Welcome back to our weekly interview series: Introducing, this week we managed to grab 10 minutes with the enigmatic Mighty Mouse. Having just released his barn-storming Du Tonc single we thought it would nice to find out what London’s number 1 disco man has planned for the next few months. We talk disco circus, drinking, the weirdest thing he’s ever seen in a club and a new secret collaboration.
HBF: So you’ve started a new collaboration Du Tonc, with Matt Van Schie, tell us about the name? Sounds like it could be alcohol related?
Haha, yeah alcohol was definitely involved. I think it’s maybe a question for Matt though as it’s to do with him, and is relevant to the night we met in Paris.
HBF: You’ve announced the release of Disco Circus 4, what can we expect from this year’s edition?
Well I wanted to go back to the innocence of Volume 1. When I was just so excited about music and wasn’t thinking about the kind of artists on there, I just wanted to make a good mix. I think I’ve achieved that on this one.
It’s never meant to 100% represent what I play in club, I am thinking about what would be nice to listen to at home or in the car, but there are tracks on volume 4 that I do play out in the club, probably more than the other 3. I’m more excited about this one than I have been about the others… which probably means everyone will hate it, but I love it and that’s always been my mantra when doing anything musical.
HBF: How long does it take to curate the compilation, do the artists require a lot of persuading?
I guess it’s a bit of an ongoing process. I have a permanent ‘Disco Circus’ folder on the desktop. I throw tracks in there I think would be great on Disco Circus. Then it’s always a frantic 3 or 4 weeks licensing, changing my mind last minute, finding new tracks the day the mix is meant to be delivered. It’s a bit of a labor of love, I do put a lot of time into it – but I really enjoy it. It’s more labels than artists that get approached, although some artists I know I’ll often go to directly first. Not much persuading goes on, it’s either available or not, some people are more helpful that others, there’s one track I really wanted I couldn’t get in the end, the artist wanted it on there, but the management were, well, difficult shall we say. But I got my favourite Lindstrom record ever on Disco Circus 4, so I’m extremely happy.
HBF: You’ve just released your new single, a re-imagining of Bobby Womack’s ‘Love Is Gonna Lift You Up’, if you could choose any track to reimagine, what would it be and why?
Black – Wonderful Life… I’ve thought many times about doing it. I play my own edit of it. It’s one of my favourite songs ever, perfect uplifting moody pop music from the 80s. But I’ll never cover it, I’ve done my cover now.
HBF: If your studio was on fire and you could go in a save one thing, what would it be and why?
That would be the main external hard drive, because that’s where all the music lives I’m working on now.
HBF: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in the DJ booth whilst DJing?
I had a guy smiling/staring at me once – standing in front of the booth. He was clearly off his head and starting to take his clothes off. I think he thought it was making me happy. Then his girlfriend came along and took him away. No one quite knew what to say, it was so weird.
HBF: If you weren’t making music, what do think you’d be doing instead?
I’d like to be an author.
HBF: Tell us a secret about yourself that no-one knows?
I’m actually very shy… I have to work hard not to seem like it in public.
HBF: Who would win a drinking competition between yourself and Matt?
Oh good question. I’d actually started typing ‘me’, but you know, I’m not sure. When I think back to Paris when we met, I left the club before him, so he won… Hmm, I’m not sure you know, I can drink a lot but I think he might beat me. We’ll find out in June I’m sure.
HBF: What have you got planned for the rest of 2013, any remixes or singles we should know about?
Yeah I’ve just finished a remix of a band called Keljet coming on On The Fruit and I’m about to start something for Disco Texas. Oh and very excited to be remixing one of my favorite S-Express tracks. There’s a new Mighty Mouse single featuring Monarch too… actually there’s lot’s more but maybe I shouldn’t give everything away just yet.
www.mightymousemusic.com
www.twitter.com/mightymousetwit
Buy Mighty Mouse’s new EP here.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/love-is-gonna-lift-you-up/id604927959?i=604928191
