Stepping aside from his much-loved band Imugi, Tāmaki Makaurau producer Caru ‘s most recent endeavour is a solo artist collaboration with local rappers Dera Meelan and Deadforest. Lyrics and music for See No Evil could have only been written and released in Aotearoa in 2024 – making this truly local music. NZ On Air Music featured the NZ garage song on their August NewTracks compilation.

What is your name, what are your pronouns, where are you from and what instruments do you play?

My name is Carl Ruwhiu. My pronouns are he/him, I’m from Tamaki Makaurau and I release music under the name Caru. I produce electronic music and DJ. I learnt bass guitar growing up.

Was any high school or other music training especially important?

I didn’t take music class in high school, but I did a bit of bass guitar tuition when I was around 15 years old. That was important for me because it piqued my interest in recording and mixing. I studied audio engineering at MAINZ my first year out of high school, I feel like that definitely helped solidify my interest in producing and mixing. But the training I did myself at home with YouTube tutorials was probably most important to me. Just experimenting and learning at the same time.

Any other projects might we know you from?

I am one half of Imugi 이무기! My friend Yery Cho and I started recording and releasing synth pop songs together as Imugi 이무기 in high school and went on to play heaps of shows and release heaps of music together! We’re still working on music together, but I started Caru as a solo project.

What’s the background story of how Caru came to be? 

I became interested in dance music and mixing in about 2019. I had picked up a DJ controller to experiment with incorporating into the Imugi 이무기 live set. I had a few friends that were into DJing, and we would hang out occasionally and jam, sharing music and figuring out the DJ controller. I became super fascinated by the sounds and history of UK garage, it was a genre I hadn’t heard much of at the time.

I got really into discovering and collecting music, and would often stumble across amazing UK garage tracks that were only available on vinyl. Because I wanted to play these tracks as a digital DJ I began trying to write similar tracks on my computer, and that kind’a sent me down this rabbit hole of trying to produce quality UK garage tunes! Around that time I was becoming more interested in going out to club nights and seeing other DJs perform, and saw how amazing it can be to share your culture, heritage, taste, and personality through DJing. It inspired me to make music that I’d love to hear at a club show, and that other DJs could use to express themselves.

How has your writing & production evolved over time?

FL Studio was the first digital audio workstation I ever used. It’s a classic story – my brother’s friend installed a dodgy copy on our family computer when I was 13, and it’s still the software I use to produce music to this day. Obviously I’ve invested in a legit version since then, lol.

When I started writing and releasing music with Imugi 이무기 back in 2017 I was really interested in the album format. I put a lot of effort into trying to make production cohesive, accessible, versatile and digestible in that format. I always imagined it being a personal experience, on headphones. But getting into producing dance music kind’a flicked a switch in my head. There became only one context it was designed for – the dance floor. It just changed the way I thought about experiencing the music, and inspired me to get excited about electronic music again.
I became interested in writing music designed for DJs, instead of your average music enjoyer. Streams didn’t matter anymore – obscure, but quality tracks are highly desirable for DJs, so I just stopped caring about numbers, and assured myself that if I made high quality stuff that I’d love to play in my DJ sets, it would find other people that would love to play it too.

How did you decide to go with Caru as your artist name?

It’s just the first two letters of my first and last name! Carl Ruwhiu = Caru. For years I didn’t release any solo music because I hadn’t thought of a ‘good’ name to release music under. It was holding me back! So I just ran with Caru because it was simple, easy to remember, and I didn’t know of anybody else releasing music under the same name.

Aside from this release, what’s been the big highlight to date?

Damn there have been a lot. I’ve been very fortunate. I think the big one for me was my summer sesidency on George FM. Also just playing shows with huge inspirations of mine such as Lady Shaka, Mokotron, Peaky Beats, Dr Dubplate, Badger. The release and reception of my remix of Mokotron’s Tawhito was definitely another huge highlight for me.

What makes See No Evil stand out for you as a single?

UK garage is having a moment here in Aotearoa right now, and the genre name NZG has been thrown around to describe UK garage tracks produced by Kiwis. I’ve been trying to embody the idea of NZG with my production, with attempts to inject Kiwi culture into the sound, almost mirroring how the US garage sound was adopted and adapted by producers in the UK back in the ’90s. This fusion of cultures is incredibly apparent in See No Evil thanks to Deadforest and Church’s verses on the track, and I think that’s why it stands out to me as a single. It’s a prime example of NZG!

What is the story behind See No Evil?

Dera Meelan and I had long talked about working on a collaborative track together. Dera had recorded a demo of the original track with Deadforest and Church, and he sent it through to me, asking if I’d like to help out with the production.

What’s your favourite moment, musical or lyrical, of the single?

Musically, I love moments in the track where the instrumental makes reference to Deadforest and Church’s bars – like knife sounds when Church says “knife in my hand…”, or video game sound effects when Deadforest says “Nintendo”. I obsess over those little details and I feel like they really help to connect the instrumental to the vocals. Also, just the countless references to our culture here in NZ throughout the lyrics:

“When I codeswitch- palangis think I’m John Campbell“
“I watched all of the bros get buzzed out”
“Call up the drop like safe my g”
“I was doing spots in the shack”
“Wanna go halves on a sesh, or nah?”

It was a dream come true hearing those boys spit bars like that on a UK garage beat.

Anyone else in your team?

Just me. Sometimes my partner will do a bit of management work for me.

Are there any other musical endeavours you’re working on that we should keep an eye out for? 

New Imugi album soon! And I have an anonymous side project…

Can you please name three other local tunes that would fit well on a playlist alongside yours.

• Kamahumble – Simple
• Melodownz, Hyan – Mellow, Calm & Chill
• Freddy Reynold – When I’m On

Have any previous NZOA applications not gained funding or been included on NewTracks?

All NZOA applications were applied for by Dera Meelan and his team. I have never applied for funding for my music.