Following the sun-stung shuffle of The Way You Love Me, Chicago’s Deep Cuddle returns with Rollin Deep feat. Gada: a tighter, trippier affair that leans into his knack for grooves with personality. It’s another quietly addictive cut from a producer with over two decades in Chicago’s underground, and a reminder that Deep Cuddle’s ear for subtle movement is as sharp as ever.
We caught up with Deep Cuddle to get the lowdown on the single and the secret to studio success.
Rollin Deep feels tightly locked in. It’s groove-led, trippy, and stripped of anything unnecessary. What drew you to this kind of restraint?
My music teacher told me less is more and I’m proud of where I’m at now. If you harken back to the origin of house music it was very simple, not overly done. At the end of the day the function of this song is to make you shake that ass if it’s working then we did our job.
There’s a clipped vocal loop and a syncopated bassline doing most of the work. How do you keep something that minimal feeling alive over time?
Filters. Auto filter basically, if you move your auto filter over time it gives the illusion of movement.
Between the acid weight of Put Your Faith In Me and the warmth of The Way You Love Me, this one feels like a midpoint. Does that reflect where you’re at creatively right now?
I don’t think so. This track was a collaboration from my friend who I met at art Basel a few years ago. And we had talked about making music together. And this just just what came out of it
You’ve said the name Deep Cuddle was about intensity and comfort at once. Where do you think Rollin Deep lands on that scale?
An 8.5 on the Richter scale. It’s a solid latin house vibe with some grit and edge.
You’ve talked about stepping out a bit more after years of staying low-key. How do you balance being more visible while keeping the focus on the music?
It’s a lot easier now that all I do is focus on the music. Distractions have paralyzed me for years. Removing distractions has helped me to find my true creative calling. Make music and share it with the world.
When you test a track like this, what tells you it’s doing the job? Are there small cues you look for in the room or in the mix?
I’m gonna give you a pro tip for producers. If you’re sitting in the studio with all your friends around and you play the song and people get up and start dancing. You’ve done the job.
After two decades in the Chicago scene, how has your sense of groove and repetition shifted? What do you value differently now?
Interesting music that continually moves and changes during the time and duration of the song. I like trippy sounds, and it’s been a fulfilling adventure bridging eclectic voicing with a fat baseline.
When you’re not making or playing music, what do you find yourself getting lost in?
#deepcuddlefrequency Sound bath meditations, yoga, relaxation, sailing being outside. This summer was amazing.
Has anything outside of music – people, films, routines, places – crept into how you approach your tracks lately?
No, Not really, I try to stay removed from the zeitgeist of the world and just produce music that I am interested in listening to.