here in Barcelona and that may lead to an incentive to have a few more established artists on the label too.

And what advice would you give to someone that wants to send you a demo?

Music that is in line with the aesthetic and sound of our record label (mastered) and also a brief introduction of themselves.

Before we go, can you give us one track we should go and listen to after finishing this interview?

Yes, you can check this remix from Max Chapman: Andrew Meller – Miss You (Max Chapman Remix). So much groove, he’s crazy. The original is amazing too.

Gruuve’s Krush EP arrives January 24th on MÜSE.