April 15th: Nicola Cruz shows up to LA with a bag of Latin vinyl records for ZZK’s Onda Latina! Not to be missed…

Quito, Ecuador based electronic producer, musician and DJ Nicola Cruz has weaved through a myriad of musical worlds across the last decade plus. First appearing back in 2012 through collaborations on Nicolas Jaar’s Clown and Sunset imprint, Cruz showcased an early tendency towards sonic exploration and experimentation, and his 2015 debut album — the foundational Andean roots meets electronics “digital folkloric” classic Prender el Alma on ZZK Records — cemented his status as someone leading the way in Latin electronic music.

Over the years, Cruz’s music has remained fluid and constantly shifting, a characteristic that closely matches his thrilling DJ sets which effortlessly move between genres and rhythms from around the world. His seminal 2022 Fabric mix highlighted the “strange, experimental, and unexpected” sounds of South American electronic artists as well as Miami’s Nick León and Jonny From Space. While most of his sets these days lean towards techno, electro, bass, and club sounds, his sets back home in Quito remain deeply infused with the traditional roots music — salsa, son, cumbia, merengue, folk — of his hometown.

On April 15th, Nicola Cruz will return to Los Angeles for a special vinyl-only set at Townhouse Venice that might be closer to how you’d hear him in Quito… However, with all things Nicola Cruz, expected the unexpected! Tickets are available now via ZZK Records.

In anticipation of the set, In Sheep’s Clothing’s Phil Cho spoke with Cruz to learn more about his formative years, collaborating with ZZK Records, the influence of techno, and records he’s recently been enjoying.

Hey Nicola! You’ve been based in Ecuador for a long time now. Can you talk about the music around you during your early years? I understand there was traditional music like salsa and cumbia, but also club music as well?

Growing up in a city like Quito in the ‘90s, you’re constantly exposed to a lot of radio, which played mostly MTV hits or local music – cumbia or even what they call techno cumbia, along with lots of other genres from Ecuador. Public transportation isn’t good here, so you’re always in the car / taxi / bus listening to the radio. I remember that was a big influence on me back then, and even now when I’m driving around the city I’ll sometimes put on AM radio instead of streaming something, and just to try to tune into something interesting. In terms of club music, towards the ‘00s there was a huge boom of torrent websites, and that’s when I first got really deep into it. I would download sets from Global Underground or DJ Kicks, and all these compilations that I now had access to.

Was this electronic music starting to be played in clubs as well, or was it mostly just circulating online in Ecuador?

Well, it was starting to get popular. There was one festival called the South American Music Conference that brought DJs from all across Latam. It was the first of its kind here, an open-air event where you could actually listen to this early ‘00s progressive house sound that was feeding the Ecuadorian crowd at the moment. That was a big influence for me. It was underground and not all that commercial. I’m proud to say that it was quite decent. A few clubs would also begin to open around that time, and I would eventually become a resident of one called Blues towards 2004.

What kind of music were you playing back then? Was it more electronic or were you already beginning to experiment with blending in traditional Latin folk music?

I feel my interest for music is quite eclectic and that has never changed. Going to music school helped me dig deeper into the panorama of music because while there, I was studying percussion and playing drums. In contemporary music school, you study genres like Latin jazz, son, and salsa. To this day, these genres remain quite a passion for me. I keep collecting all the Latin diaspora of music, and also all kinds of electronic, experimental stuff. Those two things have always been growing in me, and I continue to collect music of all sorts and colors.

When I started composing music around 2007, techno was my first love. Understanding how techno works and how it is structured and arranged was an early focus of mine. Leading up to my first album, I think I got a bit tired of that and began experimenting with different tempos, and recording a wide spectrum of sounds around Ecuador. That led to my curiosity of working with Ecuadorian music.

Your debut album Prender El Alma was released in 2015 by ZZK Records. How did you meet the ZZK crew? I heard you also played some of their early parties?

Yeah I think I played a few in Argentina. When I began creating this sort of music, I started looking around at who might put it out because it was kind of weird and didn’t fit many labels. I was at this moment in my life and career where I wanted to put something out, and felt ready for a jump. So I bought a ticket to Buenos Aires and met Grant (head of ZZK label), and we had a firsthand approach to the release of my debut album rather than just speaking through emails. We discussed what we could do together with the music, and that led to a lot of nice opportunities for both of us.

“Techno has always been a big influence, and I don’t think techno is necessarily tied to a tempo, rather it’s more of an aesthetic or way to structure things.”

You’ve spoken about how techno was your first love in electronic music. How does that background inform your approach whether that’s with slower music, or faster club-leaning sounds?

Like I mentioned before, my music gathers a lot of influences. Techno has always been a big influence, and I don’t think techno is necessarily tied to a tempo, rather it’s more of an aesthetic or way to structure things. If you listen to a lot of my tracks, many are arranged in quite a techno fashion, even if they’re at a slower tempo. With techno, it’s the structure and repetition that creates the hypnosis, and you can use that within whatever you do, whatever the tempo. A lot of my sound comes from that hypnotic structure and the contrast of textures combined with the influence from what I’m DJ-ing out at parties.

“I like that there’s a focus in Latin America, it’s being recognized, and I hope it also brings recognition to a wider spectrum of things that are being done here, not just the club music.”

Speaking of clubs and techno, what artists were you listening to around this time?

As I mentioned, there was this really good club in Ecuador called Blues that opened around 2001 I believe. Some of the early artists that played there include DJ’s like Ellen Allien, Loco Dice, Mr. C, and these sorts of DJs that would become huge later on, but were still in a way up-and-coming at that time. You would hear the really early versions of them, and that was really amazing. During that time, there also wasn’t this big hype of who was playing each night because there was no instant social media. The club fit around 350-400 people, and you could get lost in the music without caring too much about who was playing. That’s the essence of it all, right?

By the early 2020’s, you would start moving away from the folkloric music and more more towards club-focused sounds. What was happening around that time, and what were you experimenting with?

In a lot of different places, people were exploring electronic music and getting in touch with their roots. Some really amazing music came out of that time, but some really bizarre stuff happened as well, and I’ve never been in tune with that pseudo spirituality weirdness, I never conceived my music for those purposes. The spiritual factor in music has always been there. Think of Sun Ra or a lot of the Black American music, for example. I like that component of the music. I kept moving on as I always did. I don’t like to stay in the same place. I’ve always tried to keep experimenting. At the same time, I’ve always been collecting records and DJing. Right now especially feels like a good moment to DJ.

On that note, does your record collection directly inform the direction of your music production?

It does hugely! For example, sometimes I’ll do blind buys and end up finding completely crazy ideas or labels that I didn’t know of. Just yesterday, I found a really nice weird record here in Ecuador for $3. It’s from 1979, which is quite odd for folkloric music because the record industry here wasn’t that big. The record is completely smashed, and it’s almost unplayable sadly, but it’s one of the few pressings of this very strange folkloric music from the Cayambe region of Ecuador. I have been after this record for so long. Even if the record is almost unplayable, you can still just listen to it, and you’re like, “Wow – this music was actually recorded.” I’m constantly finding new inspirations and new paths to follow.

“Here in Ecuador, I not only play electronic music – I also play son, merengue, world… all the lot. So I’ll be bringing a lot of 45’s – a combination of all these genres.”

Moving a bit forward again, your seminal 2022 Fabric mix shined a light on a new era of Latin club music emerging around the world. I feel like the reverberations of that mix continue onto today especially with Nick Leon and the Tra Tra Trax crew. How did you meet them, and what do you think about the current global interest in Latin club music?

The Tra Tra Trax crew are old friends of mine from Quito’s neighbor city Medellin in Colombia. We’ve always got along great, and we did a tour around Colombia together just before Sentimientos Encontrados came out.

I like that there’s a focus in Latin America, it’s being recognized, and I hope it also brings recognition to a wider spectrum of things that are being done here, not just the club music. I sometimes feel we are still looking too much towards the west. It’s obviously a solid scene out there, but man, if you come to the parties around here, I can assure you that the vibe is quite legit, and honest and free.

With Latin music, it brings a lot of different sounds and people together. Everything is accepted, and that’s cool. No one needs to be so serious about it, you know? For this party, I was talking to Grant about doing something different in LA. Here in Ecuador, I not only play electronic music – I also play son, merengue, world… all the lot. So I’ll be bringing a lot of 45’s – a combination of all these genres – and build a narrative through that. Of course, my bag is also going to be loaded with house and techno, so I might slip something in from there that makes sense.

As a preview of the party, can you share some of the records that you might be playing or ones that you've been listening to recently?

Adalberto Santiago – La noche más linda

Orqueta Cimarrón – El Amor Se Ha Perdido 

Mike Parker – Magaera

Mixman – Antiquities 5th Cut

Can – Spoon

Lastly, what’s coming up next for you? Anything else that you’re excited about?

I just released a record on Kalahari Oyster Cult, a label from the Netherlands. I think this year I’m gonna release a few more dance EPs. Last year, I couldn’t do much because I was touring live and that consumes a lot of my headspace. I’m also constantly recording with local musicians. It’s become something of a habit of mine. One of those musicians is named Esteban Valdivia. He played on one track on my album Siku. I’ve been recording with him, but I really don’t know much of what I want to do with that yet. We were recording in some nearby caves just 3 weeks ago, experimenting with the acoustics… Anyways, I want to take this year to be a bit more chilled because I have a lot of music I want to write in my head.