| CUICA
The
sound of Cuica is pure hook: instant, catchy, and to the point.
Following hot on the heels of two smash Ubiquity singles, Simone
Serritella, one half of the duo, describes their forthcoming
"City to City" album as "Pure entertainment
prime-time beats with a Brazilian twist." That's about as accurate
a description as you're going to get, especially from a guy who
speaks London-brewed broken Italian-English. Mix the electro-bounce
of Metro Area with the percussive energy of the Truby Trio, add
a smattering of old school disco and some future breaks and that's
Cuica. No mess, a little cheeky and twisted; honest, full-flavor
club music.
Serritella's partner in Cuica is fellow-Londoner Pete Herbert.
Any vinyl junkie who spent time in London between 1995 and 2001
will know Herbert from his days running the legendary London record
store Atlas. An emporium unrivalled for it's eclectic wares Herbert
laments the closure of Atlas due to financial pressures last year,
"It taught me a lot and I met a lot of great likeminded people
- but it became hard to make ends meet, believe me we tried!"
he says. "I could see myself turning into one of those grumpy
old f*ckers that you see in London record stores and when our friendly
landlords trebled the rent that was that!"
Outside of Cuica Hebert records as Optimo (with Mat Anthony and
Martin Jenkins of Stratus/Pussyfoot) and used to record as Bushflange
for Hard Hands. He also compiles records as an A+R agent for Palm
Pictures sub-label Quango.
Serritella grew-up in the industrial zone between Turin, Bologna,
and Milan,Italy. A mad collector of Italo-European jazz records
he moved to London in1999 and began work with longtime friend Joe
Davis, the man behind Far Outrecords. Helping start the Far Out
sub-label Solaria their releases includedtunes by Marc Mac (4 hero),
Flytronix, DJ Venom and Defusion. Serritella now runs the Arision
record label and this Fall he releases his own Big Bang album "Arriving
Soon".
The two met in 1992 when Herbert worked alongside Simon Lee (Faze
Action) at Daddy Kool records in Soho, London. Serritella was
a frequent long-distance shopper and the two maintained a friendship
as the years went by. Atlas sold a hefty amount of Solaria releases
and when Herbert complimented Serritella on his new tracks they
decided it was time they collaborated on music. The result was the
first ever Cuica single called "Percussive One" released
on Arision. When the demo CD-r version of "Trommel Monster"
landed on Andrew Jervis A+R desk at Ubiquity talks of a single release
began immediately. The album deal was made when Jervis visited London
a few months later. That sameweek Serritella DJ'd with Tyrrell (Interfearence)
Alex Attias (Beatless) and Jervis at the Ubiquity 100th release
party at the Nottinghill Arts Club.
Hanging with Cuica is time well misspent. That is if you like music,
girls and the occasional drink. They have an easy-going demeanor
and an obvious chemistry, which explains how the album came together
so quickly - the majority of it materialized in less than 6 months!
"Pete is the funniest man ever," explains Serritella.
Herbert returns the complement. Tales of Serritella's drunken rendition
of the "Theme to the Godfather" at the end of a gig in
Germany, or getting booked to play in France because the promoter
confused Pete Herbert with Matthew Herbert are just the tip of the
iceberg. The two keep a busy DJing schedule playing all over Europe,
Herbert with residencies in London, Brussels and Paris, Serritella
listing Switzerland and Central Europe as his favorite spots to
play. Herbert sums up a typical week as "Feel Like sh*t Monday
morning, do easy tasks to make it feel like I'm working. Dig for
samples, go record shopping, hang out with Molly (girlfriend), cook,
work on compilation projects, have at least one late night in the
week and pay for it the next day. DJ one sh*t gig and swear to give-up
DJing, have one killer gig and buzz for the next 2 days . . . all
in no specific order."
The duo apparently live for music, it's their lives, which explains
how they came up with such a simplistic yet vital record, it just
came naturally. Their hectic DJ schedule prompted the album title
"City To City". They even dedicated one track (Meierising
parts I, II, & III) to the Meierei - one of their favorite clubs
in Vienna, Austria and another "Nights Over Vauxhall"
is a tongue-in-cheek ode to the less glamorous location for their
studio, high above the industrial area of Vauxhall, South London.
The word Cuica (pronounced Kweek-uh) is actually the name
of a Brazilian friction drum that plays an important part in traditional
Brazilian dance music. A stick fixed in the center of a drum skin
makes vibrations and causes the cuica's "whooping" sound.
Originating from Africa it was used as a Lion call. Despite being
synonymous with Brazilian music Serritella says, "A lot of
people don't have a clue what it means or how to pronounce it. We
like though, it just sounds good and the Brazilian angle is perfect!"
So far Cuica have released two singles for Ubiquity - an awesome
batucada called "Trommel Monster" that switches from down
to up tempo mid-way, and "Cuidado"/"Why Not Samba"
which balanced Brazilian influences with sly minimal-house attitude.
Both 12"s were given thumbs up by the international Nu jazz
DJ fraternity. In fact their release resulted in numerous license
and remix requests. As Cuica they've reworked tunes by Funky Lowlives
(a mix which charted in the top 3 of the German Dance charts), Snowboy,
and for Finnish label Nine2Five. Balancing simple and catchy is
not an easy achievement, but these guys have it down. "City
To City" is their debut full-length CD/LP for Ubiquity, to
be released in January 2003. Watch www.ubiquityrecords.com for
sneak streaming previews of tracks from the City to City album over
the next few months. |
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