Q&A: Mux Mool

Brian Lindgren, aka Mux Mool, is one of the featured artists at the August edition of Low End Theory, arriving at 103 Hariett on August 5th. With synth-heavy beats, reminiscent of 80s video games over polished hip hop beats, Lindgren has made a name for himself with releases on Ghostly International and Moodgadget Records. He recently spoke with us about his productions, background and playing live shows.

How did you become interested in electronic music and what inspired you to start producing?

I always liked electronic music because when I was a kid I played video games, which feature electronic music, of course. I think subconsciously you’re hearing a lot of really base electronic sounds and it’s going on in the back of your mind. I also listened to a lot of Weird Al and I did a lot of classic rock stuff and the Beastie Boys. That eventually shifted to listening to Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim—those sort of late 90s popular electronic acts.

How has your sound developed since you started producing music?

When I started, I wanted to make dance music. I wanted to do progressive house and trance and Basement Jaxx stuff, Cassius and Daft Punk. I just found that they’re so much more nuanced in making hip-hop styled beats. It was more open but the rhythms were more confined. Dance music had to be this weird cyber-disco or these touchy-feely trance songs. What I was seeing with hip hop beat [makers] was that they listened to a lot of music and they owned different records and it was this whole study.

It’s hard to say if I’m getting better. Sometimes I only feel like I’m getting faster.

I think one thing that’s lacking in a lot of electronic music is an emotional presence. It’s historically been a subgenre of music, more relegated to smaller clubs, smaller scenes and underground situations that lead to a lot of hardcore partying. I think it’s kind of funny that if I was to go play a really good ambient music at an electronic music show there’s no way to make that pop off. The inverse of that is that you get a lot of people who play completely emotionless, “let’s get high,” rage until our brains explode. It’s really expressive, it’s really bright, and it becomes really popular.

I understand all that but that’s not all of it, especially for me. I want to convey a certain kind of feeling. That’s what I work on more than anything. It’s more about just finding a deeper connection with what I’m trying to project.