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CAIVA burst onto the scene last year with their mix of hard-hitting folk, jazz and classical techno music at Take Me Higher on the Lobster Theremin. Now the artist from the outskirts of Munich continues with one of the singles of the year with a full body of work that explores high-speed sounds and experiences, and comes complete with two wicked remixes from Parisian producer Trudge and Julian Muller.
'Vigour' is an intergalactic, bass-driven jam that uses CAIVA's folksy, ghostly vocals to haunting effect. A tale of two stories; most of the track is intended for the club, while the breakdown provides a pop-filled moment of contemplation. Emotional and powerful escapism. 'Take Me Higher' follows this depth of inspiration with a mix of euphoria and sadness with a high powered cut of trance-techno that is as devastating as it is beautiful.
Julian Muller is the first to do remixes when he takes over 'Vigour'; a typically arcade-inspired journey through modern trance-techno sound and 90s high-speed aesthetic, before Trudge closes with an ethereal slice of typically textured beats within an eager soundscape.
We have had the pleasure of interviewing CAIVA and this has been the result.
Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music?
My name is Betty and come from Munich, and I'm a dj, producer, guitarist, saxophonist and singer. I started with several instruments when I was little and I have a very musicial family so I was kind of born into that I guess. My main instrument is the guitar, I play a lot of fingerstyle music and stuff. The last "instrument“ I tought myself was actually Ableton a few years ago.
How is your sound evolving? What artists and genres do you enjoy mixing right now?
When I started with Ableton my first goal was to produce classic hard techno tracks and to just get the producing skills first. Then I I remember that I quickly got bored, I always want to play instruments and sing, so I started to record vocals and instruments. Now I'm already mixing genres in my tracks, the last albums I made and which will be released in the summer already have breakbeat and ambient tracks next to techno and trance on it. Next I want to do an acoustic and experimental album, and also some techno without vocals.I think my sound will change all the time. When it comes to mixing tracks, I like to play stuff with groovy hats and breakbeat at the moment.
How do you feel that your music influences or impacts your listeners?
Some people have told me that they love my style of techno with the instruments and the vocals, and I also feel that when I show vocal parts to my friends. I've sung live vocals at gigs a few times, people loved it which made me really happy, too. I also absolutely love to play the guitar. It's so soft and quiet and people then become so quiet and melancholic. I love to pass that vibe on to others.
What projects are you working on right now? What can you tell us about your last job?
The last two EPs I've been working on were my solo EP for Nali and my collab EP with Julian Muller for Live From Earth Klub. Both are more experimental with trance, break, d'n'b and acoustical influences, I worked a lot with guitar and saxophone recordings. I can't wait for the releases!
Where are you and what have you been doing now?
I'm busy planning the EPs and gigs for the next few months. I'm very happy about my upcoming
releases on labels I can only dream of and to finally play international gigs!
Has that sound changed a lot in recent years? What is your musical criteria?
Musical criteria is really simple, my ears need to like what they hear.
Do you feel safe now to play a more experimental sound?
Yes definitely, it gives my creativy the freedom it needs. If I'm supposed to do a techno track one day and end up with an acoustic song or a simple voice melody, that's cool too. And most of the time I manage to find really unexpected combinations of track/melody/harmony ideas that I really like. No matter what genre or genre mix, it's the most important thing to go with the flow and to simply trust your ears and emotions. I can't expect the listeners to immerse themselves in my music and lose themselves in it if I don't feel the same way while I'm producing it.
We all know that the digital revolution has affected sales, but has it affected creativity?
I only really started producing at the beginning of Covid, so I can't say much about how it would have been for me before that. But as far as my creativity is concerned, it's a difficult subject. For one thing, I'm a person who's out and about a lot and is very social. Maybe sometimes it's good if it's a little less than usual, then I have time for my music. On the other hand, Like many artists I also draw my creativity from social events, and I don't feel well if none of that happens. One thing that I'm really tired of is to work digitally on collaborations and send audio files and Ableton projects. I really want to be in a studio and make music with my collab artists, not alone in my room, that can be a killer for creativity.
Can you tell us what your present and future projects are?
Next to all the upcoming releases and gigs, I want to focus on more experimental music. And I'd love to build a live-set-up, me alone or together with a band, and play in clubs and on festivals. And there will be a music video production with Live From Earth Klub and Julian.
