Coffee Break with Frau Blau founder: Kadosh
© Nuphar Blechner
The power of Frau Blau lies in the duality of its name. Take one: it’s a track which propelled creator Kadosh’s career to unseen heights when picked up by Innervisions two years back; and take two: Frau Blau is a record label which means serious business. There’s a particular emphasis on the theme ‘friends’ for this Tel Aviv collective - something which owners Kadosh and Omri Guetta hammer home regularly with the artists they pursue and tighten bonds with. And through such a simple outlook, the success runs large, with it heralding a close-knit artist roster full of strong and consistent releases. Tying in with its core theme, is the amicably-named ‘Friends II’ compilation, where part one of the release has seen Kadosh carefully curate all tracks to his current music taste and beyond. Today sees Melodic Diggers grab a coffee with him and find out more about the process, how the 80s influenced his newest release and letting us in on what 2021 has in store for him.
Welcome Kadosh. Thanks for stopping by and a happy new year! Have you made any Resolutions for 2021?
Wow. It has been a crazy year with many resolutions. The most important for me is to be thankful and not to take things for granted. In addition, after some time of frustration without playing, I realised that no matter what, you mustn’t fall into sorrow - and even in these times of crisis, there are opportunities for you to grow so you must keep going, believing and working hard.
You’ve played the piano since the age of 12, and you preferred to listen to Hip-Hop and Soul. Obviously there’s much more to your musical background - can you tell us? How did you transition into dance music?
I would call that musical evolution. During my High School years, I received a scholarship for a special class for DJs. After absorbing some knowledge and techniques, I practiced non-stop and started to DJ in Hip-Hop parties I threw for my friends. Shortly after, I heard house music for the first time at the legendary Tel Aviv Club 'The Cat & The Dog' and got completely hooked with the sound and atmosphere. Immediately I decided that this scene would be my home.
It took you three years to become recognised as a DJ outside Tel Aviv. What was the defining moment for you in this journey, and what track do you feel helped break your name further afield?
There were many important moments that shaped my path, so it's very difficult for me to pick just one. Despite that, I must say that I was overwhelmed when I was at home, watching the Innervisions bosses Dixon and Âme playing my track 'Frau Blau' at OFFSónar in 2018. It has definitely helped me to boost my career.
Frau Blau is your label which you run with Omri Guetta. When you started the label, what was the main goal?
We launched Frau Blau to release music that we appreciate and fits the vision of our sets. We wanted to collaborate with artists that we really like and that we see having a bright future with them.
Omri is also an established DJ. At what point of your careers did you meet and what made you want to run a label together? Which one element do you each bring to the label to make it successful?
Beyond the fact that Omri is one of the most talented DJs I’ve encountered, he is definitely one of the nicest and most special individual I've ever met. The main cause for us to bond so quickly and make a profound partnership with our Frau Blau family, is that our emotions and perspectives perfectly complete each other. It's a bit cheesy to say, but Omri is a more romantic individual who brings a calm and positive vibe, while I present an enthusiastic and relentless attitude.
Frau Blau’s graphic is that of the two words mirroring themselves - is this by any chance a subliminal message of how you and Omri work together?
We haven't thought about it that way, but you never know what happens deep in the subconscious, so it's a very interesting point.
‘Friends II Pt.1’ is the latest release on the label and was fully compiled by you. How long did it take to curate it and how did you choose the tracks to be featured in the album? The name of ‘Friends’ seems to sum up the concept to us - but is there more to it than that?
The curation process took me about a year, despite that there were 2-3 tracks that waited for more than a year (Thanks guys!). There were three principal factors that I took into consideration. The first and perhaps most essential is music that I would like to play in my sets and reflects my current musical taste. Second, music which symbolises for me the year we are facing. Last, but not least, I wanted to collaborate with artists which I deeply believe in and have a big appreciation for their music - "my musical friends". So yeah, it took some time to make this happen in a way that really expresses my vision and emotions for this project and I'm very happy about the result.
The first Friends compilation was composed by yourself and Ivory, and the second is formed of two parts - one from you and one from Omri. What made you want to release alone this time?
This year we were privileged. We loved so many tracks we wanted to release, so we decided to create a massive compilation consisting of two parts. One compiled by myself, and the other one by my partner, and here is the result.
‘Friends II Pt.1’ begins with a track from you and ends with a special mix from you. Was there any reason for this and why so?
Yes, sure. The reason for that is that I wanted to wrap this compilation in a way that will unleash to the world my musical vision for 2021. This curation has been a deep and emotional ride and I wanted to frame it with my perspective and sound.
Frau Blau’s release discography is packed full of artists who are associated with similar labels. How do you try and make the label stand out with each release from others? How would you sum up the label’s sound in one word or phrase?
Unlike our personal artist careers, we didn't seek to stand out or be special, but just to release the music we love and to exhibit the vision we believe in. Our faith in music led to a humble perspective, and I truly believe that this mindset will pay off. It's very difficult for us to describe our Frau Blau family in one word, but if we must, we'll say it’s 'home'.
As still quite a young artist in an ever-growing scene, are you focusing on any goal for the future of your career and where it will take you?
Sure. I have many goals and objectives, most of them sum up to continue to establish and improve my sound signature as a producer. From a DJ's perspective, I would like to keep polishing my technique and as the A&R of Frau Blau, I hope to keep managing our portfolio in a precise way, rooted with our deepest beliefs to find hidden treasures of our likes. Those three are basically my compasses to keep nourishing my career and to keep developing as a musician.
Are there any other creative things - such as art, books etc. - which inspire you and your music?
There are so many things that inspire me, but in the end, it's all about friendships, love, and nature. Nothing is more powerful.
You’ve released with a breadth of different labels. When you’re creating these tracks do you have any particular label in mind or do they just naturally fall into the label?
That's a really interesting question. I think it's a dynamic thing. At the beginning of my career, I wrote music that I love in a fluent way, and it found the way to different labels. Later on, I wrote music that I love with a clear direction hoping that it will fit in some specific labels. Nowadays I feel that I've got back to the point that I just create music without taking into consideration trends or specific labels that I admire.
You have recently joined the Disco Halal family with your remix of ‘Bad Romance’ by Anturage and Alexey Union. Being a new face on the label, did you approach your remixing style differently? Is there anything you’re looking to learn from the label and the artists on it?
Great question. Actually not really. Mostly when I'm crafting a remix, I try to keep the original tracks main elements and to give it my own interpretation.
In this case, the original is full of disco/’80s elements, so it basically dragged me to these worlds. The result is a bit more house-ish than my usual stuff, so definitely the label has had an impact. But to be honest, I don’t grasp it that way. For me, it’s basically always all about mutual inspiration to create a meaningful remix.
We’ve heard, as well as further Disco Halal releases this year, you’ve also got more new labels in the pipeline for 2021. Can you tell us more?
Indeed I’ll have some more releases with Disco Halal family later on this year, stay tuned :) .
During the first half of 2021, you'll find me on some labels I haven’t appeared on before, like Bedrock, Get Physical, Andhim's Superfriends, and some surprises ahead that I can't disclose at the moment.
Your favourite way to relax away from music?
Cooking. I just love mixing stuff :-).
And lastly - how do you take your coffee?
Americano with soy milk.