This week marks the launch of Miami based house music duo Calussa’s brand new label, NUSONIDO. On NUSONIDO, meaning “new sound,” Calussa sonically departs from their previous label Hurry Up Slowly. They take a new creative direction fusing English and Spanish to create a sound rooted in their global and Miami influences. The launch of the label comes with a brand new EP from Calsussa in collaboration with Ben Miller. White Tiger showcases the duo’s versatility, fresh and higher energy sound; only a taste of what is to come. Mic Drop had the pleasure of talking with Calussa about the brand new venture!
You mentioned the inspiration behind starting NUSONIDO was the different sounds you started playing in your sets. Where did this inspiration come from?
This inspiration actually comes from when we were first getting into dance music, listening to house legends play from a young age and listening to some defected classics. The old school house vibe has always resonated in us and we wanted a way to bring that vibe to todays sound.
Since there are two of you, how did the conversation of starting a new label come about?
It was definitely a convo that took a lot of back and forth and some serious thought. After spending years building a brand and sound, starting from scratch wasn’t easy. But we knew it’d be worth it in the long run—and now we’re so glad we made that call.
How did the collaboration with Ben Miller happen? Do you have any upcoming collabs you can tease?
Ben Miller dropped a banger on our other label, Hurry Up Slowly, and that release kicked off a lot of conversations about music and showed each other what we were working on. Not long after, we started collaborating on both White Tiger and The Power, and got to test them out live. These tracks just felt like the perfect way to introduce the new sound with this EP. For now, these are our only collabs, but the musical chemistry is there, and we’ve got plans to cook up more soon.
When getting ready for a set with your new, fresh sound, has your approach changed compared to prior sets?
Yes definitely the way that the records we have been signing all flow is amazing, its almost like they all tell a story together. It has made it so easy to play sets with predominantly our label music which is something we have always wanted.
Would you say NUSONIDO is a rebrand? What has been your favorite part of starting the new label?
NUSONIDO is a complete new brand. Our favorite part about starting the new label is taking everything we have learned and applying it from day 1 and starting it from the highest level.
As your sound continues to grow and evolve, do you ever see yourselves releasing music again on Hurry Up Slowly?
“Yeah, there’s definitely a chance we’ll rebrand HUS in the future and start releasing there again. It’s super fun being able to curate different sounds for different labels, especially since we’re into a wide range of music. You might see the HUS sound evolve into something new down the line, building on top of the catalog that’s already there.”
White Tiger is out this Friday via NUSONIDO!
