No Bullshit Talk with Kusht

Maestro Kusht hello! Humbled to have the honor to interview this master of Downtempo you represent now on this scene! Where was born such a genius?
We all wanna know!

My real name is Buddy, I’m originally from Scotland and I’m 33 years old. I’ve always been involved with music since i was 15 years old and I studied Audio Engineering in Glasgow for 4 years where i then became a live sound engineer.

Nice to meet you Buddy! So you were born in fairy Scotland and fell very young into the music pot ! Why am I not surprised ?! How does the story continue…?

Well, I felt a little bored at 22 and decided to go to Switzerland to visit my sister where she was working and take some time out. I met a contact there who invited me to come to Greece and work for a diving school, I then made another contact there and moved to Austria for a winter season afterwards. I caught the travel bug, decided it what I wanted and took some time away from the music industry. Travel has changed me completely and I feel so open to people, cultures and new experiences.
I then found myself in Oslo Norway where I was introduced to the club scene and loved the inclusive and open culture. Some friends invited me to Fusion Festival in Germany where my mind was blown. And on a special Sunday morning I found myself at the Seebuhne stage listening to Voodoohop and being overcome with inspiration as this was my introduction to Downtempo music.

Let me guess ! And that’s when Kusht was born???!!

Indeed !!! I returned to Oslo and started Kusht ! I spent all my spare time producing and releasing rough cuts of music but to no response. The Berlin label Drosssel contacted me though and asked for an EP which became my debut label release “Teapot”. This propelled me into the scene and i wanted to not only DJ my music but perform as i missed playing on stage from previous bands, i found myself quickly traveling around the world playing live sets and falling in love with the scene and culture.

So now, let’s be serious… 😀 What’s the secret of this totally UNIQUE style you develop from tune to tune ? What kind of sorcery is it ? I’m so in love as a dj with your sound! I would ID you better than the A.I. in a set ahahah!!

When it comes to writing music I always want my next song, remix or edit to be different from the last. Being diferent I find easy but keeping a red thread through my music so it sounds like a “Kusht” song is where it can be hard. I always start with my guitar when writing but often stray to diferent instruments and explore new sounds.
I also never start with templates or save any presets to not fall into writing patterns. Inspiration is everywhere for me as I’m always listening for melodies and patterns, sometimes it can be hard to switch of but I quite like that.

You definitely have a musical identity, a Style !

I feel like these past years of producing as Kusht has been a discovery and experimentation of what I want Kusht to be and feel it’s finally starting to find its path. I feel more focused on the overall sound and mood i want to create with the music but even more so with my live set. For months I have been experimenting with new ways of running my set and trying out diferent gear so I’m excited and nervous to start playing my new live set. The strange key to my new set is to feel more vulnerable and have the ability to build my guitars and drums in a less controlled way.

And so now, let’s turn ourselves towards the future : what do you see in front of you ?

The future of Kusht is about getting things going again, I’m currently booking new gigs and planning for a summer on the road in my van around Europe this year

Huuuuge!! Musical roadtrip yeah!!! I hope we will have the pleasure to meet ! 😀 Thank you Master Kusht for this interview!

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