5 Yrs. of Flash: Cinthie - DoubtingThomas

Cinthie is a Berlin based DJ and producer, and the creative mind behind the Beste Modus and Unison Wax record labels. A well-known figure in the German capital's house scene, Cinthie's career began as a teenager spinning records at clubs in the 1990s, before going on to sign with Low Spirit Recordings at the turn of the century and finding herself in demand at parties everywhere from Moscow to Mexico. These days Cinthie is a resident at [IPSE] and Humboldthain Club, where her vinyl-only DJ sets and intuitive ability to weave deep-yet-bassy mixes have seen her become a figurehead amongst the next generation of German house music virtuosos.Along with Diego Krause, Ed Herbst and stevn.aint.leavn, Cinthie represents the Beste Modus / Beste Freunde collective. Linked by a shared penchant for good house music and a love of Berlin's unending parties, the crew have already pressed four eagerly-sought-after white label 12"s together and been snapped up by Watergate for a residency at the famous club. Along with Krause, Cinthie also runs Unison Wax, a vinyl-only label dedicated to unpretentious, floor-ready house music. Launched in 2014, the imprint's inaugural record gained international press attention and went onto become one of the year's word of mouth successes.If that wasn't enough, Cinthie also owns and runs the 'Stasi Studios' complex - so called because the building once functioned as a Stasi office. Now home to figures such as Rødhåd, Ben Klock, Roman Lindau, Gebrüder Teichmann and others, the studio has established itself as one of the city's most singular corners of dance-music creativity and is set to expand its space in 2015 to accommodate an increase in demand. With nearly two-decades of expertise, Cinthie's talents as a DJ, producer, label owner and studio boss position her as one of the German capital's most consistent house music figures. What's more, with Beste Modus, Beste Freunde and Unison Wax all positioned to enjoy their biggest year yet, Cinthie's status as one of Berlin's foremost dance-music innovators shows no sign of letting up anytime soon.

With a tireless work ethic and a focus on creation rather than infamy, Aurelien Riviere may be one of the best-kept secrets of the European house and techno scene. His rise as DoubtingThomas has been a slow and steady one, with releases on key underground labels and prestigious residencies confirming what those in the know already understand; that this is an artist worth paying attention to. While he has been producing since the 90s when he was exploring downtempo trip hop and ambient sounds, DoubtingThomas has been continuously immersing himself in a wide range of styles that all feed into the more dancefloor focused material he works on today. During his time spent in London throughout the 00’s he developed a live set which has become one of the key channels for his creative energy. Meanwhile he scored releases on labels such as Soul Jazz, Safari Electronique, Lessizmo:r and Adjunct Audio amongst others at the peak of minimal techno’s creativity. Besides this more personal work he composes music for Universal Publishing and Cezame Music Agency in a commercial capacity. His sound has always drawn upon wider influences than cookie-cutter dancefloor music, reaching to jazz and musique concrete to find textures that challenge in between the rhythms, and so it is that his distinctive live set has become his calling card in recent times. With recent tours taking him to the likes of Arma in Moscow, Rex Club in Paris and across the US, audiences around the world have been awoken to the distinctive DoubtingThomas sound. It’s the same kind of unique spirit that he brings to his DJing, taking chances to present a crowd with an alternative to the straight and narrow rules of so much club music.While the performances keep on rolling, Aurelien is also investing his considerable energy into a multitude of recording projects from his current base in Berlin, continuing a thread started with the downtempo collaborative project D.O.T.S he began in London and moving it away from a jazz leaning to more experimental pastures under the AKHOXET banner. Alongside that venture he has a spread of releases planned, including more than one album in the works. As previously stated, the restless approach to his craft promises great things on the horizon for DoubtingThomas.