Quick Facts
Biography
Parra for Cuva (born in 1991 close to Göttingen as Nicolas Demuth) is a German producer of electronic music and a DJ.
Career
Life and early music career
Nicolas Demuth grew up in a small town close to Göttingen in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. When he was 11 years old he learned to play the piano and became interested in pieces of the French composer Debussy. After his piano teacher had changed he started to be engaged with Jazz improvisations, with a focus on the jazz piano. In 2009 Demuth started to print out midi piano notes with the help of a simple program and then he mixed his first piano pieces with hip hop elements. After his A-levels Demuth moved to Berlin to study Audio Design. He first called himself Natur-Klang before he decided to choose the stage name Parra for Cuva. His stage name originates in various Spanish words and means between the world / for / Cuva.
2013–2014 career
Nicolas Demuth and Anna Naklab grew up in the same town as neighbors and have been friends ever since their youth. Under the stage name Nianband they published different songs and had some local performances. Demuth took over the piano part whereas Naklab played the guitar and sang. The Nianband's musical focus was based on calm and rather relaxed compositions. In spring 2013 Demuth and Naklab published "Fading Nights" on the French label Delicieuse Musique Records followed by a joint production of "Something Near" on the label Well Done Music! from Berlin.
In September 2013 the cover (remix) single Wicked Games was released by Demuth and featured Naklab. The song is a cover version of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game and was published on the label Spinnin' Records. Wicked Games was released on Beatport, a U.S. based electronica website. Then a mainstream release in France in October 2013 followed by Germany in February 2014. The song charted at number 6 in the United Kingdom. The song also charted in France, Belgium, Netherlands and other European Nations. This popularity led to the international breakthrough of Demuth.
In November 2013, the instrumental single "Luhya" was released on the label Delicieuse Musique Records. November 2013 also brought the Aérotique and Parra for Cuva release of the Extended play EP(short track album) titled Unique, with four tracks, on the label Sinnmusik. In February 2014, Demuth along with artist Egokind and Jona Mayr released an EP titled First Chapter, on the label Lenient Tales. Soon after the release of the First Chapter EP, Demuth, Ascii Code and Viken Arman released the EP titledVeiled in Blue, on the label Traum/TRAUMV179.
2015 debut album: Majouré
In January 2015 Nicolas Demuths debut album Majouré (French for superior force) was released on the label Lenient Tales Recordings. A total of twelve songs make up the track list, with iTunes offering a bonus song. The song Devi features hip hop artist Nieve, the title track Majouré features - Casey K. and the song Champa features Monsoonsiren. All songs feature distinct foundations of electronic music mixed with a variety of musical influences of other genres.
Music style
The songs produced by Nicolas Demuth combine elements of house and pop music, piano compositions and downtempo. Many electronic pieces of him find their origin in piano music through sketches or with the help of complete solo pieces. Artists such as Ludovico Einaudi and Bonobo are Nicolas Demuth's sources of inspiration next to many others. His set Plains of Ostara starts with Einaudis piece Andare. Next to the piano many other instruments such as a kalimba, steeldrums, carillons, guitars and accordions can be found in Nicolas Demuths productions.
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details |
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Majouré |
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Extended plays
Title | Album details |
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Unique (with Aérotique) |
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First Chapter (with Egokind & Jona Mayr) |
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Veiled in blue (with Ascii Code & Viken Arman) |
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Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||
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GER | AUS | BEL | FRA | NL | UK | ||||||||||||
2013 | "Fading Nights" (featuring Anna Naklab) | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album singles | |||||||||
"Something Near" (featuring Anna Naklab) | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
"Luhya" | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||
2014 | "Wicked Games" (featuring Anna Naklab) | 89 | 14 | 15 | 71 | 6 | 6 |
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"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
