The Teddy Killerz are back, and they have conjured up a new arsenal of razor-sharp, mean teeth. Albeit with a slightly more welcoming grin…
It’s the gift that keeps on giving – but reassembled inside-out, and poised to set the bar for a new era.
As for the occasion to kick-off this brand-new chapter: their upcoming second album, Cooked, on Souped Up, drops on Friday June 13.
A whole lot of heat to expect there. So much so, it’s safe to say the kinetic energy those 14 tracks on the LP will generate is enough to power a small country for a year.
What’s more, besides the state-of-the-art sound design, as well as the knack to create bangers that truly stick, Cooked is a salute to (the roots of) rave culture.
And above all: it’s a statement of intent for what the future holds for the Teddy Killerz – becoming something way broader in the drum and bass genre, than the Neurofunk they’re mainly recognized for.
We caught up with Grigory Cherekaev, one-third of Teddy Killerz, to give you all a personal taster of what they’ve been brewing lately.
So read on for insights into the conception of the album, the challenges involved, some advice on writing music, and much more!
Congratulations on the upcoming album Cooked. We went through tons of bangers to cause a proper dance floor frenzy. How does it feel to have it done?
Grigory: It feels like the culmination of a significant project is on the horizon. This is our second album; the first one was on RAM Records almost a decade ago.
Releasing an album today is a completely different experience. Previously, you’d deliver the music, and the label would handle all the marketing magic.
Now, preparing an album demands a tremendous amount of additional work, especially on the social media front – creating videos, promotional content, and so on. It felt like the workload was easily two or three times what it used to be. But I think we’re managing it well.
So how long have you guys been working on this one, from the initial idea to this point? And when did the decision to make an album come about?
It all began about two years ago. We were deep in experimentation, trying to find that perfect synthesis between neurofunk and jump-up. Our discography from that period, with releases on Souped Up, Monstercat, and others, clearly reflects this exploration.
We had this idea to create a 90s-inspired, ravey EP. Crafting that EP was a lengthy process, because we were very specific about the elements we wanted: those big, Prodigy-esque intros, rave stabs, funky vocals – it all took time to get right.
By the time we were nearing finishing that EP, we found ourselves with not just four complete tunes, but an additional eight demos that we were also really excited about. That was the “aha!” moment, like: “Maybe this should be an album”.
We approached Souped Up, as that was our primary label home at the time, and we had a fantastic relationship with them – big shouts to Serum and Ed Priest for their incredible work and for just being amazing people. We pitched the album idea to them about a year and a bit ago.
A crucial factor in deciding to pursue an album was also our desire to shift the broader perception of Teddy Killerz. Before Cooked – and I truly hope this album changes things – many people saw us as a purely neurofunk act that occasionally dabbled in weird dubstep, jump-up, breakbeats, or other genres. But we’ve never felt confined to just neurofunk.
That’s interesting, you never felt like a purely neurofunk act. Is that more reflective of your foundational tastes?
I think it was a natural evolution. When we started producing music, say some 14 years ago, our heroes and biggest inspirations were undeniably from the neurofunk scene – artists like Noisia and Spor.
Our early music was heavily influenced by them. However, as time went on, we never wanted to be pigeonholed or stamped with a single genre label. Our interests expanded to other bass music genres and various subgenres within drum and bass.
This album, for us, became more than just a creative statement of where we are sonically today. It also serves a utilitarian function: to clearly communicate, “Hey, we’re not just a neurofunk act; we’re about the broader spectrum of drum and bass”.
When you release singles, that message isn’t always obvious. People might see a different-sounding track as a one-off experiment. But with an album, when listeners can hear a dramatic and consistent shift in sound across multiple tracks, it becomes a definitive statement, a borderline. That realization solidified our decision: we absolutely needed to make this album to showcase our current inspirations and direction.
Looking at the bigger picture of making a whole album, many artists describe it as telling a longer story. Was there a specific approach to showcase this new direction and create a cohesive whole? What glues it all together?
Initially, the album had a different working title, inspired by Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” a legendary book from the 60s about hippie counterculture. I’m a big fan; I studied journalism and my thesis was on counterculture and alternative journalism, figures like Hunter S. Thompson.
So, we envisioned something like “The Electric Ravers’ Acid Test,” aiming to revisit and reimagine 90s rave sounds with a modern twist – incorporating elements like big, nostalgic rave textures but making them incredibly dancefloor-friendly, all while leveraging the sound design expertise we’ve developed.
We even had ideas for a cartoon involving time travel.
However, as we started shaping the album, we realized we didn’t want to strictly limit ourselves to the 90s sound. Other ideas emerged that didn’t quite fit that initial concept, but we still felt strongly about including them. That’s when the “Cooked” idea surfaced. The process of making this album felt like cooking – experimenting, blending diverse ingredients. What we’re “cooking” is fresh; it represents our current state, who we are today. So, the concept shifted to this culinary theme.
It’s not a conceptual album with a linear narrative journey in the traditional sense, like some space travel epic. Instead, it’s about showcasing what’s happening “in the studio,” behind the individual tracks. It’s a declaration: “This is our sound now. This is what we’re cooking”.
It’s a collection of different dishes, but they all work together as part of a singular chef’s vision. It’s akin to a tasting menu at a restaurant where the chef curates the entire experience, from starter to main to dessert. You’re not just choosing individual items; you’re immersing yourself in someone else’s complete vision.
Beyond the marketing and content creation, what was the biggest challenge in switching to this new direction and making the album?
The most persistent challenge, given that we’re based in three different countries, is simply staying on the same page and coordinating our efforts. Sometimes, there can be quite long breaks between sessions or in-depth discussions about our plans.
During the album’s creation, for instance, Oleg (Cholovskyi) was in Poland, then moved to the US, then back to Poland. I’m still in Slovakia, and Anton (Mashevsky) is based in Russia. Finding common time, especially with Anton having a baby a couple of years ago and Oleg last year – children rightfully take up a lot of time – was the main logistical difficulty.
Conceptually and sonically, however, I believe we were ready to make this album and finalize this new sound direction for a long time.
Obviously, there’s some collective momentum, and that carries you in the creative process. Is it from experience that you can be more assured that, even if it’s not always going quickly, you have the patience to find the moments and reap the creativity together?
Yes, absolutely. We’ve been friends for a long time and know each other incredibly well – our strengths, our weaknesses. This understanding deeply informs our creative process. When it comes to patience: we can have a track that’s perhaps only 30% or 40% complete, but if the core idea is strong, we’re comfortable leaving it untouched for six months, even eight months, until the right moment or inspiration arrives to complete it.
We don’t force things creatively just to meet deadlines. When it comes to the music itself, I’d much rather postpone a release date, than rush a track to completion with subpar solutions like copy-pasting.
Is that something you also appreciate from working with the guys from Souped Up?
Yes, definitely. They are very patient as well, which has been invaluable.
Talking about this new creative direction, is this something we can expect more from Teddy Killerz in the future? Is this the first chapter of a new era?
Definitely. Without a doubt. We feel we’ve genuinely found a new sound for ourselves on this album, something that truly excites and inspires us. So, we absolutely intend to continue moving in this direction.
This album marks a proper new chapter for us, not just sonically but also visually. We’ve stepped back from our previous visuals and developed a completely new aesthetic for Cooked. We’re working with an amazing new designer and illustrator who is creating everything – from animations to cover art to overall concepts. As you might have seen from the singles, the new visuals are more funky, bright, and less dark and aggressive than our older style.
We wanted to strike a balance. My initial, somewhat whimsical, reference point for the visual vibe was “Mr. Pickles,” that insane cartoon about a seemingly sweet dog who is secretly a satanic overlord. It’s incredibly bloody and cruel, but also hilariously funny – like a wholesome family dog aesthetic meets pure evil.
While our visuals aren’t that extreme, the idea was to have something that felt funky and nice on the surface but still retained an edge. I feel we now have a perfect balance between our sound and our visuals.
We’re also developing special visuals for our live shows once the album drops, properly time-coded. We’ve always wanted to do this, but finding the right illustrator, someone who truly gets your vision and can support it consistently, is a real challenge.
And, frankly, custom animation can be incredibly expensive. Luckily, the demand now is more for shorter, social media-friendly clips, which has made it somewhat more affordable. Most importantly, we found the right person, Natalie, who you can find on Instagram as shevshaker. She feels like a fourth member of our team, crafting the visual storytelling.
Do you have a personal favourite track on the album? If so, why does it stand out?
It’s genuinely hard to pick just one. I really like “I Got Love,” which isn’t drum and bass; it’s more in line with that new-old dubstep sound. It’s a style we’ve always appreciated, but never heavily focused on, so including it on the album felt right. “Smash It Up” is another favorite because, to me, it’s the most authentically 90s-sounding track, with that classic rave stab intro and a great four-on-the-floor section that takes the energy to a more techno-infused level, evolving from what we did with “Night Train”.
I also have a real fondness for “Sadece”, which is a Turkish title. This collaboration came about very naturally through an Instagram connection with Billur Battal, a singer from Istanbul. When we discussed the track, she asked what language she should use for the lyrics, assuming English. I suggested she sing in her native Turkish, believing it would be cool and add a unique flavor.
The result is a song I really love. For so long, English has been the default language for international music, but luckily, that’s changing. We’re hearing more diversity, like songs from Brazil in Portuguese, and different languages appearing in drum and bass. Each language has its own inherent melody and rhythm, its own unique way of sounding. Having this linguistic diversity on the album, and her fantastic contribution, is something I really appreciate.
Do you have any shows planned for the upcoming months you want to mention, maybe standout festivals?
We’re still finalizing the full album tour, which will officially kick off around the end of summer. We’re planning dates across Europe, while working on Australia, New Zealand, and significantly: aiming to return to the UK after years of visa-related challenges.
For this summer’s highlights, Let It Roll is always special; it feels like a homecoming, and massive thanks to their crew for having us for six or seven years running. We’re also playing Tomorrowland in Belgium, which is a huge one for us – I played Tomorrowland Brazil last year, so the main event is very exciting. And we’re thrilled to be returning to Boomtown, one of our absolute favourite UK festivals. Those are definitely key moments for us this summer.
Back to the album: as for the technical side – with the fusion of genres on the album, did you introduce any new software or VSTs into your toolbox?
Our core setup has remained pretty consistent. Anton is a Reaper maestro; if he were here, he’d undoubtedly highlight the Kilohearts bundle and Phase Plant as his main tools.
Kilohearts are actually celebrating their sixth anniversary soon. We had a chat with Stu from Kilohearts about how much Phase Plant was used on our tracks, and it’s probably around 20% to 30% of the sounds on the album.
One of our earlier tracks on Souped Up, “Techno,” was made almost entirely using Phase Plant – literally every sound. It’s an incredibly flexible and powerful synthesizer, and their whole plugin bundle is state-of-the-art. We appreciate their tools immensely.
Perhaps some people don’t know what really makes those punchy Teddy Killerz drums. Any tips on layering or processing?
Our approach to drums hasn’t changed drastically and is fairly standard now: layering a body, a click, and then applying distortion, compression, and so on. It’s difficult to convey effectively in text. We actually have multiple tutorials and presets for Serum and Ableton on our Patreon, including ready-made, adjustable drum sounds where you can swap out samples.
Some of those tutorials are also available on our YouTube channel, as we usually post Patreon content there after a period. We don’t see the point in keeping them private indefinitely.
More mindset-wise, for aspiring producers, what common mistakes do you see them make early in their productions, and what advice would you give?
I think the biggest blocker for new producers is trying to get overly technical from day one. We have a limited tier for students on our Patreon, with monthly classes for a small group, and we frequently see people diving into highly complex technicalities before they’ve even finished their first demo. They might spend hours synthesizing drums, for example.
Personally, I believe you start making music because you want to make music, not necessarily to become a sound design expert immediately. These days, it’s so much easier to get started. You can go to Splice, find high-quality, ready-made sounds for any element you need, and construct an entire track from samples.
The sheer joy and satisfaction of actually finishing something is incredibly motivating. So, instead of getting bogged down in advanced techniques and trying to create everything from scratch initially, start with samples. Make something. Finish it. Create something you can show to friends, family, or just play for yourself. Then, you can begin to learn and delve deeper into specific sound design, mixing, and mastering as subsequent steps of improvement.
But initially, the primary driver should be the satisfaction of creating music that grooves, that makes you want to move.
It’s also a matter of having the right habits, like not constantly being too zoomed in and taking a step back, because tunnel vision can set in, right?
Exactly. If you start a session focusing solely on drums, six hours later, you might still be working on those same drums. But if you start with a loop or an idea and focus on building the arrangement, in six hours, you could have at least half a track, or the core idea fleshed out.
A practice that has worked exceptionally well for us over the years is to separate music writing sessions from dedicated sound design sessions. We try not to spend excessive time on sound design when we’re in the flow of arranging a tune.
One day, we might sit down and focus purely on creating sounds – experimenting with different bass patches in Phase Plant or Serum, trying to deconstruct how other producers achieve certain sounds, or just exploring new sonic territories – and then save these creations to build our personal sound library. The same applies to drums and any other element.
Then when you sit down to write a track and an idea strikes, you already have an arsenal of custom sounds to draw from. You might recall, “Ah, I made a bass sound like this a few weeks ago”. You can then pull it up, tweak it to fit the current idea, and it allows for a much more organic and faster workflow.
Diving deep into synthesis during an arrangement session can be an instant inspiration killer, because it’s so time-consuming and shifts your mental focus, often causing you to lose the initial vibe or idea.
You often hear that aspiring artists should find their “own sound” rather than just emulating others. Yet, creatively, you often need to learn the rules before you can break them. How do you see this?
I very much agree with the sentiment that you need to know the rules before you can effectively break them. I watched a great documentary about guitar players, and there was a segment on John Frusciante from Red Hot Chili Peppers. It explained how he sometimes plays in a way that might seem technically “unprofessional” or overly relaxed, not strictly adhering to conventions.
But this works, precisely because he possesses such a profound mastery of “proper” technique. When he deviates purposefully, it sounds cool and intentional. The same was true for Nirvana and many other bands. This principle applies across all music; I think of jazz chord progressions, where playing something “wrong” can sound fantastic if it’s done with an understanding of the underlying harmony.
Regarding an artist’s “signature sound,” I believe it’s largely a collection of ingrained habits. The more music you make, the more you develop habitual ways of constructing drums, designing sounds, structuring tracks, and so on.
These repeated processes and preferred techniques carry over from one track to another, and that’s how listeners begin to recognize your work. Of course, unique sounds and innovative ideas play a part, but habits are foundational.
For new producers it’s virtually impossible to find a signature sound, without simply putting in the hours and working with any kind of sound. Initially, it’s perfectly fine to copy other artists. When you try to emulate someone, you’re essentially reverse-engineering their process, which helps you understand how things work. Through that process, you might stumble upon a new technique by thinking, “What if I try this differently, or turn this knob instead?” That’s how you can discover your own happy accidents, a unique tone, or a sound that becomes distinctively yours.
I studied journalism, and during a short course on creative writing, our teacher advised: “If you want to write stories or novels, spend the first year or two just writing for your drawer”. What he meant was that for the initial period, you’ll mostly be regurgitating ideas and styles you’ve absorbed from other authors.
You need to clear that out, to let all those collected influences pass through you. Only then, after much practice and developing an understanding of structure and craft, can you begin to deliver something truly your own, something unique. I believe this mirrors music production perfectly. So, I see nothing inherently wrong when people say a track “sounds like someone else”. In the grand scheme, especially today, most music bears resemblance to something that has come before.
I think, especially in this age with the overwhelming accessibility and sheer volume of new music, it’s less about inventing something entirely new from scratch and more about creatively rethinking or reinterpreting existing ideas in a novel way.
It’s always been like this to some extent, but now it’s often about blending old and new elements, or combining two older ideas to create something fresh. This isn’t necessarily a lack of creativity, but rather a new mode of creative thinking. You see it everywhere, not just in music. Look at movies – sequels, remakes, and established franchises dominate.
What’s your biggest lesson ever since you started with Teddy Killerz? What’s the biggest lesson for you as a person, perhaps a producer as well?
I think if you genuinely want to achieve something, you have to pursue it, without letting other things distract you. If you are truly passionate about what you do and what you love, that passion is the key to success, progress, and everything else. And crucially, don’t let criticism derail you. You should be able to perceive and process critique, but ultimately, staying true to yourself is the main thing.
So how do you stay creatively inspired after all those years of making so many releases? What feeds you? Maybe some other styles or some other activities as well?
Music-wise, a huge source of inspiration is simply listening to other music – all genres, it doesn’t matter. Sometimes you’ll hear a chord progression, a specific element in a track, or an entire piece that sparks an idea for something new.
Watching streams and tutorials from other producers is also incredibly inspiring. Firstly, it helps you progress and avoid getting stuck in your own sound; you can always discover something interesting. That’s why we subscribe to, I think, almost all producers’ Patreons and watch videos or streams related to music production.
We watch a lot on YouTube, not just drum and bass. I’m personally a massive fan of Disclosure’s streams; they are insane musicians, and it’s fascinating to watch how they develop ideas creatively, especially in terms of arrangement and musicality, which are areas where I feel I’m not as strong. Those guys are just gifted musicians. For me, watching their streams is like ASMR; I sometimes watch them before bed, and it’s pure pleasure.
What’s next for Teddy Killerz after the album? Obviously the tour, are there any new ideas already brewing for upcoming EPs?
One of our “problems” is that we tend to produce a lot of music, perhaps too much for a single act, because it’s not always a collective effort where all three of us are involved from start to finish. Sometimes one of us starts something, another finishes it, or one person handles the entire process.
So yes, we have plenty of new music ready even after the album. We’re planning a remix project – I’m not sure if it will be the entire album remixed or perhaps an EP featuring remixes of select album tracks.
That’s already in progress, and we have some really good names, artists we admire, working on remixes for us. And then, as you mentioned, the tour, and of course, more new music. It’s an ongoing journey of putting out new material.
Wonderful. Last question. The name Teddy Killerz, how did you come about this? What’s the meaning here?
Many, many years ago, I was in the UK for a while, and that was when we wanted to form a trio, a band. It sounds really stupid now, and I feel so cringe saying it, but we were hanging out with Jonas from Blokhe4d (hi, Jonas!), and I mentioned I was trying to find a name. He joked, “You Russians, you have to use something with bears and stuff”.
We were just fooling around. I wanted something anti-pop, counter-cultural, because, as I mentioned, I was a big fan of figures like Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Tom Wolfe, and that whole counterculture scene.
I was looking for something that was “counter” to the mainstream. We considered names like “Barbie Killers” or something similar – taking a symbol of, let’s say, “shitty” pop culture and creating an antithesis to it. Then Jonas suggested, “Yeah, but what if you put a teddy bear instead of Barbie?” And that’s how we arrived at Teddy Killerz. Technically, grammatically, it’s not correct; it should probably be “Killers of Teddies” or something like that. But “Teddy Killerz” just sounded better, so we decided to go with it.
Also, from day one, we envisioned having cartoon-style art and visuals. Huge inspirations for this came from Gorillaz, Feed Me, and Kill The Noise with his early cartoon work. I’m a big fan of animation, and “Teddy Killerz” fits perfectly for an animated concept. If you have a more abstract name, it’s harder to create a strong visual identity, but with Teddy Killerz, we had that image right from the start.
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