Hello Moguai. Where are you and what are you currently up to?
I am sitting in rainy Recklinghausen and producing my album!

You recently joined forces with Paula Ferraro to make the track ‘The M Effect’ which has been picked up by McDonalds and used in a new advert. Can you tell us how this all came about?
My partner knew the chief of the pr agency, who produced the campaign. They needed the sound for it, and asked me to do it. Paula Ferraro did the vocals and I did the production. That’s the entire story. Not as interesting as you thought? :-)

Many of your singles have a slightly different flavour from the last but still retain that unique Moguai stamp. What’s the secret to your success of making original sounding tracks while still keeping that recognisable Moguai sound?
One thing is my musical history, maybe. I grew up with very energetic music, like Skate-Punk (Minor Threat, 7seconds or Hüsker Dü) and heard the Meteors, Batmobile or Guana Batz in my Mod and Psycho Billy period.

Further on I always listened to not so well known sounds and bands. They have all been pretty special. I was always driven by the new and different kind of music. That’s what I do in the studio today. I do what I like, and maybe that’s the reason why I have my own “Moguai style“.

Where do you see your sound going in the future?
That depends on the future. I will just try to let myself go and produce my sound. Although I am doing this for a very long time, my sound now is pretty different to the style I had back in the day. You could say, that I switched my style of doing music, although they all have my typical handwriting. I think it is a state of progress…

You seem to be going full guns blazing in the studio at the moment with releases ‘Kick Out The Jams’, ‘Sittin’ on Chrome’, your remix of ‘Cracks’ by Meat Katie and a new forthcoming project with Ramon Zenker all seeming to come out in quick succession. How much time are you spending in the studio at the moment?
I am in my studio from Monday till Friday and off for gigging on Fridays and Saturdays. Sounds pretty stressy and it is. But it makes such fun!!!!

What’s the most important part of your studio set up and why?
I have 2 babies in my studio. The first is my EMU sampler, who gives me the best results while jam sessions. Very old fashioned, ha? The second one is Ableton. It is pure fun to see what this monster is making possible…

Do you find it easy to use your laptop for making music and putting together ideas while on the road?
I never tried to be honest. I am pretty old fashioned ;-)

What other releases and collaborations have you currently got lined up?
I just did a session with Tommy Trash from Sydney, who was around in Europe for some weeks. And the next collaboration will be with my mate, Roman (Tocadisco). And of course: finishing my album!

Who would be your ideal producer or vocalist that you would like to work with in the future?
I would love to do a production together with Fatboy Slim, because I treasure his productions a lot. He is combining underground and commercial aspects in all his output in a perfect way. I think the mixture out of his soulful vintage sound brought together with my “angled” or “harder” Punx/Moguai sound would be very good….

You’re about to launch a podcast through iTunes titled ‘I Am X’. How often will the podcast be available for download and what can people expect from it?
Once a month you can listen to the newest Moguai sound! No old or new music, but a good and typical Moguai style. :-)

You released a successful compilation album this summer also titled ‘I Am X’ that captured the Moguai sound over two CDs. Can we expect more albums in the series? Perhaps even a live mix?
Yes, this will be an annual series always combined with 1 or 2 single releases and a couple of Moguai remixes.

Moguai and Friends are renowned for throwing some of the best and most memorable parties at the Love Parade. This year you even managed to bag Paul van Dyk for what was probably the biggest after party of the parade. How did it all go?
The party we do on the Love Parade Saturday night is called “1LIVE Rocker & Freunde“. The story behind it is that I founded a radio show called “Rocker“ on Germanys biggest radio station called “1LIVE“ 3 years ago. My colleagues that feature on the show every Saturday night are Paul van Dyk, Mousse T., Fedde Le Grand, Westbam. I think there is no other show with such a team. Once a year me and my team do this event with our friends… You got to come around next year. It is really massive!

You also played Sonne Mond Sterne festival in Germany. The line-up looked incredible with everyone from Moby, Richie Hawtin, Massive Attack, Simian Mobile Disco, Ricardo Villalobos and many more performing. How was the event for you and what other performances did you rate?
The SMS festival is something very special in Germany and not just because of the line up. It is really based in the German ‘deserts’. Even the trip is something special. The venue directly on a beautiful sea is just amazing. The promoter is like a family and have been doing it even after more than 10 years from the heart. You can feel this the whole weekend. The crowd is very ambitious which makes even more fun to play more experimental. The people there are very thankful when you surprise them.

What are the big differences in your opinion between playing the larger festivals and the smaller clubs and how do your sets differ respectively?
The difference is the playtime. It is just an hour or two that you have at festivals. You have to compress your set more than in a club, where you can play three or four hours. Which means that I am on the point after 10 minutes at a festival. In clubs this takes me an hour or something. And I am playing more “peaktime tunes“ at a festival, because 20-30,000 people in front of you want to escalate. And that’s I want them to do. :-)

What have been your highs and lows for 2008 and what else have you got in store for the remained of the year?
Highs:
Definitely the festival season with Nature One, SonneMondSterne and our own event during the Love Parade: “1LIVE Rocker & Freunde“

Lows:
None :-)

What else do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I am looking forward to finishing my album before the New Year and then playing the Sensation White in Dusseldorf on NYE!

Many thanks for your time iBeats!

For more Moguai info, check out www.moguai.com