Through making his mark on the electronic music scene, Mazoulew has collaborated and performed as a DJ with some of the UK’s most influential artists. BBC Radio has featured the producer multiple times as ‘One to Watch’, with ‘Kin’, his track featuring Handbook receiving support from Jaguar on Radio 1 Dance Show and ‘Overdue’ drawing repeated love from Tom Robinson on 6 Music Introducing.
2021 marks the official release of the long-awaited ‘Movements’, Mazoulew’s most far-reaching and ambitious work to date. A dynamic compilation of works that transcend defined genres, from neoclassical/ambient through to downtempo/electronica.
We sit down with Mazoulew to talk about the release of ‘Movements’, his upbringing, views on what it means to make music, expectations for the future, and much more.
Electronic Groove: Hi Mazoulew! Thank you for chatting with us today. How have you’ve been doing? How have you been coping with the pandemic and lockdowns?
Mazoulew: Hey, thank you so much for having me. I have been really good thanks, keeping myself busy through these weird times, just keeping my head down and working on new material. The situation has been all out of our control, so, for me, I have just been trying to grab it with both hands and make the most of the time.
Electronic Groove: Let’s get to know you better. What were your first musical interactions like? Did you grow up in a musical household? Or did you have to navigate through that by yourself?
Mazoulew: My house wasn’t a musical house when I was growing up, both my parents were physiotherapists and my sister is an artist. When I was young, my mates were all a lot older than me and were all into hip-hop and drum and bass. We grew up in the sticks, so when we were teenagers we would either rent small venues or put on parties in the forest. It was a wild time to be honest and a lot of fun. It was definitely the ignition for me that started this journey.
Electronic Groove: And when did electronic music come into the picture? Was there a particular record that changed everything for you?
Mazoulew: The first record I ever bought was ‘The Score’ by The Fugees. I remember listening to that cassette so many times that it eventually wore out and broke. That album was so influential for me as until that point, I had never heard music like this before. I was hearing pop and rock records at that stage and it was so inspirational for me to hear this sampled electronic world that had been created. Still, to this day that is one of my favorite records.
Electronic Groove: How would you describe your sound by now? Which track would you recommend to someone listening to Mazoulew for the first time? Why?
Mazoulew: It’s a tricky question for me, as I always feel like a record marks a specific point of time in my life. There are tracks I have written when I have been super happy, sad and everything in between and I try to channel these feelings into the works.
I always push myself to stay cross-genre and tempo so that I can explore the maximum amount of angles of creativity, because of this I would say my catalog is quite diverse and it really comes down to the listener and how they are feeling in that moment. Hopefully, there is something that resonates with you
“I find listening to other people’s work during this output stage can cause some sort of convolution of vision. I like
to stay isolated from external influence
until the record is made”
Electronic Groove: Where do you look for inspiration?
Mazoulew: Inspiration for me can come from the strangest places. I find I have two mindsets with music really, input and output. When I am making music and outputting, I don’t listen to any music and this can be quite a long period of time. I find listening to other people’s work during this output stage can cause some sort of convolution of vision. I like to stay isolated from external influence until the record is made. I find it results in a type of purity in the work.
Once the record is done, I usually feel pretty drained, so I would then move back to an input stage where I am just sourcing new musical influence and ideas. The important thing for me is just ‘doing’. You have to be there trying things and, importantly failing, learning from the mistakes. I was talking about this with a friend of mine the other day and we were saying like 90% of the time things are just not working and it’s not fun, to be honest, but we have to work through this, and when you hit that 10% that is working it makes everything worthwhile.
Electronic Groove: This year you’ve set out with your ‘Movements’ project. Can you tell us what’s this one all about? What has the reception been like so far?
Mazoulew: ‘Movements’ was a fairly ambitious project for me, I had the concept for the record early in the year, whereby I wanted to create a collection of works that really covered a lot of ground. I wanted to create some electronica/downtempo but then intersect these songs with more expressive musical movements. It was an opportunity for me to go back to the beginning of what music is and what I was trying to say.
What I didn’t want to do was just give people a collection of EDM bangers as I really don’t think the world needs any more of that right now. I feel like as an artist you can work in any genre; the thing that will draw continuity between the works is your ‘sound’ and that will be unique to you.
Electronic Groove: What gear or software do you work with? What’s your workflow usually like?
Mazoulew: So I went through the stage of having a large studio with lots of toys. Fast forward to today, I have really stripped back my setup and I have been largely computer based on this record. I found my ideas were very direct and quick to establish early on. I could score all the string parts across the record myself and then I actually got a friend of mine in America to re-record everything which just elevated those sections sonically. The record was mastered by Lewis Hopkins at Start Delta Studios. We decided to put master the record to ½” Ampex tape which for me just gave such a beautiful finish to the record.
Electronic Groove: You have a lot of experience with collaborations. What do you look for in a collaborator? How do you decide who is right for which track?
Mazoulew: When I was younger, I used to work with so many people and really enjoyed the collaboration side of things, but I feel recently I have become more focused on my work. I think you can collab with whoever on whatever, but fundamentally, you need to be feeling what you are doing. I get asked a lot to do remixes for people, but I never take anything on unless I hear the song and it really resonates with me. It’s quite easy to have an amazing artist or song to collaborate with but you don’t feel 100% connected with it on an emotional level. For me getting involved with something like this…the end result is always going to be forced and unnatural. It’s one of those things. You will just know when something needs to be worked on because it will hit you.
“I think you can collab with whoever on whatever, but fundamentally, you need to be feeling what you are doing”
Electronic Groove: What else is there in store for Mazoulew? What else can we expect from you in the upcoming months?
Mazoulew: So I just got back from traveling and have started working on a new record for the new year. Hopefully, we all get back to some sense of normality with the return of clubs and everything. I am planning a live show for next year, just working out the logistics of this at the moment. I feel like I’m in a good place with my music right now and I am just happy to keep exploring new ideas. More than anything, I am just very thankful for everyone that is coming along for the ride with me. It really means a lot to me.
Electronic Groove: Thank you so much for your time Mazoulew! We hope to see you on a dance floor soon!
Mazoulew: Thanks guys! It’s been a pleasure!
The final single from the ‘Movements’ EP, ‘Burnt’, is now available, with the full EP dropping Oct 15th.
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