Cxemcast 054 – M.E.S.H.
Interviewed by Alexandra Zakharenko.
08.06.2017

Cxemcast 054 – M.E.S.H.
Interviewed by Alexandra Zakharenko.
08.06.2017



01. ???
02. Hagan — Glacier
03. ???
04. ???
05. Dreams — Energy
06. DJ CiroFox — Moments
07. No Light — Confesión
08. Fraxinus — Source Code
09. NAP — MC03
10. Ploy — Sala One Five
11. Physical Therapy — Leipzig Swing
12. ???
13. Thomas Krome — Electrobitch
14. Mistress — Lie Dormant
15. Bungalovv — Ulna
16. ???
17. M.E.S.H. — Interdictor



What’s the idea behind the mix?


The idea was to find the so-called big room energy intensity in strange places.


In one of your interviews you’ve said that being a DJ is a weird job. Why do you think so?


It’s a strange role — to play what isn’t inherently interesting. Or it’s one of those things where when it’s really, really good, it’s worth acknowledging and talking about, but the explosion of interest in the act of DJing in itself can be really corny. It becomes this artisanal thing. A good DJ set comes mostly from the producers who make the music and form the crowd's experience; maybe the DJ should be seen more like an air traffic controller trying to land all the planes with a little bit of style. The planes are, like, the music.


Why did politics become such an important issue for you? Do you think that are able to change something at all? To me, when I start digging deeper and see how crazy everything is, I have this sad feeling that you can’t do much, unfortunately.


We are born into the end of an era of mass ideological psychosis that has empowered huge, ultraviolent nation-states and the corrupt, mafia-like systems of power and extraction that accompany them. It hurts to be too connected to entropy, violence, and evil, and I think people with empathic qualities suffer psychologically a lot just by being overloaded by images. More and more I see music and art as a realm of competing utopias rather than as vectors of critique. Either that or a medium of militant disgust.


Last year you played in Kyiv, how did you find the scene, the movement, and the city itself?


I was really impressed by what I saw of the scene in Kyiv, because it felt like an organic movement of ravers, and not something created by media hype or big sponsored festivals. And I saw that people are searching for new experiences, there’s not as much of that kind of routinized hedonism you see everywhere else in Europe. Of course, my limited experiences in Kyiv are very superficial.


What was the initial idea of Janus?


When Janus started, there just weren’t many other parties bringing the artists we wanted to hear.


Do you follow the Berlin scene? Has it changed a lot since you moved here?


Not much lately. I’ve been here way too long, so it has certainly changed a lot.


You used to be more into making club tracks and experimenting in this field. What are your current aspirations?


I want to perform my own music with the same spontaneity and energy as when I DJ. I’m designing a system that lets me do that.


What sound or music finding did impress you recently?


I’m really enjoying new stuff from Tzusing, Deena Abdelwahed, Oli XL, Fraxinus, Nkisi… I don’t listen to a lot of music when I’m working on something, though.


Are you still doing graphic design? Is it only visuals for M.E.S.H., or do you work on other projects as well?


I’ve just helped my friend Soraya (Bonaventure) with a record sleeve. For me, working as a designer is really difficult. I would lose my mind if I had to do it full time. When I first moved to Berlin, I was designing branding for a Russian bakery chain, that’s how I survived here in the beginning.


What is your current mood board for producing music?


Anarchist Space Opera.

Resources beyond calculation.

The interiority of the digital.

Creepy Circus.

Dirty leaf.

Funny evil cool.


Last year, you made a soundtrack for the film “Information Skies”. Did you find this experience challenging? Would you like to continue making music for films and art pieces?


It was very challenging, but I learned so much. I took a lot of inspiration from the film scores of Eduard Artemyev. I have also made music for the films of Aleksandra Domanović. I would do it again for the right film, but it is a very long and difficult process.


Any upcoming releases on their way?


Yes!

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