Wild River Dance: chushi and his own inner world

chushi ("four rivers" in Chinese) is hip-hop instrumentalist from Dmitrov, Russia. There is nothing known about him, but in the process of interview I've known that his name is Alexander. His music sounds like wonky made by Madlib (with his jazzy samples), or instrumental hip-hop made by The Field (acknowledged master of total sampling). I wanted to understand something in chushi's music — and I had some questions, so I asked them to chushi himself. Enjoy the reading.

Chushi is one-man band, duo or something more? Is there some setup on anonymity which is discussed so much nowadays or it happened with no reason?

There is only one person under chushi theca, it's me, and my name is Alexander. You know, I've never thought about that anonymity, this project is about half a year old and all this time I'm thinking only about its details, entrails, what it's look like and how it tastes.

Instrumental hip-hop is genre where so many things are already thought out and created, why you chose it? How you own style, that strikingly differs from well-known ways, was born?

Years and years ago I fortuned on a track by turntable crew Beat Junkies, "Rockin' With The Best" and it was my first goosebumps. I began to search all the threads passing through these guys and listening to it all. Headphones in my ears were most of the day.
Hip-hop played a big role for me, but at that moment I didn't make a music like that one I'm creating now. And over the years and started to closer and closer tend to my rhythm. Now there are a lot of genres in me, I never mind about frameworks for a long time, listening only to the music that gives you an opporunity to think relaxedly, to plunge with interest in the world that was created by authors. Someone like to read books and I like to read music.
The main thing is not to limit yourself by common standarts, search and find only your, not abberant, feeling.

What's the world of chushi looks like? Seeming chaos is assumed by author?

Chushi's world is a place of total mess when I don't see all details, but can feel them. In every created track I take one of the details, inspire by it, put it back and trying not to touch it anymore. Chaotic state, perhaps, is the main notion and it makes clear an essence of the track.

It's also a reason for shortness of the tracks? Your unusual technique when alien elements of vocal invade in habitual detail and create something new, new melody — is it denote something?

Perhaps, I can't give an exact answer. It happens, something short, something long. Maybe one 20-second track has more sense that another one several times longer. "Invasion" makes track more interesting and gives an understanding of your limitless freedom. When you're walking around you can hear any sounds, whistles, voices — they create the atmosphere of life. Same melodic elements I'm trying to express in my world.
I like to depart from the frameworks as far as possible, to experiment, search and find something. 

To what leads your experimental way? What gives a soil to your new ideas?

To new ideas, opinions. It's nurtured from another music, art, games, clothes, cartoons with very off-gauge humour. I'm feeding on something new and trying to tell it in my way — for me it's one of the main elements making a ground for self-expression.

Who's your favourite cartoon hero?

I don't have a blue-eyed boy, just admire the work of animators and laugh simultaneously.

chushi @ bandcamp