Supacooks [Interview]

Hailing from Armenia, the Supacooks duo first emerged in 2013 with a project via BEEF Records. Applauded for their deep house grooves, Supacooks enjoyed a steady rise in the years to come, with Dear Deer, Nervous Records and Ready Mix Records all becoming landing spots for the duo's transcendent sound. Continuing to evolve as artists, Supacooks would experience an evolution in sound with the advent of melodic house and techno, choosing to explore the trend in their own productions, while earning the praise of the genre's tastemakers. Beatfreak, Lost On You, Movement and Parquet would be instrumental, serving as vehicles for the duo's contemporary vision and continued rise. Now, over ten years into their production career, the Armenian duo has created a bridge between their past and present, while also firmly establishing their Kitchen Recordings imprint. Although the majority of their original material has been reserved for Kitchen in recent years, Supacooks now add RKP to their resume, making their label debut with 'Blaster', alongside remixes from Ruben Karapetyan and Fuenka.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with Supacooks to learn more about the release of 'Blaster', their background, working as a duo, DJing, and much more. Enjoy

Hi Guys, thanks for joining us. How has your summer been so far?

Hello thank you for having us! It’s quite busy and hot. But good, for sure. We’re doing gigs and outdoor events. Communicating to new artists. This summer we were both DJs and event makers mainly. So it isn’t a vacancy summer, but rather a work-hard one.

Let’s look back on the first half of the year, what gig of yours has stood out the most and why?

It was AREVOT volume 3 at Jellyfish. And although it was (for Yerevan) a mid-scale event, and there were around 500 people, the energy and the feedback were so intense and pure, that all the moments of the set turned into memories. That’s the feeling that we always strive for. That’s what inspires us as DJs.

Now let’s look at tracks (not your own), what is a track which has come out this year that has impressed you the most and why?

The Maze 28 & TEELCO - Sense [Movement Recordings] was that track. The groove is refreshing and powerful, the sounds are really what we like. So we’re happy to find the gem.

What was the music genre you discovered first before you turned to electronic music, and what made you continue with the latter?

For Levon it was hip-hop of course, and rock. He loves rock. Manuk was raised by trip-hop and some drum and bass back in his childhood days in Lithuania. So electronic music got him first, for sure.

We’re curious how Supacooks came to existence, please tell us how you guys met and eventually started collaborating on music? And what musical projects were involved in prior to Supacooks?

We started playing in Yerevan separately as Deep Danny and Leon Gris. Leon Gris started playing more of the classical house genres. Manuk started with house, as well, with some progressive hues. Later we met in local clubs, decided to cooperate. We would write tracks together, instrumentals for local singers, we did some producing, remixes, original mixes, etc. Supacooks were the combination of all our skills and expertise.

How did you settle on Supacooks for an artist alias?

When we were starting work together we decided to name our tracks like dishes and the name was born. We had a couple of gigs during which we played in a cook's outfit, with the apron and hat and everything. Later, we founded the label “Kitchen Recordings”. So who are the DJs who bake music and work in the Kitchen - the Supacooks.

How did growing up in Armenia influence your music taste and direction into the industry? Or did it all?

Emotion. Expressiveness. Melody! Levon grew up in Armenia, Manuk spent his early childhood in Lithuania. But as Armenians with the background and culture, with the rooted perception of Aram Khachaturian’s and Komitas’s music, we have the sweet melody and the strong rebel in every track, in everything we produce. And this seems inevitable and inseparable from our musical perception.

A successful partnership is generally based around balance and compromise; how do you manage these things within your production dynamic? And do you have different roles in the production process?

We know that each of us is better in some things. We just cooperate. We don’t compete. Never! However… Well sometimes we may say that the sound is “cr*p”, but that’s just honest feedback.

Working as a duo is an interesting dynamic. Do you guys share a studio where all the sessions are together or do you produce separately and pass files back and forth? And if you have done both, what do you prefer and why?

We work together. We write, then think separately. We just sit after some sketches and reflect. Then we come back to the track and write some more. It’s a cooking process. You should agree on flavors, there’s no other way for us to make it taste good.

With a view on the scene not only as producers but also DJs, how do you see the electronic scene evolving in the coming years?

We work at our studio, at Kitchen Lab. We eat together, we write together, we laugh and debate together. That’s all part of our every day. Recently we communicate more with local (Armenian) DJs and producers, they come and learn from us, we learn from them. That is a good phase in our musical and personal life (as they both are quite connected). The scene… it is evolving, for sure, but not horizontally, it evolves vertically. In other words, it doesn’t mean that the scene was better or worse before, and now it's upgrading or degrading. No. It is just changing. New layers add up to it. New faces, new sounds, new mixes. Every year is a new column that rises and establishes a trend or a new sound, that is why the scene is constantly evolving vertically and endlessly.

You have a new single ‘Blaster’ out now on Ruben Karapentyan’s RKP imprint. Please tell us a bit about the track and how it showcases your current sound?

This track is actually a very good example showcasing our current sound, as we feel that it evolved. It has got new layers. We are not the same as we were 3, 5 or 7 years ago. The common thing in this time range is the quality that we try to maintain and develop every year. However, we can surely say that there are the new layers, the new hues that are making our sound stand out as neo-Supacooks style. Those are the more hypnotic sounds that add some crispiness and psychic triggers (especially in case of “Blaster”). Among the newer layers are the more frequent presence of broken beats in the new tracks. Some experimental approaches borrowed from psy-trance, detroit sounds, old school progressive and more.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically your ‘Blaster’ single?

We got our studio renewed recently. We got the wide monitors, the production process became easier with Akai keyboards, pads, and of course the new isolation furnishing of the walls. The best part is that we actually build it by ourselves. For quite a long time we couldn’t manage to build this (as we feel now) perfect, comfortable studio, due to a lot of gigs and event organization activities. But now it’s there, with black isolation pads all over our walls that we built right at Kitchen Lab, with all the keyboards and sound equipment. It’s a dope place to work at!

There are also great remixes from Ruben and Fuenka, how involved were you in the selection process and why were these two artists a good fit for this track?

Ruben said that he’ll do a remix right after checking the demo. And offered Fuenka to do another one. And we were happy. Both remixes have something special, something unique, raw and sometimes even wild. You feel the wave of their energy both during performances and at the studio in your headphones. Ruben and Fuenka are people to work with, and not once, but a lot of times.

This is your first release on RKP, what made the label a good home for this particular track?

There’s the cultural part and the musical part. Ruben is our compatriot. A very good friend of ours. We love his music, he loves our music. It was very organic, we just decided that we’re almost late already. We should’ve done it quite a long time ago, but it’s never late, so it happened… and happened in quite a solid way.

You guys also operate as a DJ duo and have played around the world across the last decade. So, how would you describe your approach to DJing? And how do you function as a duo while DJing?

DJing is partially a way of showing what we like that the world of music creates, and partially a way of showing what we have created for the world. That’s all it is. Speaking in music.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ duo has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks, and also, your work as producers?

Every time we find something new we show it to each other. It’s the natural way. We don’t decide to do it. Listening sessions are a part of our lives.

How much prep do you put into the tracks you choose to play?

We get prepared for a week minimum. We build up the selections. But during the playing we always have something to surprise each other with. That’s the best part actually. The most intriguing part. As it’s a dialogue, isn’t it. Being a duo…

Current Top Five tracks in your sets?

• Rauschhaus & The Wash - Trainwreck (Supacooks Remix) [Mango Alley]
• Ruben Karapetyan - Erectheum [Meanwhile]
• Harry Grig - Young Love (Kebin Van Reeken Remix) [Kitchen Recordings]
• Maze 28 & TEELCO - Sense [Movement Recordings]
• DJ Ruby - Voltron [La Foresta Recordings]

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

It’s a bit hard to answer. As we are passionate about a lot of artists.
But for now, for the mood that we have in this month, let’s say it would be:

• Guy J
• Hernan Cattaneo b2b Nick Warren
• Ben Bohmer
• Pryda
• Bicep

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

Event making is another passion of ours. Maybe we’d only concentrate on our label and events.

Looking back on your career thus far, what advice would you offer to your younger self?

Always check the cables. A bad track is better than a silent one. 😀

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life? (Something not music related)

We’d probably build and design furniture. We’re kinda good at it. If you visit Kitchen Lab someday, you’ll enjoy all the things we built together starting from sound-related things to simple armchairs. Or maybe we’d just cook and manifest in the Armenian cuisine.

What’s something people do not know about you?

We love family parties more than raves.

What can we look forward to from Supacooks for the rest of 2024? Any releases or gigs you are looking forward to?

We work all the time. Seems as if we’ve forgotten about pauses, and the creative flow, fortunately, doesn’t leave us. Gigs and releases are there to come soon. As we already told in September we’ll have our debut release on Ruben Karapetyan’s RKP Records and some others on our Kitchen late in Autumn. Beside that we’ll have our debut performance in ADE: Mango Alley x Manual ADE Closing Party with a crazy line-up.

So keep your ears and eyes on the pulse. We’re baking…

'Blaster' is available now via RKP: https://tinyurl.com/tefsrzrv