We discuss the first album signed to Mau5trap with the creator himself, Andre Tegeler aka Moguai.
Much hyped as a result of being the first full length release on Mau5trap by an artist other than Deadmau5 himself, 'We Ar Lyve' has been on the shelves for just under a month now. It's a fantastic representation of what Moguai is all about. With all tracks bar one being instrumental, Moguai uses the excess space within his tracks to explore the emotional potential of his electronic creations.
'Flex, Rex, Mansion', the one song with vocals, stands out as the most happy, fun-filled song on the album and is reminiscent of a breaks-infused take on the Justice classic 'D.A.N.C.E.'. Meanwhile, 'Nyce' is the most aggressive song on the album; aggressive in a good way, incorporating a thumping, wobbling bassline that wouldn't be out of place in a Deadmau5 track. Wrapping up the album, 'Lyve' leaves the listener pondering life on a deeply introspective note. We spoke to Moguai himself to find out a little more about his latest critically acclaimed release:
How did you get involved with Deadmau5?
It was really simple. I had this track 'Zyvox', and it was a typical Mau5trap single to me so I passed it over to the guys and they said "hey let's do it". It all happened pretty fast after that.
How does it feel to have the first album released on Mau5trap?
It's excellent. In Germany, they've known my sound for 15 years now, so it's a good chance to get heard in other countries. The overall sound of the album fits perfectly onto Mau5trap because it's a mixture of my older stuff, harder stuff that I brought out on Punx, and the more emotional stuff that I'm into now. It's kind of like electronic vintage, punk rock. Very emotional. It's hard work as a producer to write feelings into electro music.
What's your favourite track from the album?
'Lyve'. It's made out of four parts: drumming, bassline and so on. These four parts are so magic to me. They feel like the Beatles in electronic music. When you hear the two breaks in it, it reminds me a little of 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
Other than dance music, what influences you?
I was very into the skateboard scene for a long time. I loved skate rock and punk rock. From this scene, I got into psychedia and the mod scene. I got a scooter 20 years ago – I still have it now actually. I used to take it on these scooter runs, and heard lots of ska and London soul while on them and became very influenced by British bands such as the Meteors. It's very energetic music.
Then I started DJing and the very first records that I bought were from electronic music. It was at the very beginning of the harder techno stuff in Germany, around 1989/1990. Although, I'm now influenced more by handmade music than by electronic music. If you listen to 'U know Y', and 'Nyce' from the new album, that is me making modern punk rock. It's like rave – I love it.
How long did the album take to make?
Back in the early days I made so many records that were big in the underground with some gradually making it into the mainstream. At the time, lots of people were asking me about the possibility of an album but I'd never thought about doing one before because I wasn't in the position to say "OK now I'm going to make a shout out about music."
However, it came together last year, over 4 or 5 months. It was good that it happened in the way it did. In fact, the title came from it: 'We Ar Lyve'. It's as if we are always wearing life. What we are doing now leads to what we get in the future. We know it for sure but we don't feel it, or mention it. It was out of this concept that I realised it wasn't about doing an album that just had loads of strong singles on it, it was more than just that. After thinking this, I made around 20/25 tracks and passed them over to Mau5trap and they picked 15 from them. We chose the final 10 tracks together.
What's going to happen to the other tracks that were left over?
When they're ready they'll be revealed. With music, there is no best before end date. You can't hide a good track.
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