Cuco Just Wants to Make Weird Music

February 14, 2024

At the end of last year, the indie singer-songwriter Cuco posted a few demo snippets on his Instagram. It'd been some time since he'd released any new music, and naturally, his fans were antsy and maybe a little nervous, too. Both Fantasy Gateway (2022) and Hitchhiker (2023) had been a departure from his usual style, evolving from the mumbling love songs he'd made as a teen to supercharged love anthems. But there'd been something else that'd been different about the records, too: they'd been weirder. Particularly with Hitchhiker, he'd used it as a way to show off "how weird he could get with music." And he wasn't done; weirder songs were coming. Only, how much weirder could they get before they didn't feel like Cuco anymore? At least on that evening, they'd never know. Less than a minute long, the demos were bright and breezy, with a little longing to them, and a little bit of acceptance that things don't last forever. In short: they still felt like Cuco, even eight years later into his career. "Reminder, I'm still that guy," he wrote. Let him get weird.

Photography Abdi Ibrahim
Styling Chanti Walker
Interview Hailey Johnson
Groomer Amanda Wilson
Photography Assistant Frosty
Styling Assistant Najib
Production Abby Falzone
Production Coordinator Sahir Ahmed
Production Assistant Sarah Hersom

BLAZER, PANTS by LUAR, GLOVES, DRESS by WILLY CHAVARRIA NY, SHOES by CAMPER

office spoke to Cuco on how he's avoided "staying in a box,” love songs, and broken limbs.

You’ve been DJing a lot lately… What’s up with that?

Yeah, I’ve been DJing a bunch and doing a lot of sets. I’ve always liked DJing. I’d never been, like, good at it, but I decided to get kind of decent at mixing and finding deep cuts of cumbia. Sometimes I like taking a break from singing and doing crazy stuff live, and just being able to play music that I think is really dope.

Do you approach these sets differently from other Cuco performances?

Yeah, ‘because I don’t have to do anything other than bring a USB stick. But it would be cool to start integrating visuals and all that kind of stuff, because I think it would make it more of a real experience.

I was a little surprised you didn’t have a different stage name…

I was going to, but then it just started being called ‘Cuco DJ sets’, so I just started going with it. But I think, eventually, I just might have to have a stage name.

There was an interview you did with KCRW last year, and the presenter asked you about the worst advice you’ve ever been given. You told him a music rep suggested “staying in a box.” It’s kind of funny how you’ve taken that to heart and done the complete opposite, not just with DJing but with your overall career, too.

Yeah, it’s always been kind of like that. I feel like people are more open now with being weird and making weird music, and so it’s really good. But I feel like [back then] there was this kind of hesitation where they were like, “We really don’t know what you’re doing, so just stick to doing one thing.” But I’ve always been really ambitious to do different things, whether it’s DJing, making different music, different genres, doing visuals, making art and stuff like that. It just keeps my mind running.

FULL LOOK by LUAR, HEADPIECE by TEENAGE HEART THROB, SHOES by DOC MARTENS

[Laughs]. I’m sorry – I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s a lot going on.

No, yeah, it’s crazy. I shouldn’t be getting injured that frequently. But I think just exercising, and I also drive a lot, I like to collect some of my cars, I like hiking, I like traveling, and just making art. I think being inspired by other things I create––like sometimes through a visual, I’ll think of something to make music-wise, or sometimes I’ll draw something, or shoot a photo on 35mm or 16mm.

Being from California has always played a big part in your music, just as any artist’s hometown does. Have you ever wondered what kind of artist you’d be if you weren’t from California?

That’s a crazy question. Being from California is kind of all I’ve ever known. I don’t even know what I’d be like, even if it was just LA. I don’t know what I’d be like if I was from a different part of California.

You performed at Flog Gnaw last November. How’d that go?

It was sick. It’s one of the coolest festivals in LA, just because it’s very curated to a lot of different artists. But it was great seeing my hometown receive me with a lot of love and seeing a crazy ocean of people being there, singing the songs, and my parents watching me. It was a perfect way to close out the year of touring.

You were growing up a few miles away around the same time Tyler started the festival. Did you go at all back then?

I went one year – I wanna say it was 2016? Yeah, it was ’16. Lil Wayne, Erkyah Badu, and Asap Rocky performed.

I feel like people are more open now with being weird and making weird music, and so it’s really good. But I feel like [back then] there was this kind of hesitation where they were like, 'We really don’t know what you’re doing, so just stick to doing one thing.'

BLAZER by TANNER FLETCHER, PANTS by MELITTA BAUMEISTER

Let’s talk about Hitchhiker. How do you come up with new ways to talk about love and, particularly, messing up?

Literally just living. Living and reflecting on what I could always do better, what’s been done to me, how I receive it and how people receive me, and how to grow from everything.

With this EP, do you still feel like you’re in the Fantasy Gateway world, albeit maybe now you’ve just gone to a new planet?

I think Fantasy Gateway was kind of the start of the Fantasy Gateway world. With Hitchhiker, in its own way, it’s in the world but at the same time, it’s also in a completely other realm, because of the production and how it’s dealing with existential dread, living, love, heartbreak, growth and letting things go. But it’s definitely the step after Fantasy Gateway,because shortly after, I started going through a bunch of different things, like injuries. I had to stay home and recover, so that made me write more music.

Right, I heard about that — something about how you broke your arm twice and then they gave you ketamine?

I dislocated it twice, and the second time they did a cross-sedation on me. They K-holed me. In my experience, it was not fun. That was in July of 2022, and I just started getting over the long-term effects a couple months ago.

Wow, that’s horrible.

Yeah, a lot of dissociative states almost a whole year after that.

What’re you influenced by outside of music? I know you rock climb.

Yeah, I haven’t climbed since my last injury. My shoulder dislocated, and I had to get arthroscopy, so I have hinges on my shoulder, but I broke my leg last June.

FULL LOOK by TANNER FLETCHER, SHOES by CAMPER, JEWELRY by MARTINE ALI, HAT by OPEN EDIT (left)

BLAZER by OFFICINE GENERALRE, SKIRT by TANNER FLETCHER, SHOES by CAMPER, HAT by GLITZ GALORE (right)

The relationship you have with your fans is interesting. When it was announced you were playing at Flog, people commented things like, “No one’s going!” and “I’m staying home!” Funny enough, these same people were your fans. Does it ever trip you up seeing these? Like, is it hard differentiating between who’s a fan and who’s not at all a fan?

I just think it’s funny. I don’t use TikTok that much, but there was a time when I did, and I saw there were comments like “And the crowd goes mild!” and they were [from] a fan. So, I just encouraged it. I don’t really trip out if it’s from people who aren’t fans. I don’t take an insult that seriously, so I just let it flow. But it’s really funny.

By the way, how did ‘Drink your Fuckn’ water’ start?

Oh, it was random. Honestly, I saw my nutritionist, and she was telling me, “Oh, you need to take more protein, you need to do this, take more of that, how’s your water intake? And I’ve always been good about my water. I’m pretty obsessive with how much I drink. So, one day I think I was just like, “Drink your fuckn’ water.” I got into a streak of posting it, and then one day I didn’t post, and people were like, “Yo? Where’s the reminder?” And I’ve just been on a streak ever since. I don’t know how long it’s gonna go [on] for, but I gotta keep it up.

I read recently that you don’t listen to your old music at all. Why?

Even new music, too, when it drops, I don’t like listening to it sometimes. I listen to all of my demos nonstop, and then when it comes out, it’s like, ‘onto the next.’ Not that I don’t like it, it’s just kind of weird to hear my own voice.

I hate rehearing some of the old music. When me and the band need to rehearse it, we’re just kind of dreading it, ‘cause it’s like, 'This song is so easy. We know every part of it.' But when we do it live, it’s super different. The crowd’s singing it, too, and you can see how much love and how much impact a song has over people. That’s when it’s really worth it, and it made me fall in love with my music.

OVERCOAT and JEANS by MELITTA BAUMEISTER, TAN LEATHER COAT by CUCO, SHOES by CAMPER

Surely, you’ve been out somewhere and one of your songs came on…

Yeah, yeah. I have friends that know I don’t like listening to my own music, so they’ll go to the jukeboxes – the digital ones – and they’ll play my music, and they’ll stare at me the whole time. Just super awkward.

What’s it like performing old music then?

Performing it is great. But I hate rehearing some of the old music. When me and the band need to rehearse it, we’re just kind of dreading it, ‘cause it’s like, “This song is so easy. We know every part of it.” But when we do it live, it’s super different. The crowd’s singing it, too, and you can see how much love and how much impact a song has over people. That’s when it’s really worth it, and it made me fall in love with my music.

Yeah, it’s funny, because I saw you curated a playlist for HUF full of songs you were really enjoying. None of your songs were on there.

Oh yeah, nah, I’ll never put my own song on a playlist.

My last question: it’s a new year, new you. How’re you feeling about everything? More importantly, what’s 2024 gonna look like?

It’s busy. Just working on new music and hopefully – same as every other year – just trying to get people to see my growth and trying to motivate people. I think, last year, I saw a lot of people comment things like, “I’m so-and-so this many months sober because of you, I quit doing this because of you.” That’s been super sick, and I just wanna keep doing that for people and be able to express how much I appreciate them. But yeah, also just growing in my own life. Maybe get some more music gear. Maybe get another car – an old one that I can just keep building up.

Music

Jesse Jo Stark Is in a Genre of Her Own

April 19, 2024

In the midst of a total solar eclipse, I got the chance to talk about music and style with Jesse Jo Stark.

As I’m on the phone with her from New York, Stark is on a tour bus with The Veronicas, driving through the Colorado mountains to enjoy some time off in between shows. The Veronicas have just started their Gothic Summer North American Tour, and Stark is opening the show. What’s special about this tour for the lifelong music obsessive is the sense of powerful feminine energy encapsulating the tour. “We just started [tour], but it’s been really lovely. I’m obsessed with the fact that we’re all women — it feels like a very powerful crew. The Veronicas are lovely, the crowds have been so fun, and the venues are beautiful. It’s gonna be a good month.”

Photography Sophia-Liv Maguire
Styling Marc Eram
Interview Angelina Hazzouri
Talent Jesse Jo Stark
Hair Antoine Martinez with PARADIS using Roz Hair
Makeup Sydney Szramowski
Photo Assistants Mia O’Neal, Rashaun Richardson
BTS Ms Josephine
Creative Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck

This is Stark’s second time touring since the release of her full-length debut album DOOMED in late 2022, which was very well received and led to Stark’s first sold-out international headlining tour on behalf of the album. Previous to her solo tour, she’s opened for various notable acts, such as Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction. I asked Stark, who’s been writing and playing music since age 11, what it was like to prepare for her first sold-out headlining tour. Unsurprisingly, before any tour, Stark goes into what she describes as “bootcamp mode” — dancing every day, vocal training, rehearsing with her band, and of course, working on her outfits. “That’s the sort of homework I love,” she says, smiling. (Even though we’re on the phone, I can tell she’s smiling when she talks about the outfit part. I’d smile too if I had her tour closet.)

What’s unique about Stark as a musician is that she has ultimately created her own universe by embracing every aspect of her creative upbringing, her raw talent, her fascinating influences, and her unwavering beliefs in not needing to fit into a certain box when it comes to her art. She creative-directs and styles all her own looks, referencing an ever-evolving list of influences that range from Vegas showgirls to Halloween to old films to her parents in the 90s. “I think when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from,” she tells me, “but now it’s just my blood. I constantly reflect on my childhood and everything I was taught and everything I saw. My brother and sister and I are constantly pulling influences from our parents from the past. I think, more than ever, I’m heavily influenced by them.”

Stark, the daughter of founders and owners of the self-made American fashion brand Chrome Hearts, and now its creative director and designer, is someone who always knew what she liked, but as she describes it, had to ‘go through the motions’ that come with growing up and knowing one’s identity. Today, her self-efficacy is palpable — and it’s inspiring.

...when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from, but now it’s just my blood.

When she’s on tour, Stark is growing with herself and with her art — she’s not afraid to take life as it comes and learn through the process. With every show, regardless of whether it was on her DOOMED tour or this tour with The Veronicas, Stark understands the importance of human connection through music. Seeing faces of music lovers like herself, meeting those who have traveled to see her, and visiting familiar and unfamiliar cities has reminded her that she loves being on the road. “The growth that happens on tour is so important to me as an artist.” Sometimes we have to leave behind what’s familiar in order to rediscover what’s important, and Stark is a proponent of this growth mindset.

Growth doesn’t just happen on tour with Stark — this evolution of herself happens within genre as well, and for Stark there’s no such thing. Since her first release Driftwood in 2017, the artist’s sound has shifted year after year, but in a harmonious way that still feels central to her gothic Americana roots. When asked if she’ll experiment with genre in the future, Stark confidently answers, “I think I’ve only experimented with genre. I don’t think anyone knows what genre I am.” (She calls herself a “horrific hillbilly” — a perfect descriptor.) Steadfast in her belief that we as humans can constantly evolve in our work, Stark thinks it’s antiquated to fit yourself into a certain box and focus on one specific trade in order to succeed. “If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time. I want to experience different things.”

Since Driftwood, a two-song EP rooted in rock and country, Stark has experimented with more robust beats and 808s on DOOMED, and her most recent single “skeleton” features a softer, grungier punk sound. Without fitting into a specific genre, Stark’s music is undoubtedly and wholeheartedly her own, transcending the boundaries of what many artists struggle with when finding their sound. “I don’t think we should have to label ourselves in any way, shape, or form; so I’m not going to. I will continue to make all types of different music.” Fuck yeah.

If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time.

This goes beyond just music — in terms of her personal style, the same mentality applies. We discuss the idea that clothing and dressing is a sort of playground, and personal style comes from within. Stark isn’t about following trends, but rather, she thinks it’s important to tap into different stylistic elements that amplify who we are at our cores. On her DOOMED tour, Stark wore a lot of leather and stuck to a fairly dark color palette. Right now, she’s into more bourgeois satin and lace, experimenting with different textures and wearing things that feel slightly daintier and more delicate. On this current tour with the Veronicas, Stark is making it more of a point to take everything in — absorbing inspiration from every city, writing songs on the road, recording video on a friend’s super 8 camera, styling and wearing new outfits, learning and performing new covers — ultimately growing through the whole experience.

It’s endearing and inspiring how well Stark knows herself. A Los Angeles native, she proudly tells me that the tour finishes on May 5 in her hometown, a show that she’s especially excited for. While we can’t predict what thoughtfully-curated outfit she’ll wear or what songs will be performed, with new music already underway, one thing is clear: Jesse Jo Stark is just getting started.

Music

9lives' Latest Single Continues to Push Sigilkore

April 19, 2024

The versatile artist, producer, and pioneer of the sigilkore genre, 9lives, has recently unveiled his latest single "CANADA" featuring jnhygs. In less than two years since his emergence onto the music scene, 9lives has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a prominent figure within the digitally-driven sigilkore movement. "CANADA" sees him teaming up once again with experimental dance artist jnhygs, following their successful collaboration on "XTAYALIVE".

With aspirations to establish himself within the mainstream arena of experimental music production and artistry, 9lives is blending his distinct dark production style with collaborations with a diverse array of influential artists who trust him to create innovative sonic landscapes. "CANADA" marks his second release of 2024, as 9lives continues to champion the burgeoning sigilkore movement, pushing the boundaries of genre, evolving into a multifaceted artist, and solidifying his status as a rising star with an expanding audience.

Image by Connor Pritchard

Reflecting on their latest project, 9lives shares, “In early 2023 jnhygs found my music and we started chatting through TikTok, releasing our first song together called "XTAYALIVE"." He adds, We’ve been friends since this song had a viral moment, and fans have been heavily requesting for us to work together again all over our videos.” Describing their creative process, he explains, “I sent a bunch of new ideas to jnhygs via Discord and she sent back vocals to “CANADA”, which I then used to create melodic layers and extra percussion to complete the song.

Music

Eclipsed at Vampire Weekend

April 16, 2024

It had been about a week since the goosebump-inducing communal howls at the moon, as it covered the sun through a cloudy Austin, Texas sky, left me needing to take a seat—suspended in awe of the totality of the event and the synergistic break from routine. I overheard someone say, “I mean, it feels like we’re all going to die, but in a way that’s okay, you know?" under the shadow of the eclipse's peak, ceremoniously brought in as the band performed “Jonathan Low,” (in Vampire Weekend's familiar ironic hue) a track they wrote for the third movie in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

It had been five years since the band had released an album. In celebration of their latest album, "Only God Was Above Us," ticket holders wrapped the streets in blocks outside the venue for the band’s first Stateside show in about two years. Event managers searched to replenish the venue’s stock of eclipse glasses, while the band prepped a show reminiscent of 'getting the boys back together again'.

Words and photography by Rianne Akindele

In between newly released songs like “Classical” and “Capricorn”, the boys filled the almost two-hour-long show with old favorites like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Diane Young” and a genre evolved rendition of “Sunflower” as the crowd danced barefoot feeling the Earth’s energy intertwined with their own and the vibrations from the amps on stage. People stole glances at the imminently darkening sky, artists doodled, friends grabbed onto each other to scream the lyrics in each other’s faces, and onlookers from the highest level of the parking garage across the street cheered on in a symphony of nostalgia and anticipation.

Adding to the layers of the celestial afternoon, the band invited to the stage the likes of Thomas Mars from Phoenix, Dave 1 from Chromeo, and guitarist Brian Robert Jones, inducing further levels of indie revival euphoria.

As the show drew to its close, and the zydeco/country-rock “Cocaine Cowboys” medley fiddled through the air, a conversation could be picked up between two sisters in search of their Lyft driver through closed-off streets,

“I wish this happened more often.”
“Eclipses or shows like this?”
“Both.”

It’s moments like these that remind us of our shared humanity and the power of collective experiences; a gathering of souls under the same sky, sharing the joy of music and a wonder of the stars above. Perhaps it’s the rarity that allowed such transcendence, reverence, and gratitude to be felt. Either way, what a beautiful moment in time it was.

Here are a few shots from the Monday afternoon: