It’s official: Mousse T’s back. But did he ever really go anywhere? It’s an intriguing question, to which there’s more than one answer, as Defected’s Ben Lovett finds out.
To your typical spectator at the edge of the dancefloor, illustrious German DJ-producer Mousse T has been quiet – certainly in terms of studio output – for the past few years. To T, he’s never been busier. But, still, he gets where people are coming from. Mousse T’s most recent production work has been on the periphery of clubland’s current, fashionable epicentres. And it is only now, in 2014, that T is gravitating back towards more widely-frequented territory.
Cue T’s recent smash remixes of FCL single It’s You. “I met Simon Dunmore a while back and he asked me if I was interested in remixing some new tracks on Defected” T recalls. “I told him that I was definitely feeling dance music again, what with the vocals coming back and everything. He mentioned FCL and I knew the original song well. It has a beautiful, very different vocal. It’s not a typical house diva record. I loved the Berlin-esque vibe, and thought I could offer a couple of remixes - one with that classic disco sound, but another with a minimal bass and starker groove.”
The project’s success has got T thinking about further remixes down the line but he is determined to select any future commissions carefully. “Mousse T has always been there but I have never put music out just for the sake of it” he urges. “That’s still the case now; it has to be when I want to, and when I feel something. Over the past few years I’ve been gigging continually, and producing. I’ve also been working with film soundtracks, widening my experiences. It’s probably because the artists and projects I’ve been working with are outside of dance music that it looks like I’ve been away. I am still here but, fair point, I guess there is a slight feeling with the Defected remixes that I’m starting to put myself back in the game that people best remember me for.”
T’s DJ itinerary has been consistent for the past three years or so but predominantly tied to homeland Germany and neighbouring countries Switzerland and the Netherlands. His schedule, too, could hardly be called excessive when compared to the ‘de rigueur’ crazy-ass jet-setting of 2014 headliners such as Jamie Jones, Carl Cox and Sven Vath. His upcoming appearance at Defected’s new Saturday night Booom Ibiza residency Glitterbox feels like another step towards warmer, brighter clubland limelight.
“Ibiza is a great destination, just in terms of being somewhere to stay and explore, but also, yes, in terms of the music” T says. “Musically-speaking, it’s probably the most important place behind Amsterdam, and ADE, for the dance community. It’s great for promoting records, setting trends and, as an artist, ensuring you go viral. It’s important. I’ve played all over the island, from Pacha to those interesting, smaller gigs. I still remember my first season there, with Manumission, before the days of Horny [T’s global 1998 hit single]. I’ll never forget it.”
Next month (5 July in fact) Mousse T plays Glitterbox alongside fellow heavyweight veterans Arthur Baker and CJ Mackintosh, not to mention FCL. Truly, he can’t wait for it. “Glitterbox, and the recent remixes, come from my respect for Defected records” he claims. “I think there’s a synergy there with my own label Peppermint Jam. Both labels have been running for similar lengths of time now and both share a love of good quality house music and great vocals. Dimitri From Paris was staying with me in Florence a couple of weeks ago and told me how much he was looking forward to playing the opening party. For someone like Dimitri, who has played so many fantastic parties, to say that really brought it home for me that this really is going to be a great experience. I’m going to be able to play a variety of records, house next to disco and downtempo, and fully express myself.”
After Ibiza, T has a major gig alongside Carl Cox and “close friend” Loco Dice at renowned Dusseldorf club Kiesgrube. Part of Kiesgrube’s autumnal Run To The Sun season, the event is a potential gateway to broader DJ activity once more. “I like where the electronic scene is going right now” T enthuses. “And I have a lot of friends like Loco Dice who are asking me right now to do gigs with them. This is a great time for collaboration; and what with the popularity of vocals again, there is an opportunity to do more things.”
Mousse T, born Mustafa Gundogdu in Hagen, Germany, 1966, has enjoyed a ridiculously successful career. His first key music milestone was in 1990 as keyboardist for emerging local band Fun Key B. But T was also DJing in and around Hannover (where he’d set up a studio base) and plotting, alongside partner Errol Rennalls, the launch of an imprint Peppermint Jam. The pair’s label launched in 1993, promising to serve up funky, positive house licks and snappy acid jazz on a consistent basis.
Peppermint Jam’s subsequent success, during the melodic house-obsessed Nineties, complimented Mousse T’s own artistic rise, his soulful, yet driving remixes of everyone from Ruffneck and Quincy Jones to Kim English and Voices Of Life, and productions ranging from Swing City nugget Everybody to crossover bomb Horny, pushing his profile farther and wider. A high-profile hook-up with Sir Tom Jones, Sex Bomb, then arrived in 1999 and firmly established T’s mainstream credentials all over the world. This unstoppable career momentum led him on to two albums, Gourmet De Funk (2002), and All Nite Madness (2004; several of the latter’s tracks were also on parallel 2004 album Right About Now), production work for a variety of non-dance artists, soundtrack duties on German movie Pornorama, and a collaboration with the Filmorchestra Babelsberg to perform his greatest hits in Berlin with full orchestral backing – the project also spawned a 2007 album, Re-orchestrated.
Mousse T has extended his non-dance commitments in recent years but still maintained essential links to the world of house music. “There has been a studio gap in some senses” he acknowledges, “but I have completed a few side projects. Last year, for example, I worked with Paul C and Paolo Martini [the latter, formerly of Bini & Martini] on a cut called The Race [released on Terminal M] and recorded a track with Martin Buttrich, Session 1 [presented on Desolat]. Both were deep productions, made because they felt right. It felt really good to put those records out.”
And now, at last, there’s the prospect of Mousse T’s long-awaited fifth album finally nearing completion. Strictly speaking it is a follow-up to All Nite Madness, T’s last pure studio long-player. “It’s been 10 years in the making” he confirms, half laughing, half sighing. “The vocal house sound is back and I definitely want to capture that across the tracks I’ve written. I’ve written 25 tracks, so now it’s about cutting those down to a final running order and recording. It’s going to be a house-y autumn; I love the sounds of the FCL remixes I’ve just done but, of course, there will be more than just house...a lot of variety for sure.”
T has already prepped a wide variety of collaborators including one bona fide pop legend who, for now, must remain unnamed. “Things are still a little fluid” he explains. “I think we’re looking at releasing a single at the end of the year, then the full album early 2015. I’m releasing through a major label so there are deadlines in place that are looming now, but I feel like things are in a better place. The problem is meeting so many new people through what you do. It almost becomes a disadvantage but you can’t stop writing or recording...you’re always thinking up new ideas or new sounds. It’s difficult.”
It doesn’t seem like T, now in his late forties, has any trouble maintaining focus or energy but what beyond an obvious passion for music is his secret for artistic sustainability? “You have to plan and work in a seasonal way” he stresses. “I have passion and love for music but that only gets me so far. I still get frustrated with the studio or gigging around. I allocate time between the different elements of my career so that everything is paced and feels fresh. I also allocate time, of course, for my family who live in Florence. I split my time a lot between there and my work in Hannover [where Peppermint Jam and the Peppermint Park Studios are based]. I’ll be in Germany to a greater degree this year as I complete the album so making space for other things and for family will become even more important.”
Sensible planning, of course, belies occasional swirls of insecurity. T, however, claims that this restlessness keeps him just as motivated and fresh-faced as any pro-active diary management. “I’m not the only artist with insecurities” he admits. “And I think we’re probably all the better for it. The dance scene is extremely crowded today, and there’s a stronger sense of competition. But that makes me even more conscious that I have to the absolute best that I can. Take the album I’m working on for example; that can’t be two excellent tracks and the rest fillers. Some artists may take that approach but, for me, every track needs to be amazing.”
The DJ-producer continues: “I saw the V&A [London’s Victoria & Albert Museum] David Bowie exhibition in Berlin recently and it’s clear just how insecure he was and how that drove him on. He was also very seasonal in his work, moving between music, film and fashion to best reflect his creativity. All of that happens to house producers too, the insecurities and the urges, particularly today, to break boundaries and stand out.”
Mousse T’s immediate concern, however, is to find a TV so that he can watch the World Cup unfold over the coming weeks. “I’m really looking forward to the football” he grins. “Hearing people talk about some of what has been going on in Brazil in the build-up has put me off but hopefully the matches will be good. Unfortunately I’m going to be really busy so the challenge will be to find the time to sit down and then, of course, a TV. I’ll think of something clever!”
There’s absolutely no doubt he will....
Words: Ben Lovett
Mousse T’s remixes of FCL’s 'It’s You' are out 30 June on Defected Records. He plays Defected Presents Glitterbox at Booom Ibiza on 5 July – visit www.glitterboxibiza.com for updates.
