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When I heard Space wanted an interview with artist Sean ‘Caustic’ Cusick, I was initially a little apprehensive as his tongue is so sharp it’s in danger of cutting his throat. A creative DJ/ producer originally from Orlando, Florida, Cusick now resides in NYC and is also a talented wordsmith, who is thankfully honest and open in his opinion. Having previously been entertained educated and amused by his Xpander.nl columns and tickled pink by his bold commentary on the dance music scene, I too was curious to discover more about this poetic dj come intellectual. A rare breed indeed, Sean together with his partner and friend, Jimmy Van M (Malleghem), were the pioneering progressive thinkers who brought Sasha and John Digweed to the United States for their revered ‘Northern Exposure’ tours. Sean himself has moved around the global dj circuit, held a prestigious residency at Twilo before its closure and has produced tracks as (half of) Freelance Icebreakers along with Jimmy Van M, (half of) Second Hand Satellites with DJ Three, Q6 and under his own name. His progressive style lends itself to labels such as SAW Recordings, Bedrock, Hallucination/ Shaboom and Viscous/ EMP, who have all released his material. Cusick recently played the Space World Tour in Buenos Aires, so showing ‘no fear’ we went in for an accompanying interview and were soon put at ease by his casual charismatic chatter. Read on to feel the warming winter words of Sean Cusick

Sean you once said, “There are no stupid questions, only inquisitive idiots” did you read philosophy at college perchance?
“No. I've read some philosophy here and there but there's never enough sex in it for me ("If a man is talking in the forest and there's no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?"). Right now I'm reading Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence" and it's filled with something even better than sex: desire. I might not have read this book on my own, but it was suggested by a good friend and it's turned out to be really good.”

As an inquisitive lunatic, do you realise it’s quite daunting to ask you anything when you’re so well known for your acid wit and sharp tongue.
“Acid Wit? Sharp Tongue? Me? I love all creatures in this lifetime. I am an epicentre of kindness and compassion, love flows from me in all directions.”

Are topics of conversation perhaps better than limited questions maybe?
“Okay. Topic of Capricorn...”


You hate interviews, but love words is this a fair statement or all lies?
“I just think most interviews are a little bit silly. That's because most of the time the person being interviewed is financially successful, and that is what constitutes the basis of the interview whether that's ever addressed or not. We always study success, especially financial. But it's nice to know that people may want to know what I think. But I get so tired of being asked how long I've been DJ’ing and things like that. I make fun of many of those questions in the article "An Open Interview" which I did on www.xpander.nl. I do love words though. I stay drunk on them as much as possible. When they don't work any more there's always whiskey.”

So given an absolute open question, what would you like to say to the readers of www.space-ibiza.com
“Seek new ways to make your soul sing. While searching for beauty, listen to the nature of nature.”




How was the recent Space World Tour in Buenos Aires’ Club Mint on Nov 7th for you?
“It really was great. I had a fantastic time playing and hanging out afterwards although I got smashed and ended up falling all over myself. Getting on the plane to fly all night back to New York with a crushing hangover and coming down from ecstasy was like being in a flying jail cell. Airports are no fun. I love being places - I hate getting there. All the people I met in Buenos Aires were really nice. I love playing in Central and South America the people there are always great. The club (Mint) was awesome and the beer was delicious. God's honey.”

What’s happened to your unique Xpander column started 09/2002? There hasn’t been anything since your heart-breaking episode on 31/08/2003, ‘As Time Goes By...’
“Yeah, I've just finished a really difficult piece reviewing BT's last album in which I outline how he has drowned himself in the shallow end of the talent pool. I really should sue him he's ruining my life. I hope I never have to say another word about him or his music he has fulfilled almost every prediction I've ever made about him. I tried writing a serious review and it almost killed me. Ultimately, I failed. As for the "heart-breaking" piece... I guess I just had some things I wanted to get off my chest. It was perhaps a bit overly self-indulgent but the guys at Xpander let me write whatever I want, although they've asked me to avoid politics and religion. The BT piece has both of those though... I think I might start writing a weekly piece for Xpander rather than the exhausting bi-monthly pieces. It might be easier. I have a new girlfriend now and have recovered from whatever shocks my heart might have endured. My new girlfriend, Rachel, is actually a girl I met and was "dating" in Manchester a few years ago. She's great. The ex-girlfriend, the subject of the last Xpander piece, has been pursuing her independence and identity.”

Have you experienced the DJ condition ‘Airport Rage’ during your time?
“Well, a little bit, sure. In America they have these people doing security who were trained at Taco Bell. No matter how many times I ask them not to put sour cream in my flight bag they always get it wrong. My rage is more with the government on this issue than with anybody else. Has taking away our civil liberties in the name of terror worked? No, it will never work. America is revealing itself to be the monster that many knew it would become. It is shameful. There will be no way to reverse the changes that are being made in America and that will be reflected more and more in our ability to travel unimpeded and without being searched. This has already extended well outside of the airports. There is a very good reason why certain powers are distributed to cops very thinly. Some of those fucking ignorant monsters shouldn't be allowed to have any more than they already do. If they're misusing what they already have why should they do any different with even more? We watch poor stupid people getting arrested on television here as a form of entertainment. Why not do the ultimate reality show - Suicides. If watching people suffer is so great then why not take it to the logical extreme? They could have video teams shooting these desperate soul's last moments. Sounds great, right? In time, in time… The audience could rate the suicides and at the end of each season they could show the best and the worst. Why not? ‘The eye is not satisfied with seeing.’”

What’s been the most positive and inspiring set you’ve ever played and why?
“I don't know if there's one set, but I really always liked playing at Twilo in New York when it was open. There was a really great vibe there and I played right before Sasha and John Digweed so nobody was going to leave because they didn't like what I was playing. So I had total freedom and got to play really psychedelic house and spacey-down-tempo, etc., etc. There was a great sound system there too, Phazon. More than anything I just miss having a focal point to hang out with my friends, almost everybody would come to Twilo from time to time at least. I set up an office by the bar. The DJ booth and the bar were reasonably close too, that always helps.”

Where does the Q6 and SPF15 monikers fit in, do we detect sarcasm, or is it a shady computer programme?
“SPF15 is a way of rating sunscreen/suntan lotion. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, I think. I think I had just come back from Miami, not sure. Q6 is a phonetic spelling of my last name Cusick.”

Do you live in NYC all year round, or do you hit the sun of your home state Florida?
“I live in a really great apartment in the East Village, NYC. It's actually Mike Bindra's old apartment, the previous manager of Twilo (Now I've got Twilo on my mind, I guess). He let me move into his old place when I first moved to New York and I've loved living here. I go back to Florida quite a bit and stay with friends when I'm there but I don't have an apartment there any more.”

How do you feel about NYC dance webzine sites containing drug disclaimers?
“Well, I'm not sure I really have any feelings about it. I suppose they're trying to protect themselves from the juggernaut that our government has become. We are moving rapidly towards a police state and the only people who can admit openly to drug use are people that have nothing to lose, those are in short supply. I don't know, maybe they just want to keep people from talking only about drugs. Because the subject is somewhat "taboo" people want very badly to acknowledge their participation with it but most drugs should accent experiences not be the experience themselves. This isn't true for all drugs, of course, but with club drugs that should be the general idea, I think. I've never read one of these disclaimers so I'm not sure. Chat boards are for chatting, right? People always demand that they are not censored but most of them have nothing to say. "Freedom of Speech" in this regard is a compensatory demand that usually accompanies freedom from thought. Everyone demands that his or her own inanities should be heard. This may be their only connection with the idea of Freedom so they cling to it. Great ideas cannot be silenced for very long. But chat boards are in no danger of ideas, great or otherwise.”

What are you up to production wise, any projects to plug?
“A good friend of mine (John Sutton) in Manchester is starting a new label EMP, so some of my unreleased stuff will be coming out on that label. Also, DJ Three is doing great stuff with Hallucination Limited. I hope to have another release on that label to follow up my "Out In The Shed" release. There should be another Medway/Sean Cusick release on SAW recordings as well. I have enough material to do an artist's album, a sort of DJ mix of material that I've worked on over the last few years. I should be putting that together in early January. I'm currently looking for labels that may be interested…”
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Where will you be for NYE 2003?
“Hopefully New York. I'm not sure what options are available to me right now, but I would love to stay here for New Years if I could. Champagne is for amateurs... and this is the night for both.”
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Here are some words of wisdom from Sean, to see the full quotes in their correct context read his column on the Xpander site.

“My name is Sean and I'm an alcoholic…”

“If all goes well I’ll be writing a new column for Xpander every month, so many of you will have an exciting and fresh reason to hate me and my brand of poisonous giggling.”

“If any of you begin to hate me keep in mind that much of your frustration is probably misguided, as is mine.”

“The outcome of creative effort should resemble art and not banal pandering and cheerleading.”

“I am not going to shut up and I believe things can and will get much better for many people currently involved in this scene.”

“I once heard that music is an intellectual 'cul-de-sac'. I believe this to be somewhat true. No amount of intellectual effort put into it seems to ever yield the type results one would hope for. Music is about feeling.”

“The best music from the past was not always the most well produced music but the music that captured some small part of what it means to be a human, a living human with fears and joys and weaknesses and strengths, one consumed with the all important questions of, "who am I?" and "what does it mean to be alive?" This, I promise, is no easy task.”

“Without getting too metaphysical or pseudo-spiritual dancing is the one activity I've found where the mind, body and spirit can become one, in a sense.”

“Very little can be accomplished with faith but nothing can be accomplished without it. Make your own chances… Talent alone will usually never get you there.”

“I'd like to believe that this month's article will somehow help to dispel the myth that I'm an angry ogre waiting in a cave for an unsuspecting superstar DJ to prance by so I can jump out and cover them with my projectile stomach acids and regurgitated vulgarities in the name of self-righteous hatred and intensely personal jealousy, but that's been both a fleeting dream and recurring nightmare.”

“If you truly respect the music you claim to love then you would be more willing to contribute to the artists who made it.”

“I have so much more to say about “Spirit of Eden” but can’t take all of this flowery smack-head bullshit poetry any more tonight. I’m getting tired and running out of red wine.”

“This album makes me whisper the word “yes” over and over without ever having been asked a question.”

“The way things are going in America I'll probably get arrested, have my knuckles spanked by screaming nuns and then thrown in a cold stinky jail cell for life.”

“More on the death of the dance scene later. I’m exhausted with all the things I probably shouldn’t be saying!”

“My girlfriend and I recently broke up and I have a few things to work out of my system. Not all of these things may make sense, so please bear with me. These feelings are still fresh and the need to express them seems both vital and pointless.”

“Love, for me, was a brief evasion of unhappiness… True life mocks knowledge. Real life mocks love... and love mocks our every step.”

“Art is a transcendent experience…. Capitalism is a poison and music is the cure. “

“Success is too expensive. It is based on you never straying very far from who and what you are the moment you are initially recognized. It is restrictive and encourages banal repetition without much encouragement for growth or development.”

”Ability means very little in this industry. The ability of your press agent is paramount however. But if you are ever lucky enough to be given a chance it's your ability that creates your next opportunities.”

“Medway is the only guy I work with who doesn't make me have blood-red and screaming kamikaze daydreams.”

”I am a physically violent drunk prone to fits of frustration and melancholy and for me to have a creative surge I have to be on the verge of breaking something expensive before anything of musical usefulness comes out of it.”

“When you love what you do there is no such thing as competition. I am not a rat and I am not racing. The foolish man runs when no one is chasing him... “

"Some people never go crazy, what truly horrible lives they must lead" Charles Bukowski quoted by Sean.


Many thanks to www.xpander.nl & Sean for these most quotable quotes of note…

Contact Sean - q6@xpander.nl

Check out his Biography etc - www.balancepromote.com


Interview done by our " SWEEEETTTT" Lisa Loco
Check for more www.lisaloco.co.uk