2013 – The Idea
The idea for CUFF came to me in 2013. At that time, I didn’t want just another label with a long complicated name — I wanted something simple, short, one syllable. A word that carried weight. I asked my friend Mike Palladino in New York for ideas, and he came up with CUFF — which in NYC street slang meant “Cool and Tuff.” I loved it straight away. That was it. CUFF was born.
2013 – The Idea
The idea for CUFF came to me in 2013. At that time, I didn’t want just another label with a long complicated name — I wanted something simple, short, one syllable. A word that carried weight. I asked my friend Mike Palladino in New York for ideas, and he came up with CUFF — which in NYC street slang meant “Cool and Tuff.” I loved it straight away. That was it. CUFF was born.
Even before releasing a single record, I started spreading the news. I set up a SoundCloud page, began signing artists, and wanted a strong visual identity for the project. That’s when my friend Frank Mouradian from Marseille came on board and designed the official CUFF logo, which gave the label its instantly recognizable look.
Back then, SoundCloud was everything. You could blow up just by dropping fire tracks there, and CUFF used it to full effect. With nothing more than a few unreleased songs on the page, the label started building hype, and promoters were already asking for CUFF shows.
Our first residency was in Paris, a monthly event called “CUFF Presents The Crib.” The very first CUFF show ever happened in Manchester, at a club called Suede. It felt raw, fresh, like a new community was forming.
2014 – Taking Over
By 2014, CUFF had already grown into something real. That year we did a huge show in London at Building Six (formerly Club Matter, the second room of the O2). It was a legendary night, with special guests like Todd Terry, Sidney Charles, Jesse Perez, and more.
Not long after, we crossed the Atlantic for a CUFF showcase at Sankeys New York, featuring Amine Edge & DANCE, Sirus Hood, Tim Baresko, Jesse Perez, Sishi Rosch, and Mike Palladino.
Before summer kicked off, we held an Ibiza Launch Party at the legendary Great Suffolk St. Warehouse in London. The lineup was 100% CUFF artists: Clouded Judgement, Sion, STUFF, and K-Lagane (who later became my assistant, tour manager, label A&R, and eventually started releasing under his new name Loran).
That same year, CUFF shows started popping up everywhere — Sankeys Manchester, Maidstone, Romford, New York — and we landed a residency at Ministry of Sound in London alongside what would soon become our first Ibiza residency.
Discovering Artists
2014 was also the year we discovered a wave of talent who would go on to be big names: Shiba San (who had been producing for years as Cutee B., Bob Sinclar’s studio partner, and was finally ready to go his own way), the Russian duo Volac, Birmingham’s Chris Lorenzo, and French producers Sirus Hood and Clyde P.
CUFF became the house of G-House.
Ibiza Residency
That summer, CUFF got its first Ibiza residency. Sankeys Ibiza asked us to take over after Solomun moved to Pacha. It was a huge opportunity for the label, and every week the club was packed. More importantly, it gave young CUFF artists their first real exposure on the island.
For the people who were there, it wasn’t just another party — it was the feeling that something new was happening. CUFF wasn’t just a label. It was alive.