Cressida
DJ | Producer
Although Cressida has been on the same bill as those who bang out relentless techno, the roots of the London-born producer and DJ are firmly entrenched in DnB, breaks, jungle, dubstep and various bass-heavy anomalies that are quintessential to the sound of electronic music from the UK.
Before the pandemic, Cressida was the name the kept cropping up alongside Dax J, FJAAK, Regis, DJ Skull and many more between a slew of pummelling releases on LDNWHT, Syncretism and Nur Jaber’s imprint OSF. But over the last couple of months, the earlier sounds of Jenagan Sivakumar aka Cressida have undeniably resurfaced again via a legion of live streams, mixes and his latest EP ‘Sambo’ on Voitax.
Having spent his youth in a vortex of grime, hip-hop and metal, Jenagan was spat out into the shadowy land of techno much later on in his music production trajectory. In 2018, he released ‘Liquid Zoo’ on Monnom Black and played B2B with Tommy Holohan for the same label in Elementstraat, Amsterdam and from there on, things snowballed with a string of international bookings. Tokyo, New York, Istanbul and his native London appeared on the agenda before looping back to Berlin and playing Tresor, Griessmuehle, ://about blank, Säule and many more.
Considering COVID-19 has decimated a significant portion of nightlife and the schedules of touring artists, Jenagan has remained optimistic and focused on getting tracks out in his own time. Along with a memory from this summer in Berlin, Jenagan talks about the theme behind his latest release, how he’s feeling about life at the moment and more…
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it? What was the music vibe at the time?
This picture was taken at a friend’s birthday party after drinking on inflatable boats all day. I don’t exactly remember the music but it was probably Dillinja.
How have you been over the last few months and what's life like in Berlin these days?
I’ve just been taking it easy for the most part by making music at the weekend and trying to exercise a lot more. I have a day job so that’s kept me busy for the most part.
You're known for playing bangers but has your connection to hard techno wavered since the pandemic forced clubs to shut earlier this year? As in, have you found yourself going through the archives and listening to other genres not related to dance music or perhaps listening to older tracks from your past?
I always try and stay in the archives regardless of pandemics actually. For my recent (socially-distant) gigs, I dug a lot more for stuff that lies a bit further away from the hard techno stuff which I was used to playing in clubs. Turns out that the absence of clubs and club music have made people even more thirsty for thumpers! But as a whole, in terms of production and digging, I’m currently in the archives, although I always have a soft spot for bangers.
Your release VOI 021 on Voitax just came out, what's the theme behind the release? Did you find it hard to finish it at any point because of the upheaval of the year so far?
I started watching a lot of UFC (lol) again recently, so the name Sambo is the name of a style of wrestling that originates from Russia, so that definitely had an influence on where the sound was going. Aggressive and delicate. I started the EP at the beginning of quarantine. Time was something I had plenty of so getting stuff down was easy! Finishing it on the other hand…
At this moment in time, how do you feel about the future?
The term “uncertain time” has been thrown about a lot I know, but that’s all we can feel to be honest. Just going to have to ride it out and hope for the best.
What’s the one thing that has remained a constant source of comfort or escapism for you throughout the year so far?
Doing a lot more exercise recently which has helped me have a much more peaceful day. Also I dogsit every now and then as well so that definitely gives me something to look forward to. ☺️
Listen to Cressida on HÖR here and follow him below: