INTERVIEW: MOGUL

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Being born and raised in Berlin, Mogul not only gathered the presence of electronic music into his craft but also the city’s second most famous genre: hip-hop. Mix that with a ton of Funk and a pinch of Disco and you have successfully combined Mogul’s musical heritage.

Hey Mogulwelcome to WOTN and thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us!

How has 2019 been for you so far?

Hello WOTN community! This year has been amazing so far, thank you for asking. I feel very inspired which is always a wonderful thing for creating music.

For those of our readers who may not know you, please can you introduce yourself?

Of course! I go by the name of Mogul and I‘m an electronic music producer with heavy influences drawn from Funk, Disco, Soul & RnB. Genre-wise, I‘d call it Funky Uptempo RnB. (For the DJs out there, it’s between 110-120 BPM)

I started Mogul in late 2013 with the goal of bringing back the sound of my childhood and write more sophisticated music. Mainly I released on Soundcloud back then as it was the #1 platform for this type of music. We in the community called it Nu-Disco or Future Beats and there were so many great producers from all over the world releasing originals, remixes & edits (USA, Canada, France, Australia, Japan, Germany, Netherlands… just to name a few). The most wellknown artist during that time definitely was KAYTRANADA who brought this uptempo sub-genre to life.

I‘m also part of the collective SOULUVMUZIQ which is emphasizing more emotions and less compromises in terms of musical integrity. If you haven’t heard of us yet I can only say: check us out!

Where in the world are you right now?

Currently, I live in this beautiful city, my hometown & Germany’s capital–Berlin. This question always makes me smile as I have never lived anywhere else – a born & raised Berliner!

Congratulations on your brand new single ‘All That I’ve Become’ — we’re loving it! Can you tell us a bit more about this record and how it came about?

Thank you very much, I’m really happy that you guys enjoy ‘All That I’ve Become’! The song is a collaboration with my Canadian friend, DiRTY RADiO and it’s quote “About all the imperfections that make us who we are – the good and the bad.”

How did the record come about? I had new material finished and send over some beats that I thought DiRTY RADiO would fit perfectly on. They loved the one for ‘All That I’ve Become’ and quickly recorded a demo. After some back and forth we had the final song. And what can I say – they crushed it!

Fun fact: the high pitched vocals in the track is me.

Listen: DiRTY RADiO & MOGUL – All That I’ve Become

https://smarturl.it/dirmogatib

This isn’t the first time you’ve worked with DiRTY RADiO is it?

Exactly, we worked together on our first song “Making My World” in 2016. It’s a heavily RnB influenced dance tune with amazing vocals! Since discovering their vocal flip of Sam Gellaitry’s ‘Waiting So Long’ on Soundcloud I‘ve gotten to know them as very authentic and lovely lads, which is a rare combination in this musical landscape! It just made sense for all of us to continue on this path and follow up with ‘All That I’ve Become’!

Do you tend to take a different approach when remixing or collaborating with someone else rather than working on your own original material?

That’s a great question and I‘ll try to keep it as short as possible and not to go into too much detail. To me collaborating and working on my own material with featured artists like I did on my first EP “Free Limitation” is quite similar as I prefer collaborating with vocalists rather than with other producers.

Usually, I have some beats prepared beforehand and we either go in the studio together and come up with ideas or work remotely via calls like I did with DiRTY RADiO. A huge “Thank you Internet” by the way for making the world a smaller place and connecting people with similar musical tastes globally! It’s so much easier now to make music together.

Remixing to me is a different beast as I already have a finished acapella of an original song.

Most of the time I start my remixes by composing a new chord progression and let the vocal speak to me in terms of musical direction. There is no real formula, only years of experience and a solid foundation of music theory, which is very helpful in this type of genre.

After I’m satisfied with the harmonization plus the bassline I usually add drums to create the groove and then I‘m pretty much done with the remix already. That is if it is an unofficial remix without other parties involved.

If it’s a major release like the remix I did for Ady Suleiman‘s „Wait For You“ I usually send in my first remix draft early and ask for initial feedback as the label/artist team should be okay with the direction I‘m going. It’s important to understand that you as the remixer are providing a service and your remix complements the original song.

Can we expect more new material from you this year?

Oh, you can bet on it! I cannot say too much right now but I have a lot of new material. Expect some new remixes and edits very soon and if you happen to catch me at upcoming shows, I‘ll definitely play unreleased stuff and test the crowd reactions!

And are you touring at all?

Right now I’m really focussing on making music so I’m only playing local gigs and festivals in Germany. We are in the planning stage for 2020 though!

Who are your top three favorite producers right now?

Only three? That’s a tough one. I won’t mention my all-time favorites here and instead focus on ‘new’ producers!

In terms of similar genre it’s got to be Pomo & KAYTRANADA. I also always love what Disclosure is doing even though they’ve been focussing more on producing for other artists instead of releasing for their own project.

What else is happening next in Mogul’s world?

I just finished my new studio and it really helps me to immerse myself more in the music. It’s like stepping into another world and completely focus on creation.

So what are my plans for the next couple of years? I definitely want to release my first full-length album. Furthermore, I‘d love to do a tour in Asia as I have never been on the continent before!

Any final words for our WOTN readers?

If you made it this far reading my interview I thank you so much for taking an interest in me and I wish you all the best.

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