HUDSON MOHAWKE

More Than Satin Sounds

When Hudson Mohawke had to pull out of Baked NYE 2010/11, Perth punters were devastated and so was he. But, the Glaswegian is heading our way soon and is touring with fellow Scottish friend and occasional collaborator Rustie, promising a shiny electronic feast of high-energy, well-produced sounds. JOE CASSIDY checks in with Hudson Mohawke ahead of the big show.

Hudson Mohawke, or Ross Birchard as he’s known to some, is hanging out with his folks at his home in Glasgow ahead of his upcoming Australia and New Zealand tour. He’s a level headed musician, one of the more prolific producers causing a stir in his home country and on an international scale at the moment.

Birchard recently relocated his studio from his bedroom to the basement of the Redbull Headquarters in London but, he’s back where it all began when this conversation takes place. “I moved into that studio about three months ago and I’ve been trying to be more disciplined with it,” he says. “Like go there the same time everyday rather than going in when I feel like it.” It’s a major step from making beats in his bedroom to a fully equipped studio in London and it sounds like the ideal place to be located. “It’s the kind of building where there’s a lot of other musicians around,” he says. “There’s always somebody working in the main studio, people floating around. It’s quite good for bumping in to random people or doing collaborations and stuff.”

Producing music that evokes feelings of fantasy and dreamy states are Birchard’s speciality, a talent that he’s been crafting for a while now. Having DJ’d since he was a young gun, Birchard was given his first set of turntables at the age of 11 and at the mere age of 15, he was crowned the UK’s youngest ever DMC DJ Champion. In 2009, he released his first EP Polyfolk Dance on the monumental electronic music label Warp Records.

Combine well received live shows, packed out small venues and two further EPs (Butter and the more recent Satin Panthers) with his deep love for all kinds of music (his father’s taste was a major influence) as well as a passion for bringing new sounds to audiences - you get really likeable, well produced tracks from a down to earth producer. Birchard has collaborated with LA producer Samiyam, Montreal producer Lunice and various artists from the record label he co-founded, LuckyMe. Right now, he’s working on his fifth instalment of the Valentine’s Slow Jam - a collection of smooth, sexy old ballads he does every February for LuckyMe.

While collaborations aren’t that high up on his priority production list, he sites label mate Rustie as a major influence on his work. “[We] more kinda bounce ideas of each other but when it comes to actual music making, we usually work on our own and we exchange stuff every so often - ‘what have you been doing? What have you been working on?’ We’ll do a swap.”

Although he says Rustie and himself have similar styles, their musical backgrounds have been rather different, allowing them to “meet in the middle.” Rustie has a more techno/electro background while Birchard was more involved in the hip hop and scratch fraternity, a mix that really comes through in the music.

Currently based in London, Birchard grew up in Glasgow and then headed to Amsterdam in 2009 where he stayed for two years, giving him his first experience with a “proper, separate, dedicated studio.” From there, it was onwards and upwards for the lad who learnt to take his profession a little more seriously. “Once it becomes your job, basically then you have to kind of take it a bit more seriously, you can’t be just like sitting in your bedroom working on stuff,” he says, chuckling. And while London is the creative hub at the moment, Birchard admits he feels more at home in Amsterdam and would like to move back there. “When you’re in London, you sort of have this sense of everyone walking around miserable and depressed... where [if] you go to Amsterdam… people have a smile on their face.”

When Birchard hits Australian shores shortly, he’ll be playing tracks off his most recent EP but will also be bringing a lot of new and unreleased material. He’s pumped to be playing The Bakery – a venue which caters for his slightly left of centre sound. “I prefer doing good shows if you know what I mean?,” he says in response to be asked whether he prefers performing at festivals or packing out smaller venues. “I don’t like to do shows where I’m right down the bottom of the bill - you know playing alongside some big heavy, dance, techno electro stuff because it’s a bit of a clash, it’s doesn’t really fit, but if I can get the right festival slot then I kinda prefer to do that.”