Jan 11 2012

Interview: Mux Mool

by Westhead • Interviews • Tags: filestube, Ghostly International, hulkshare, mediafire, Moodgadget, Mux Mool, SnowGlobe, zippy 2

Brian Lindgren, insomniac, Star Trek fan and sample connoisseur, has a knack for creating savory beats and we were fortunate enough to sit down with the brains behind the outfit, Mux Mool. Residing in Brooklyn with a collection of records, loops and keyboards, Mux Mool is set to release his newest full-length Planet High School on February 7^th with Ghostly International. From talk on the LP’s foundation to New Year’s resolutions, Lindgren spoke his mind as he racked up a Hamilton on the penny slots before his performance at SnowGlobe 2011. This is what went down during Mux Mool’s rare gambling experience…

Your upcoming release, Planet High School, what went into that? What was the motivation or inspiration behind the LP?

Going around visiting small towns around the country and just realizing that a lot of people throughout their lives they don’t grow up, they don’t really develop emotionally much past high school. And that you learn a lot of stuff when you’re in high school and a lot of people just kind of stick with that for the rest of their lives. But its also, I mean this is all pretty vague. It’s not really like a literal expression. People aren’t being themselves I guess. I see a lot of people not being themselves and I find it confusing.

[Trying his luck on the penny slots]

I just made 25 cents!

As far as your music, you take a lot of inspiration from hip-hop. Who are you listening to right now, hip-hop wise?

Hip-hop…I don’t know if I’ve been listening to a lot of hip-hop lately. I mean it still amazes me to go and listen to a modern rap album and then to go back and listen to Wu-Tang and realize that those guys really knew how to rap, they knew how to make beats and I feel like we really like retarded rappers now. And I think it’s really funny. You know, like Rick Ross. I love Rick Ross but he’s not a rapper. Two lines, like two words per bar of music. That’s not rapping.

Oh wait, you know I’ve been listening to a lot of scratch records…those are great. I would definitely recommend listening. You’re not supposed to sit down and just listen to them, but if you do it’s amazing. It’s just like crazy sounds throughout the whole thing. It sounds like a f***ing Oizo album.

What was it about electronic music, releasing stuff electronically that really drew you to the genre?

Well in terms of making it, I think I’ve just always liked it. The thing that I like the most about it is that I do all the thinking. I don’t have to collaborate with anyone. I can just make it all myself, on my own time and its all exactly how I want it to be. But in terms of releasing it electronically, it’s hard to sell albums. People will just take it. I mean like torrents and stuff like that. I’m definitely pro torrent. If you want something go get it for free. It’s democratic that way, completely. Like Soundcloud, its 100% democratic. People like only what they like. There’s Soundcloud celebrities. Nobody knows them outside of anywhere else, except Soundcloud. That’s really cool.

It must be wild, to sit down at your computer and have every sound you could ever imagine available to you, how do you go about creating music with such a broad variety?

See and that’s the thing I don’t understand. You know cause I make a lot of different types of songs, because there’s a lot of different styles of music, a lot of different tempos, and a lot of different instruments, and a lot of different patterns, and a lot of different feelings. I don’t understand why someone would really limit themselves by only wanting to make one kind of song. The whole point for me was selecting records, listening to records, understanding music and putting that into what you make. When I sit down and make something, its still a discovery process.

So you sit down, do you have an idea what you want it to sound like?

No and that’s what fun about it. I don’t have a conscious path. It’s just like ‘oh that sounds kinda cool’ and I might go with that for a little while. Add these parts, cut out this part. It’s like hiking. Not that I know what hiking is like, I don’t ever hike, but yeah.

Also you’re signed to Ghostly International, how did that come about? Did you know from the start or did they seek you out?

[Another go at the slot machine]

Yeaah…I am now 2 cents ahead of the dollar I put in there.

When I first started making songs, I had no idea about record labels or that kind of thing. Getting onto Ghostly was more of a tailoring process, because I put out some songs with Moodgadget and over the course of time it just worked up to having a release on Ghostly. And Ghostly is an amazing label, definitely a great company to be working for. It’s great because it’s a team effort. And there’s a family feeling there.

What’s your New Year Resolution?

Get this, I am quitting smoking. [Holding an electronic cigarette] Yeah it’s not bad. Most days I can go with just this. But yes, I really want to quit smoking this year. Or next year? Also I want 2012 to not suck

And not be the rapture?

Nah. You know the thing is the Mayans couldn’t even predict their own demise, how could they predict ours?

So whats next for Mux Mool, beside the upcoming release of your LP?

Really changing up the live set. I am working with a friend of mine from Minneapolis to do live visuals for our shows and it’s really going to be interactive with the crowd. Sort of trying to pursue a live show more like an opera, not exactly more scripted, but more narrative. Not just like play this beat and this beat and this one. Trying to make it this whole experience. We’re doing projection at first, but we have a booth that kids can go sit in and they’re projected on the screen and I can interact with their projections. Shoot them with lasers and they’d blow up. We want to record the videos from the shows and post those online. So if a kid comes to a show, and he’s up on stage having then that way the show isn’t about me being cool up in front of a bunch of people. Everybody is having fun.

Planet High School _ OUT FEB. 7TH

Raw Gore- Mux Mool

Baby Baby Don’t Cry (Mux Mool Remix)- Smokey Robinson

Mux Mool on Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook | Ghostly Intl.

Mux Mool’s Website

- VΛNDΛL