out now: Snuffo - Otherness [Snuffo]

Artist:
Snuffo

Title:
Otherness

Label:
Snuffo

Cat#:
SNU03

Release Date:
27th September 2024 (Bandcamp)
11th October 2024 (other digital services)

Format:
download & streaming

Tracklist:
01.
Theme From Otherness

02.
What’s Out There

03.
We Hide From The Lights

04.
Daydreams & Nightmares

05.
I Refuse

06.
Whatever Gets You Through The Night

07.
You Mean The World To Me

Press Info:
“Otherness”: An Intimate Invitation to Snuffo’s Inner Self

In lay-man definition of the word, “otherness” stands for the acknowledgement of the fact or the quality of being different.

And though the term has been mainly coined to applied sociology for identifying the social construction of different groups within society and the study of social identities in general, Benedikt Schmidt – Snuffo – takes the term inward and travels with it on a journey of self-reflection, both as an artist and a human.

The outcome of this journey is 52 minutes of musical output- seven tracks to be precise – in the form of a mini-album, titled, “Otherness”.

Schmidt grew up in a small village in West Germany during which he always felt a sense of otherness especially as a growing creative. This sense of otherness intensified within the confines of his small-town environment to a point where relocating to a new place that supported this otherness was almost imperative.

And it was Berlin. When the village failed to nurture Schmidt’s creative mind and soul, Berlin, with its like-minded souls, embraced him. During the 8 years he lived in the big city, Schmidt’s otherness wasn’t only embraced but rather celebrated. These major transitional phases in the artist’s life were reflected in his sound elements that constituted the album where each was a reflection to a certain emotion or state of mind he had experienced.

In a musical transcription, otherness was and still is Benedikt Schmidt’s creative dynamo. He creates without confinements of any kind except remaining truthful to his sound palette. Schmidt – as Snuffo and an artist – makes music out of a deep urge to create. The seven tracks on this album are the result of this freeform creation process – jamming with the gear and giving in to the flow.

The seven-tracker evokes a plethora of emotions and situates the listener in an aura of some sort.

“Theme from Otherness”, the opening title, feels like an instant propulsion into a cold and eerie spot in space; it paves eloquently the way for the tracks to follow. They are capable of capturing the listener with their grim, harsh tones or their oscillation between darkness and light. With “You Mean The World To Me”, Snuffo wraps “Otherness”, and the listeners’ journey alike, with a sense of deep melancholia that creates an impactful closure.

The tracks are an amalgamation of Snuffo’s unique vision on Techno, Experimental music and Electro.

Five years through, Schmidt resides in Mallorca, where he leads a withdrawn lifestyle enabling him to indulge more into all his creative endeavors and that includes his work with Stefan Gubatz where both produce and perform as Snuff Crew, known for their Acid/Chicago House sound and his more experimental work as Cellarkalt. In addition to music, Schmidt expresses his thoughts as a writer of both poetry and prose.

On his latest release, he says, “The tracks were made between 2023 and 2024 and are the childbirth of myself and the machines. The approach was intuitive. I get to my machine and work their magic and embrace their oddities. They deliver little imperfections each time and that is the appeal of live recording for me”.

He adds, “I had to learn to embrace my otherness in order to become an artist and make mistakes in order to grow. I want to create in order to express myself and not deliver”.
“Otherness” could be simply described as a dark shining on sonic tales.

Full Track Streaming: