Known for records like "Bax" and "Square One," Mosca has become a staple of the deep house and dub techno scene in the UK and beyond. He's a favourite of labels like Hypercolour and Matt Tolfrey's Leftroom, is being remixed regularly by the likes of Julio Bashmore, and his hip-hop inspired track "Tilt Shift" on Fat Series' Producer Series became somewhat of a cult YouTube phenomenon. And tonight, this deep house and dub techno extraordinaire will be playing an all night set at London's Dance Tunnel for Apricot Thing. So to get you warmed up, and provide a little bit of insight into the man, Pulse contributor Sophie James sat down for Ten Minutes With... Mosca.
If you could go back to being any one age, which and why? To be honest I'm looking forward to this year, so 27-28. All that nostalgia stuff is nice, but if it was actually possible to go back I'd never do it. I like the present.
Favourite musical era or movement? Loads! The only one I kind of felt a part of was grime. You know, time and place and whatnot. I missed out on the birth of dub reggae and digital era, acid house, techno, deep house, jungle, hip hop, early electronics, hardcore – so much good stuff. But then again, the birth of a genre isn't always the best music I find. The whole roots and dub era was maybe my favourite if I had to pick. It just speaks to me; there's so much balance there as well.
Do you have a New Years resolution? Don't do them – just an excuse to put stuff off that you could be doing in November or December.
What’s the tune you’re secretly most proud of? In terms if where a tune has gone, maybe “Tilt Shift.” Not the sound of it (although I love the claps in it), but the fact there are so many videos on YouTube of people dancing to it. People like Les Twins and Mike Song have proper routines to it, and I love watching dance videos on YouTube, so that felt good. I've even seen it on TV.
Who is your idol in terms of contribution to music, culture or society? I take a DJ's approach to this - cherry picking, you know? I can't name a certain person who I love everything about, but I rate little achievements from a lot of people instead. And in terms of humanity as a whole, I'm always inspired by big buildings in new cities I go to. I don't believe in a god, but I see these bridåges and skyscrapers and just think humans are wicked for building them. If we can do that then maybe we're not so bad after all.
Do you suffer for your art? I spend a lot of time producing, digging for tunes, just thinking about music and the whole business of it, but no, that's not suffering. It's something I love, and I know I'm lucky to be able to do it for a living. I've lived on the other side, obviously, so I always think about that when things aren't going so smooth.
Do you have a stand out gig of 2013? Maybe New Years Day 2013. Me, Shed and Levon Vincent.
Describe your own style. I used to hate this question in interviews, and now I love it. It feels like I've woken up and everything's clear. Before was all muddled like a dream, elements of reality in there, but all twisted still. The thing I'm drawn to in tunes is a dark or moody or melancholy edge but balanced with a dose of sex, some classiness... I love slightly off or dissonant sounds and melodies, stuff that shouldn't work but does. I love groove. And that's what I try and coax out of my productions as well.
Guiltiest pleasure / favourite vice? Ethnic cleansing.
When are you most happy? I don't know, I think I'm a lot happier in my old age though. Got a family, friends, music, what more do u really need?
If you weren’t doing what you do now you’d be… A hack.
Catch Mosca for an Apricot Thing all night set tonight at Dance Tunnel The event is just about sold out, so head to the Facebook page for more info and tickets.