Tread the Line "Between Pleasant and Uncomfortable" With Acclaimed Ambient Producer Suzanne Kraft

What could be a more provocative backdrop than Amsterdam’s Red Light District? For LA producer Suzanne Kraft (born Diego Herrera), venturing to that haven of hedonism didn’t involve falling prey to depraved, dysfunctional cliches. Instead, the studio that he shares in the Red Light District with one of Europe’s best musicians, his friend Jonny Nash, has been a home base for his most thoughtful, soul-stirring, innovative music yet.

In fact, Passive Aggressive, the pair's 2017 joint release, and Suzanne Kraft's own 2016 EP What You Get for Being Young, have been compared to the output of iconic producer and "the godfather of ambient" Brian Eno by critics. Other reviewers went even further, crediting Suzanne Kraft with taking ambient music in bold new directions that might garner the genre slews of new fans. As Pitchfork put it, Suzanne Kraft’s work not merely superficially soothes, a point that ambient’s detractors love to pounce on, but will instead "calm and unsettle" listeners "in equal measure."

The uninitiated might chalk that breakthrough up to Suzanne Kraft's seedy Red Light District surroundings in the same way that old Eno pal David Bowie made some of his greatest artistic gains in Berlin. However, ahead of his Jul 27 set at Zhao Dai, Suzanne Kraft tells the Beijinger: "As far as how the change in surroundings may or may not have affected my work, I have to go to a quote from beloved electronic musician and author Peter Rehberg that's stuck with me for years. It may sound a tad hostile out of context but it was my first time reading someone who expressed my same thoughts on this matter."

Rehberg’s quote in question is: "I think this idea of a city being an influence on you... if you’re good at making music, you’re good at making music, it doesn’t matter where you live."

Indeed, Suzanne Kraft simply ventured to Amsterdam "to be in Europe, and that was the city where I had the most friends." Regardless, the change in surroundings paid off, especially the proximity to his best musician pal, Jonny Nash. A fellow transplant, the UK-born Nash has proven to be a prime collaborator who shares Suzanne Kraft’s desire to, as he puts it: "tread a line between pleasant and uncomfortable, stressful even. That dichotomy is my intention."

And while he’s overjoyed by the positive response to his recent work, Suzanne Kraft is not so sure about the accuracy of all that praise. "I generally feel the label 'ambient' has gotten a bit out of hand in recent years," he says, before quickly conceding that, "perhaps a quick, catch-all term is necessary in times like these where music production and consumption is the highest it's ever been. Maybe I'm just being pedantic and stubborn."

Nevertheless, he admits, "it is incredibly flattering to be considered part of the more interesting who inhabit the sea of sound today."

So where will that newfound momentum bring him next? Not only to more challenging, paradigm-defying songs but also – dare we say it – songs fit for the dancefloor. "I’ve been doing a handful of remixes lately for the first time in a while, I think about five in total," he says, describing them as "more or less club-directed remixes, and It's been fun to channel the different styles I like to dance to into these songs." We can expect a couple of those, and a taste of what has helped Suzanne Kraft rise to the top of ambient circles, to hit the sound system when he takes to Zhao Dai's DJ booth this Saturday. "I'm excited. It'll be my first time in China and I've only heard good things."

Suzanne Kraft will perform at Zhao Dai on Jul 27. Ticket prices TBA.

Rather rock out instead?
Check out the unlikely story of how American Football came to meet Chinese Football ahead of their Jul 30 gig.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: lazioeventi.com, sonar.es