Newly Forbidden: An anarchist’s DIY guide to transmitting sonic data.
A chat with Tutto.
Photo by Bruna Scorsatto, 2020.
Today has concluded another week of greyness in the Dutch skies. It also was a day that I was preparing and looking forward to for a while. Calling from their current headquarters based in contrasting bright lit blue sky Berlin is Tutto, wandering back and forth between their patio and studio room, where a handful of drum machines, samplers, effect pedals and a Macbook Pro could be seen, whilst preparing for their habitual morning run that is to follow later that day.
I became familiar with Tutto’s work from their label Lustpoderosa, where they released reissued works by the artist Halle K; a Zurich artist from the eighties that I took interest in. Through this mutual enthused curiosity bloomed into an amid admiration to one another, where I was thrilled upon knowing that I had Tutto’s agreement for a quick chat of their past, present and future.
Photo by Bruna Scorsatto, 2020.
Being a focused creative contributor with a steady stream of releases since 2011, Tutto is perhaps better known by others by his trio electronic project Jack Pattern (cosmic disco) or in my case, his works under his producer and DJ name Neu Verboten (EBM Electro). Their work can be heard on various labels, such as the likes of Swiss based Infoline (Zurich), Subject To Restrictions Discs (Zurich) and Proxima (Geneva).
Neu Verboten translates to Newly Forbidden. This forbiddance is however by no means related to a generated lack of creative output. Their work credentials range from artwork direction, music production, music curatorship and running two record labels, Lustpoderosa and Philoxenia. Not limited to such disciplines, Tutto also dabbles in writing, live visuals and performance art.
Although at times questioning themselves whether the thoughtful and extensive answers they provided throughout this interview made sense, the focused work that Tutto is producing to give us a glimpse and at times fully immerse ourselves into their world is evident, becoming clear that they know what they are doing and that gut instinct still proves to be tried but true.
Tell me about yourself, what led you to who you are today?
I was brought up in Mexico and then moved in Zurich with my sister and parents when I was 7. My whole family are somewhat related to an art background. My early experiences and therefore influences in music was brought up with drum n bass through my sister. Actually, we held many radio shows throughout the years, although she went in a different path than mine, she opted for fashion. I guess you can say I was a DJ first, producer second, and the rest is history.
I moved to Berlin about 4 years ago. It is a nice change of scenery for me to be here and there is also a huge diversity of talent that I absolutely praise and adore. Bonus points for being slightly cheaper to live here than in Switzerland?
That said, it is not to discredit the local scene back home. There’s a lot of cool stuff being produced by lovely people from the main cities Zurich, Lausanne, Basel, Bern and Geneva….too many to mention. Especially during the pandemic era, I found that people in the Swiss scene were very supportive and communicative towards each other, which tends to occur in smaller tight-knit groups. Zurich for instance, although lacking in size, has some of the most diverse and varied sounds imaginable that is comparable to what I am experiencing in Berlin at the moment. I would like to add that although it is somewhat “softer” and “friendlier” than Berlin, there are clubs that are running for more than two decades whereas other collectives are emerging from post pandemic ash. What is interesting is that there are new concepts being introduced, some as less hierarchical club format programming that take place in the form of bookings being worked out with the audience, not for them. Zurich has always been innovative and forward thinking like this.
How would you describe the music that you make?
Dark, ethereal, story telling [...] I’m not afraid to use kitsch elements or stuff that has been done before, because since it is my upbringing, it has become a part of me.
As a person who travels a lot, do you need a certain atmosphere to work in or can you do your work anywhere, especially when using a laptop?
Honestly it doesn't matter anymore. I learnt how to use a laptop a few years ago and realised I can make music from anywhere. As you see on my desk here, I have a handful of synths and effects pedals that i am currently using as part of my setup. I have other gear in my studio, which if it's light enough, some of it I like to carry around to jam at other people’s studios .
Do you find that making music with hardware gear allows you to express yourself more? Do you get more out of creating with something tangible?
It really depends the project. Generally, i would say no. it can help, but since my inspirations are far and wide, it is nice to switch back and forth, or to focus solely on producing in the box or with hardware gear. To combine the infinity of the digital realm and the limitation of hardware gear… it’s really from whatever you draw inspiration from on the spot.
What is your affiliation with video games? You mentioned in an interview that you know the game Second Life.
When i was a kid i wanted a walkman for my personal use, my parents did not want to get me one, claiming that it would be bad for my ears. They decided in the end to get me a gameboy, those big clunky ones with a battery. This meant that i had to listen to video game soundtracks. Tetris for one, is an example of a theme song I listened a lot as kid. As you might know, to have a different song meant that you needed to play the game and progress through levels to unlock new music, so I was constantly at it. Another game that comes to mind are the Street Fighter series, or Mortal Kombat for instance.
How do you evolve your aesthetic to better your skills as a producer?
I watch tons of YouTube tutorials and I ask my producer friends how they do their stuff. I am not afraid to ask if i need to know something. And of course experimenting and reading manuals is also a big part of the game.
What is the most difficult part of the process when making music? It’s sometimes easier being guided by a theme but what about when you’re working from scratch?
It really depends. Spending too much time on a song is not good. Sometime I base myself on notes that I have written down and base a theme off of that.
I would like to incorporate a lot more words and lyrics in my music. I write texts a lot and although I usually do not include them in my works, they can serve as the basis for inspiration or guidance when I am stuck on a piece. I want to get more into writing texts because I feel like I have a lot to say. I like to tell stories, either through music or written, but am almost always driven by creating a narrative.
Artwork design for Philoxenia’s latest: Futuro Primitivo by Phase O’ Matic.
You are credited as being an art director of your albums, have been seen dabbling in performance art as well as doing live visuals under the Lustpoderosa’s Youtube Channel… is that something you could see yourself doing more in the future creativity wise to support your sonic output?
Yes absolutely. I want to explore visuals more as I find that they correlate just as much with the clubbing experiences, so I am trying to cover all sensory experiences.
Regarding artwork design, need to learn more about it but am definitely enthused in this discipline. For what I am trying to achieve, you can refer to what I did recently on Phase O’ Matic’s album on Philoxenia. I really enjoy that cheap 3D cgi look, almost kind of kitsch and plastic looking. I mean, the front and back was done by our good friend Narf. I just did the layout.
«Humanity Is My Wound Which Will Never Heal»: Rhythms are played on my body with a whip and contact microphones record the music.
I find it important to tackle many aspects and different disciplines when it comes to expressing yourself. As a human, we are many things and I find it difficult to solely express myself through one discipline. I find it important to incorporate things like body movement, voice, singing and not only clicking from a mouse.
In regards to what other disciplines inspires me? I would say literature, as I mentioned previously and films.
The video for my track ‘CET+666’ was self directed from me and my friends. Same with Jack Patttern’s stuff. I am subconsciously inspired by 80s movie soundtracks, “glitchiness” from video synthesis, surreal experiences and dystopian worlds. It all comes out often nightmarish and at times schizophrenic, although I am not particularly into horror films currently. I find it ironic that although these movies are fiction, they highly connect to the world we currently live in. I mean common, how crazier can the world get these days? Thinking of movies like “Brazil”, we are already stuffing our mouths of things we do not know the content and effect it has on us. Just go outside and you will already find a lot of satire hidden in our industrial fantasised world, embedded in bureaucratic machinery. As you mentioned, a lot of these themes end up being translated into my song titles.
“Lustpoderosa does what she wants. High-octane passion. No Border No Nation.”
How did you get to know the artist Halle k?
Lurker Grand, the owner of Swisspunk.ch got us into contact and we quickly became friends.
With already Lustpoderosa being quite eclectic in sound, where does the need come from in running multiple labels? Do you work better wearing different hats?
When it comes to what gets released on which label, that really depends. When I work with Luigi (Philoxenia) there is mutual agreement that is entailed on what gets released and on which format. With Lustpoderosa, I am basically blurring the lines between diligently curated music and putting out personal favourites out of love. Not giving a fuck or going through groundbreaking experimental. I am actually starting a new label soon that will only comprise of digital releases. It would be ideal to just play vinyl of course, but as you know, it can be quite an expensive and slow process. That, and it is a niche after all. Not that it’s a bad thing, but at least with digital, everybody can have access to it.
You, being a part time teacher as well, seems to correlate to your current activities as it seems you like to educate. Given this a sense of responsibility in curatorship and educating the listener, you like to hold an educational value in your releases whilst not compromising its sonic value. Can you tell us me more about that your involvement with being a curator for Meta Rave/Rhizom festival?
The Rhizom Festival started with the need of connecting different communities and crews in Zurich. With the approach to make our electronic music scene more visible, give new talents an opportunity to play on big stages, work on our synergies and communication between the communities and crews and of course to impact the local festival scene with an uncompromising music line up and awareness concept. The festival is built on four pillars: Awareness, Prix Libre, alternative electronic music and a discussion part. I am amongst the founders of this festival. I always liked to connect people.
Meta Rave is an organic growing project I am running with my dearest friend Loui from Jupiter 4 involving some of my closest friends in Berlin. The idea is definitely based on the spirit of Rhizom mixed with our passion for bass music and other emerging electronic genres ranging between rave and neo perreo. We’re at Mensch Meier, where we feel very connected and where we like to build a space where people feel welcome and safe, where we can experiment new music and performance art and where we support young emerging artist across the country.
What is the most difficult part of the process when releasing yours and other’s music?
In my case, reducing and finishing the tracks. With others, mostly the visual and the financial part. When I release music from other people i am pretty sure about it. I mostly fell in love with the project.
Are there people you haven't collaborated with that you have your eyes on and would like to work with?
Oh, yes. Some of them I asked now for doing a remix for my new EP on Jupiter 4. NVST from Lausanne is a great inspiration and an amazing producer and DJ. There is actually an ongoing list of people I admire and appreciate for their work. The list would definitely be too long to mention all here.
New generation of Swiss producers, can you name any names?
Besides NVST, there are also Luca Duran, DJ WEB, Anu Cato & Audrey Danza. But the list goes on.
Which are your favourite clubs in Switzerland?
I highly recommend Club Kegelbahn in Lucerne. Really forward thinking line ups. From international bookings to pretty rad regional community building projects. Also The Clubbüro from Rote Fabrik in Zurich, a fantastic community driven place surrounded by great collectives organizing their parties and a safer space for the LGBTIQ+ community. I also like to mention the ZW in Zurich. Forward thinking places for me.
What are you looking forward to/upcoming projects?
I am looking forward to the next vinyl release on Lustpoderosa by Nathan Dawidowicz, an outstanding artists in the field of psychedelic, cosmic and downbeat. But also the upcoming Philoxenia Vinyl which will be a project between Luigi Di Venere and me, called Affective Units. 4 oldschool 90s Rave Anthems. And ofc my upcoming jungle and bass ep on Jupiter 4 with some crazy remixes.
Catch Tutto playing at these upcoming dates.
16.07. TBA outdoor / Zurich CH.
29.07. Tippy festival / DM Tutto for info.
31.07. Alpodrom / Interlaken CH.
06.08 Motel Campo / Geneva CH.
Instagram: @neuverboten // @philoxenia_records // @_metarave_ // @lustpoderosa // @rhizomfestival // @jackpattern_