MXGPU is the collaborative vision of Moullinex (Luís Clara Gomes) and GPU Panic (Guilherme Tomé Ribeiro), a Lisbon-based duo fusing club music, performance art, and sci-fi aesthetics into immersive 360º live shows.
Photo credit: MXGPU – Instagram
Since first teaming up on Moullinex’s 2017 album ‘Hypersex’, the pair has evolved into a singular creative entity—one that redefines the boundaries of live electronic performance.
Running her own Discotexas imprint, MXGPU has earned a reputation for crafting immersive, multi-sensory worlds where light, scent, sound, and emotion collide. Their forthcoming debut album ‘Sudden Light’, out September 26th, expands on that vision, led by its first single, ‘Take Me Home’, available now.
Here, the duo shares five key techniques they use in the studio, offering a glimpse into how they craft their expansive sonic worlds.
1. Create an environment that is ready for creativity
Instruments are plugged and ready to go. FXs are on to give sounds an extra vibe. Some visual cues are lying around. Microphone/voice memos are on all the time. Don’t overthink. Just record. Doors closed and phones silent.
2. Distance is the best perspective
Sometimes it’s best to work on something for 20 minutes and then ignore it for a week. Distance gives you perspective and a fresher approach. In line with this tip, showing your demos to friends at the right time is very valuable as you only get a first impact once.
3. If you’re making club music, don’t be afraid to play it out
You will immediately compare how it sounds alongside music from the same genre in terms of spectrum, loudness, mix and arrangement. Even if you don’t have a big crowd you can definitely measure the energy in the room.
4. Finish ideas
Start a lot of ideas but also try to finish a lot. Have a finishing mindset. Even if the music doesn’t yet match your artistic goals, you can still learn from the process, so get it out, finish it somehow, and be ready when the right moment comes. It’s a good way to track your progress, refine your sound and sharpen your engineering skills.
5. Noise, texture, reality
Trigger noise with rhythmic patterns so you can get special textures that are still connected with the music. Keep shaping different noise samples to give tracks their own identity. Play with decay automation to give it dynamics. Special tip: Use field recordings from your phone. The best ones are often those that weren’t meant to fit a track.
MXGPU’s ‘Take Me Home’ is out now on Discotexas. Stream and download here.
Pre-save ‘Sudden Light’ here.
Follow MXGPU: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram
