Charismatic, daring, and intelligent are just a few words I would use to describe the stunning Carter Cruise. She’s not afraid to get down and dirty, not only for adult films, as one of the year’s most nominated starlets, but for, well, really whatever she wants to get into. She’s as sweet as a Georgia peach (she should be, she was born in Atlanta), but she’s not afraid to stir things up. Whether it is making music with Styles&Complete, responding to Jahan Yousaf’s viral op-ed, or doing anything you can find her do on Pornhub, she gives it her all, and success seems to come no matter what she tries her hand at.
Dance music has been a part of Carter Cruise since her days at college, and since then the tight grip it has had on her hasn’t let up. You may think this is a porn star who’s looking to make some change off the EDM boom with a pretty face and some hot nipple piercings, but with her open, genuine nature and love for electronic music, it was only a matter of time before she tried her hands at creating music; especially since she was already a DJ at East Carolina University, where she dropped out as a senior to start building a life she was proud of, even if one aspect of it received glares. It’s an empire that is in its beginnings, but she’s already well established herself as a legitimate personal brand. 
In light of her upcoming (now, published) Buygore release with Styles&Complete and Crichy Crich, “Dunnit,” Carter sat down to answer some questions we had around the project, as well as her future desires, and how she came to be where she is at today in regards to music. Carter Cruise is not someone you should dismiss, rather, you should immerse yourself and see just what this bright beauty has to offer. As they say, big things come in small packages, and this package is just beginning to unload a variety of goods to the world. 2014 was just a warm-up; now, she’s in the game.
After delving into the interview, stay up to date on all that is Carter Cruise by following her brand spankin’ new Facebook page.
(Image by Yacko)
First off I have to ask because of Twitter, did you do a bukkake in a bugatti?
I actually heard that lyric in a Crichy Crich song I think! That would definitely be hot though.
You have your first single coming out in 2015, can you tell us a little about that and how it came into fruition?
I’ve known Styles&Complete for years, since my club kid college days when I wore way too much neon (yeah, I was a noob) and first started learning how to DJ. We’re all from North Carolina and I used to gogo dance at their shows. We started working on “Dunnit” a while back and it’s been incredible to see the changes the track has gone through. We started months ago just sending sounds back and forth through e-mail, looking for the right sound. When Styles moved to LA we met up and started recording and really putting the pieces together. It was a long involved process because all four of us travel constantly and live all over the US. I’ve learned so much and have really enjoyed watching this come together, from us fucking around in the studio trying out vocals to jamming out to the finished project in my car.
It’s public knowledge that you have several songs in the works. Will you be producing, supplying vocals, or a combination of things?
I’m not a producer. I’ve definitely learned a lot working with Styles&Complete, but my main focus right now is DJing, writing songs, and occasionally featuring on them with vocals. At this point I’m not limiting myself to what I can accomplish in the future, as I’m constantly learning and adding new skills, but I’m certainly not here to front that I’m already producing full tracks.
What software did Styles&Complete use to produce the track?
Unlike every other producer and their mom using Ableton, Styles&Complete use Reason, which is pretty rare. The guys have been using it since back in the day when they produced for the Ying Yang Twins, so they’re pretty much wizards with the software.
How did you get into Djing in college? Did you have a DJ name or alias?
I was a gogo dancer and just a huge bass head. I spent all my free time during the week looking for new music and my weekends going to shows and dancing. I’ve always been involved in music, and took tons of voice lessons as well as multiple instruments, but I never found anything I really “clicked” with. My sophomore year in college I went to a Gareth Emery concert and I was just so entranced watching him spin and how he controlled the vibe of the entire venue, while at the same time being influenced by the existing vibe of the crowd. I told my best friend, “watch, one day I’m going to do that.” My neighbor across the street offered to teach me and let me use his setup, so that’s how it started.
My “DJ” name in college really started as a joke before I ever even learned how. My friends called me “Bex” so one drunken night I came up with “DJ BEXtacy” and made it my twitter name. Somehow it really caught on, and even now most of my college friends just call me DJ.
What producers got you into dance music? What producers have you been listening to a lot lately?
Besides a few techno songs in high school the first dance music I really listened to in college was Skrillex. I was at a party and “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites” came on and I was like, “whoa, what is this?” I started looking up everything I could find and completely fell in love with the electronic world as a whole. I think Adventure Club was my second love. I’ve never been dedicated to a specific genre, I listened to pretty much everything growing up. EDM was the first genre I got so into that I didn’t even want to hear anything else. It was the first music that really spoke to my soul.
As for who I listen to now, I have broad taste but I have a soft spot for the harder stuff like trap, and I still love dubstep. RL Grime is a particular favorite, and off the top of my head some other names that come to mind are DJ Snake, Manic Focus, and I’m really feeling on Kill Paris right now as well. I still listen to a lot of the same people that first got me into EDM, and have enjoyed hearing them evolve over the years.
Who are some musical acts you would like to collaborate with?
I absolutely love Borgore. His music is vile, and raunchy, and shocking. His beats are hard as fuck and literally makes people want to fuck, it’s insane. Its rad that my first track will be coming out on his label Buygore. Krewella and Adventure Club are also on the dream team for me. I don’t think there’s anyone alive who wouldn’t want to work with them in some aspect, except maybe Deadmau5, lol.
As a knowledgeable person and DJ coming into dance music as a new act releasing music, what does the scene look like to you? Where do you think it is going?
Music, along with most digital forms of art, is going through some drastic changes right now. Because of the internet and free file sharing, there’s not much money to be made off the actual music anymore. On one hand, this seems like a tragedy, but it’s really interesting to see how artists are adapting and creating new streams of income through things like merchandise, and emphasizing the importance of live shows. I think it’s really pushing artists to not JUST think about the music, but the business side of it as well. I guess some people probably find this to be a negative thing, because they think that it should ONLY be about the music, but I personally think it’s rad that it’s turning artists into entrepreneurs as well as creators. It’s adding a new element of competition and creativity that is changing the game.
Another great thing about EDM is how it’s constantly changing and evolving. Once you incorporate computers, and not just instruments, into creating music, the possibilities are basically endless. It gives a lot of room for new acts to enter the scene and dominate it, because EDM is more about creativity than anything else. You don’t have to be a classically trained musician to make dope music anymore, you just need fresh ideas of how to incorporate technology into “regular” music, in a way that speaks to people at that moment in time.
Will you be playing any shows or tours soon?
We shall see!
(Image via Facebook)
It’s fair to say Carter Cruise can’t be limited to one thing, so can you tell us 3-5 things you’d like to accomplish in the next 5 years?
3-5? Haha I don’t know if I can limit myself to that many even! I want to continue being successful in the adult industry, and really dominate that. I’d love to get to go on tour and travel the world sharing music with people. I want to start a clothing line. I’ve been acting my whole life and if I found a way to be able to cross over into mainstream acting that would be a dream come true. I want to be a writer. Since I was a kid my life goal was to write a book, so I hope that in 5 years I will have done enough and experienced enough to be able to do that. I want to change the world by challenging people’s perceptions of sexuality and what it means to be a woman. I want to be an activist and an example for sexual education and I want to inspire other entrepreneurs. I don’t know how much of that is feasible in the next 5 years, but I’ve already gotten farther in a year than I planned so I’m mostly just going with the flow, working hard and staying focused, and seeing where life takes me. This is all an adventure to me honestly; I just want to create and experience life, and just have fucking fun. Why else are we alive?
Recently on twitter you posted about a new writing job; anything you can share around that yet?
For now all I can say is that I am going to be a regular contributor for a major mainstream outlet. We’re still discussing topics, but so far it looks like I’ll be covering a variety of things, from sex and relationships to music and college life. This is really exciting for me as writing has always been something I loved, but never had a lot of opportunity to do professionally until now. Look out for this announcement in the next week or so!
In interviews before you’ve stated you “don’t want to be a pussy.” Do you feel you have something to prove to people, or do you just want to push yourself to go beyond perceived limits or boundaries?
It’s never been about proving anything to anyone else, but to myself. I’m competitive as fuck, but my own personal goals have always been more important to me than anyone else’s. I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself physically, mentally and creatively since I was a kid. I’ve never been satisfied by mediocrity, so I tend to take things to extremes. I’m an all or nothing person; I’m either going to dive in head first, or not get in at all. Also, I hate being afraid of things, so whenever something scares me, I want to conquer it. I’ve found the best way to do that is just to face to head on, because typically our human fears are based on nothing. I would rather accept the consequences of a bad decision than ever look back and think what “might have been.” I do think things through very thoroughly before making decisions though. I’m all about diving in head first, but I’m definitely going to make sure it’s deep enough first.
You recently released a cool-headed, fair response to Jahan’s viral op-ed that is one of the best responses I’ve come across. Do you think the EDM scene could develop into a benchmark for male/female relations, or do fundamental changes need to be made on a more broad scale?
I could write a whole article just on this question, but I’ll save that for another time. Let’s just say that fundamental changes certainly need to be made on a broader scale, but that isn’t to say that news like this can’t force the EDM scene into the forefront of those changes. However, I really think that the real change needs to take place in women themselves before larger scale changes can take place in society and public policy. I’m a firm believer in personal responsibly and taking action for oneself, instead of waiting for someone else to fix the system for you. I’ve actually had an essay about this stewing in my brain for a while, so maybe now I need to finish that!
Best Festival/Event experience?
I can’t tell you my favorite one, I’m saving that for my book, but a close second was one of the first shows I went to. I saw Kaskade and somehow ended up front and center because we made friends with the security guard, even though we had only paid for lawn tickets, which was pretty rad.
If you could play one festival this year, what would it be?
TomorrowWorld because it’s close enough to home that all my friends in the south east could come!
Favorite alcoholic beverage?
Bourbon. Old fashions when I can get them but I’ll take it on the rocks any day!
Fuck, marry, kill: Deadmau5, Skrillex, Armin Van Buuren, go!
My friend Rasha has photographed Skrillex all over the world and she’s told me he’s an awesome positive person, so I’d def marry him.
Deadmau5 and I had an entertaining twitter exchange surrounding the Krewella article so we’d probably hate fuck…
No direct ties to Armin Van Buuren as a person so I guess he gets the death sentence, sorry Armin!
I have numerous friends (who are girls) who are wondering: nipple piercings, worth it?
For me, yes. I was never crazy about my boobs, and only got them pierced as part of a wager. I ended up loving them so much! I know a lot of girls can’t stand the pain but you already know what I have to say to that: don’t be a pussy!
Blondes or brunettes? (guys & girls)
Brunettes for both! I always feel guilty like I should like blondes better since I am one, but there’s nothing hotter than a brunette betch with a nice booty.
You’re stranded on an island, and you are granted a wish for one item by a magic genie, what do you wish for?
A laptop with wifi. Even if it can’t get me off the island, I would seriously never EVER get bored, God bless the internet.
You’re locked in a studio with fellow artist and former adult film actress Sasha Grey. What’s made first, love or a hit single?
Honestly? I don’t know that Sasha or I know much about making love, but I think we’d probably have some great sex.
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Cover Photo: Steven Pahel
