Parra for Cuva

Life and early music career

Nicolas Demuth grew up in a small town close to Göttingen in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. When he was 11 years old he learned to play the piano and became interested in pieces of the French composer Debussy. After his piano teacher changed, he started to be engaged with jazz improvisations, with a focus on the jazz piano. In 2009 Demuth started to print out midi piano notes with the help of a simple program, and then mixed his first piano pieces with hip hop elements. After his A-levels Demuth moved to Berlin to study audio design.

He first called himself "Natur-Klang" before he decided to choose the stage name "Parra for Cuva". His stage name originates in various Spanish words and means between the world / for / Cuva.

2013–2014 career

Nicolas Demuth and Anna Naklab grew up in the same town as neighbors and have been friends ever since their youth. Under the stage name Nianband they published different songs and had some local performances. Demuth took over the piano part whereas Naklab played the guitar and sang. The Nianband's musical focus was based on calm and rather relaxed compositions. In the spring of 2013 Demuth and Naklab published "Fading Nights" on the French label Delicieuse Musique Records followed by a joint production of "Something Near" on the label Well Done Music! from Berlin.

In September 2013 the cover (remix) single "Wicked Games" was released by Demuth and featured Naklab. The song is a cover version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Games" and was published on the label Spinnin' Records. "Wicked Games" was released on Beatport, a U.S. based electronica website. A mainstream release in France in October 2013 was followed by a German release in February 2014. The song charted at number 6 in the United Kingdom. The song also charted in France, Belgium, Netherlands and other European nations. This popularity led to Demuth's international breakthrough.

In November 2013, the instrumental single "Luhya" was released on the label Delicieuse Musique Records. November 2013 also brought the Aérotique and Parra for Cuva release of the EP (short track album) titled Unique, with four tracks, on the label Sinnmusik. In February 2014, Demuth along with artist Egokind and Jona Mayr released an EP titled First Chapter, on the label Lenient Tales. Soon after, Demuth, Ascii Code and Viken Arman released the EP titled Veiled in Blue, on the label Traum/TRAUMV179.

2015: debut album: Majouré

In January 2015 Nicolas Demuths debut album Majouré (French for "superior force") was released on the label Lenient Tales Recordings. It contained twelve songs, with iTunes offering a bonus song. The song Devi features hip hop artist Nieve; the title track Majouré features Casey K; and the song Champa features Monsoonsiren. All songs feature distinct foundations of electronic music mixed with a variety of musical influences of other genres.

2016: second album: Darwîś

A darwīš is a religious monk dedicating his entire existence to the advancement of faith and meditation. Although he believes in Allah, he can be described predominantly as a mystic. Refraining from any form of material wealth and even societal appreciation, holy enlightenment is his true aim.

After finishing up their semester at university, Nicolas and Jonas – or Parra for Cuva & Senoy – decided to pack all their gear into their camper and go on a road trip down to the eastern coast of Spain. With the car filled with all kinds of gear, from synths to speakers, guitars, and percussions amongst other tools and toys, three creative weeks ensued, creating music with a view out to the sea. While taking everything in and doing daily trips, the two were able to create enough song ideas in three weeks to spend the rest of the year at home in the studio to finish all arrangements and mixes. Inspired by the Spanish way of life in a small and historically rich port town, a stark contrast to life Berlin, and soaking up diverse musical influences, the individual titles are highly personal and reflect on specific emotions or intimate experiences.

During the arrangement of the title song, the percussion track was accidentally dragged to infinity, which resulted in a trance inducing meditative sound that gave them the idea for the title. Watching Turkish dervish dancers while listening should therefore enhance the listening experience.

2017: Mood in C

Mood in C is the latest EP by Parra for Cuva. Following the highly acclaimed album Darwīš together with Senoy on Project Mooncircle, the release is a collection of songs that were created in and around the previous year. The title song "Mood in C" was composed after the Ethiopian pentatonic scale that is deeply intertwined with both the spirituality of the people but also the war-torn and deeply trenched history of the country. Furthermore, it combines guitar effects with synths and all sounds were recorded analog with the help of effects units. The song "Unfinished Colours" together with "Others" is the first collaboration of a future joint project of the two friends. All percussion was either recorded on journeys and travels or at home with everyday objects to give the EP a unique sound.

Music style

The songs produced by Nicolas Demuth combine elements of house and pop music, piano compositions and downtempo. Many of his electronic pieces find their origin in piano music through sketches or with the help of complete solo pieces. Artists such as Ludovico Einaudi and Bonobo are Demuth's sources of inspiration next to many others. His set Plains of Ostara starts with Einaudis' piece Andare. Next to the piano many other instruments such as a kalimba, steeldrums, carillons, guitars and accordions can be found in Demuth's productions.