Mux Mool is the alias of Brooklyn-based superproducer Brian Lindgren. A prodigious artist in the visual as well as the aural realm, Brian has transformed abundant raw talent into an overall aesthetic which has rightly earned him the respect of fellow producers and fans everywhere. With releases on Moodgadget and Ghostly International before and behind him, the sky's the limit for this artistic wunderkind. Here, Mux shares his thoughts about art, music and the future, as well as the exclusive track "Taking Electricity!"
In addition to being an crackerjack music producer, you're also a gifted visual artist. Is there anything about your musical process that carries over into your visual art, or vice versa?
Well, thank you for saying so. I would say that the difference in process is substantial. With a computer everything is gridded, but when I draw, nothing is gridded. I think the biggest similarity between the two is just not knowing what I'm going to make each time I sit down. I just sit and start something up and see where it goes.
Do you prefer one to the other?
I can't say I prefer one to the other, but I have been drawing for a lot longer than I have been making music. I can freely draw with confidence, knowing that I have over 10,000 hours of drawing experience. Music, not so much. Music still baffles me sometimes, but that's what makes it interesting. I also can't seem to do visual art as a job. I don't like drawing stuff for people, I like just drawing whatever the fuck I wanna draw.
Who are some of your favorite visual artists?
R. Crumb, Ralph Steadman, Roger Dean, Von Bode, Moebius, Winsor McCay, oh, and Rocking Jelly Bean.
Both your visual art and your music contain elements of fantasy one associates with sci-fi novels, comic books or video games. How does fantasy fuel your creativity and to what point do you live in your, or someone else's, imagination?
Well, that's a big part of why I latched onto drawing as a kid. It was to escape the bullshit going on around me. It still is that way... very much so. Music became that as well, in a way, although, when it's your work, sometimes doing it to escape is difficult. I think the bottom line is though, I'm always in imaginationland.
Mux Mool being an alter-ego of sorts, do you find that assuming a character helps you to create?
Definitely no. I don't like the alter-ego idea. I definitely do not get into character. I think in order to do that you sort of have to believe your own hype, and humility is above hype in terms of what's important to me.
Do you have other aliases or major characters you've created in your art or music?
I don't have any other music identities, although that idea has been tossed around more than once. Characters for visual art? Probably too many to name. When I was in 6th grade I drew this character named Mute Man who couldn't talk and had a robot arm. I used to write my own star wars stories with characters I created. Shit, even before that I would draw out whole worlds with continents and create my own alien celebrities. It's been kinda fun going back to those old sketch books and updating the weird shit I used to draw. I'm a bit better now, but those 2nd grade ideas are pricless, everyone had a sword or a gun for an arm. Radness.
You've cited Daft Punk, also somewhat fantasy-prone producers, as an influence, but this only comes through vaguely in your music. Who are some of your other influences and whose music have you been enjoying lately?
Daft Punk Homework was like, the very first modern electronic music record I owned. They're an inspiration in that way for one, but also because I used to, and still do make what I consider dance music. Man, when I was getting out of high school all I wanted to do was make progressive house. Influences are pretty all across the board. Inspired music is what's inspirational. There is a very tangible difference between inspired and uninspired music. Lately, still on Wu-Tang, re-listening to Cornelius, Point album. Bibio.
You grew up and cut your teeth in Minneapolis and then moved to Brooklyn. How is life different in the Big Apple and is there anything about the Mini-Apple that you miss?
A lot of things are different. People in NYC are more forward, and more driven. It's something I appreciate, because things happen pretty fast, and there's always work to do. I also enjoy being exposed to all cultures at all times, it's such a great mashup of the world. Oh also, places stay open 24 hours. But to my surprise, NYC and Brooklyn are lacking in decent coffee shops. Obviously, Minneapolis has entirely too many, but as someone who doesn't drink alcohol, it was nice to have places to do that in Minneapolis. I still miss that.
Who are some of your favorite producers in either community?
Well of course Medium Zach of Big Quarters is a favorite. He taught me how to make beats. Very glad he did. Connie Hawkins is in Minneapolis. I like his stuff. Ghostband, of course. And in NYC, Shigeto is amazing- probably the most musically talented person I'll ever know. Machinedrum, Eliot Lipp, Mikey Bubbles is bringing back some new jack swing... I like that.
Would you say you make music more for people to listen to or to to dance to?
I always hope for a little in between, a little fun with a little thought. As I progress I find that I'm more inclined to make listening music though. I never expected to be playing shows or trying to make things that sound good live. I always just wanted to write a complete classic, and I"m getting back to that now. But whatever, people will dance to that shit too.
With the inclusion of your track "Lost and Found" on Moodgadget's Rorschach Suite compilation in 2006, you found yourself thrust before a wider, more expectant audience. Since then, you've produced and released a steady stream of material as well as touring quite a bit. What's it been like to go from being a dedicated hobbyist to a world famous producer?
Shit, I don't know if I'm world famous, just regionally famous? Yeah, that experience really caught me off guard and kinda messed me up a bit. I was just making those silly songs and posting 'em on Myspace, and suddenly it's one of iTunes best electronic songs of 2006. It was weird. I wish I had been more prepared at the time to follow up with that, but I was just too inexperienced. There's a lot of stuff I've had to learn since then that I never expected to, a lot of it pertaining to the business side of the industry. Being a professional means a lot of things, it's not just waking up and banging on keys anymore, things have to be thought of and approached as whole ideas, and the when and how and how much all have to go into it. I'm very glad I learned this stuff though, and that I'm still learning cuz it's very unnatural.
Do you feel pressured to produce now that it' a "job?"
Of course! There is always pressure, the label giving me a deadline, a big opportunity comes around and you really really want to do something exciting, I mean, you want everything you do to be your best. The pressure isn't always bad though because lord knows I'd put everything off forever if someone didn't crack the whip now and then. I think the stronger pressure I feel though is my own. I want to get better, I want every song and release to show improvement, and it's difficult to know how you've changed when you're so close to all the details. Also, it may be a job, but it's the best job, and a fun job, so I'm always grateful for that.
What are you working on right now in terms of albums, collaborations and remixes?
Days away from finishing my 2nd full length album. Doing an EP with P.O.S.
You've done a number of remixes and have been remixed a number of times. How does your approach to remixing differ from your approach to producing your own music and what element of a remix helps it retain the original track's identity?
When I remix someone, my key goal is to change the feeling of it. If it's a happy song, find the sad in it, if it's super cheesy, find the funk. I just try and re contextualize whatever message the original song was trying to convey. But when I'm making my own songs, there's no mood to change really, you're setting the mood.
You've worked with MC's such as P.O.S. and Ice Rod. Who are some other MC's you'd like to work with?
Shit, I don't even know anymore, Method Man?
Who, living or dead, would be your fantasy collaborator?
Oh shit, uh, maybe Billy Cobham writing me some drum parts.
How, if at all, do you think music makes the world a better place?
Music gives people a chance to do or be what they wanna do or be in a very strong way. It gives everyone that chance, the chance to feel like you're in a movie or that you're actually in love, or you're gonna win this fight etc, and it locks in that feeling so you can experience it again and again. It helps people stay people.
Generally speaking, do you find other producers more competitive or cooperative?
I think we're all cooperative to a point. Certainly, very few of us are true enemies, but there's not a lot of resources for all of us, so sometimes you have to get what you can while you can. Everyone's trying to make it on their own, and you gotta look out for #1. But we all exchange ideas and hook each other up with shows and what not. The competitive part is also kinda fun. It's not like, you're hating on someone. You just are impressed with what they do, and so you try and do better, and then they in turn are impressed, and everyone works harder at music. That's the point.
What would your utopia be like?
Utopia would be awful, let's keep things dirty.
Taking Electricity by muxmool
