143 - Kuro Kasetto

Author

Giannis Kampiotis
January 02, 2024

Artist Interviews 🎶 Studio Tours 🎛

Hello music people 👋

All the best for you and your creative endeavours in the new year 👨‍🎤👩‍🎤

Today in the spotlight, Kuro Kasetto

Currently in Mexico, he has a true love affair with music and creates deep emotional pieces 🎶

Interview & Studio Tour

Who are you and what is your relationship with music?

I'm a person who enjoys exploring and making sounds and I have a project called “Kuro Kasetto” a personal sound experimentation project which I enjoy sharing with people all around the world.

I'm located in Mexico City.

Music was something that has always caught my attention. Over time, different disciplines related to music have caught my attention and I have practiced some of these disciplines. At the university I discovered and studied audio engineering and discovered a new universe, which made me open my eyes and discover a whole world of things related to audio, something that I loved and I wanted to explore and learn in different ways, one of those ways is Kuro Kasetto's project.

I do have income from this project, but my main income comes from other jobs; Carpentry, working on a radio, freelance and other odd jobs.

Which piece of equipment in your studio is essential to your production process?

It's a difficult question since at this point I think there are many things that are essential to me and my work.

But if I had to choose one it would be my computer, a Macbook Pro. Without it I wouldn't be able to do anything I do and I wouldn't be able to discover and explore many things either, it's something essential in my life and work, It's the brain in my bedroom studio.

What is the least expensive piece of gear that gave you the most results?

A Sony cassette recorder. It was one of my first tools with which I began to explore and experiment. It is a very basic recorder but I love it. It has pitch control and can record and play at half speed or normal speed which gives many possibilities to explore.

Walk us through your process for creating and producing music.

Normally I try to experiment with different workflows that lead me to something I have in mind that I want to achieve sonically or some emotion or experience that I want to capture through sounds.

But I usually start with a base of sounds that I like, and then decorate with different elements depending on what I want to achieve.

What is a production technique that you always come back to?

Tape loops! It's a fun technique and I really enjoy it. Simple and pretty.

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How would you describe your style?

I think I still haven't found my style, I still have a lot to explore to be able to answer this question. But maybe, it would be, pleasant.

What is a big challenge you have as an artist?

Self confidence.

I feel like I lack a lot of confidence in myself and in this project. If I took the project more seriously, I'm sure I would do it much better and enjoy it much more, but it's something I'm working on and improving day by day. Kuro Kasetto has helped me overcome that limitation and feel better about myself in that aspect

Has building a hardware setup changed your perspective on music or life in general?

Totally!

When I discovered that type of work flow and performance I was fascinated and it changed my way of seeing music and also my life since it is something that I enjoy listening to and doing every day and it has brought me a lot of joy and opportunities.

One tip on how to spark creativity?

Trying to do things when you are not inspired, forces yourself to create things. And listen, watch and research what interests you, there are too many talented people in the world.

A book, movie, article, or album that has inspired you?

I try to look for inspiration in everything. But mainly I find a lot of inspiration in Mangas and Animes, some examples would be: One Piece, Berserk, Nana, Lupin III, Monster and many many more.

Also in books such as Tolkien's literature, articles related to audio and in any musical genre, two of my favorite musical artists who inspire me are Hainbach and Feid, one makes ambient-electronic music and the other makes reggaeton.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Thank you very much for the invitation and the interview (:

Where can people find more of your music and connect with you online?

You can find my work on most social networks and streaming platforms, under the name of Kuro Kasetto.

Gear List

My Favorites:

  • Arturia - Microfreak

  • Make Noise - Strega

  • Soma - Lyra-8

  • Meng Qi - Wingie 2

  • Monome - Norns Shield

  • Suiko - ST-60

  • Modular System

  • DIY stuff

  • Yamaha - Portastudio MT50

  • Fostex - X-12

  • Elektron - Digitakt

  • Boss - Dr.Sample SP2303

  • Casio - SK5

  • Yamaha - VSS30 | Portasound PSS-11

  • Walrus - SLÖ

  • Paradox Effects - Obsidiana | Habla-Bla

  • Chase Bliss - MOOD

  • Hologram - Microcosm

  • Mackie - 1202-VLZ3

  • Zoom - H6

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