André Tegeler, more commonly known under his DJ and production mokiner Moguai, has seen a lot change in his time in the industry.  He was there, some 20 years plus ago during the start of the house and techno revolution, and he’s still here today, more than surviving, but thriving in a scene that in some ways barely ressembles the one from more than two decades ago. It will come as some suprise that, given his wealth of expeirence, he only released his debut album this year, on Deadmau5’s mau5trap imprint. This was preceeded by a string of hit singles that proved he still retains an innate ability to produce music that appeals to a generation of clubbers for whom the second summer of love was a history lesson rather than an experience.

We caught up with him to discuss his relationship with mau5trap, how the scene has changed over the years, and why he chose to release his latest single - We Want Your Soul - on Size...

Tell us about the new single…what was the inspiration behind it?

The intention was to make a track which is a mixture of the harder releases on my own label Punx, and my new releases on mau5trap. I´ve played the track since my tour with Deadmau5 and it has always been one of the strongest tracks, whether it was in a small club, or on big festival stages.

You’ve been one of the most prolific producers on Deadmau5’s mau5trap label – why the switch to Size for this single?

I met Steve and Seb at an award show like 6 years ago, and from then we were in contact from time to time, so I thought Hey, let´s give it a try. There are great plans with mau5trap though in the future, but I thought that this track just wouldn´t fit with them.

Your sound has markedly changed in the 10 years or so you’ve been in the game…is this a conscious progression or has it happened quite naturally?

Whether you produce music, paint pictures, make movies, almost everything related to art, is influenced and inspired by something. So for me I can say that it happens naturally because you are inspired by your life, which is also why I named my first artist album We Ar Lyve.


What are the biggest challenges facing you as a producer today, personally and in the wider sphere of up-and-coming producers?

I’ve seen so many style changes from techno to maximal to minimal and so on... so for me it always was and still is, the biggest challenge to be faithful in yourself and to do what you like.

In the last few years especially, house music has moved out of the underground and is now associated with glamour and high-class living, thanks to the likes of SHM and David Guetta. Do you think that’s a good thing for the industry?

I look at it in a positive way in terms of what people like Steve, Sebastian, Axwell or Guetta are doing. They open new markets and help electronic music growing bigger and bigger. I was around for the very beginning of techno/dance in the early 90s. Everything at that time was new and you could almost smell this musical revolution. It happened in the underground,  and we did parties without electronic lights 1000‘s of candles because the sound system took all power. So when you compare this time to now, its the total opposite. But i'm not a fan of saying the past was better. Right now it‘s different but in a good way and for me it´s more fun than ever!

What have been some of the highlights of 2010 for you?

Definately the release of my first artist album We Ar Lyve on mau5trap. I think I have never released as much music as I have this year, so it was a very successful one for me, but i am already working hard to top this in the next year!

Anything else you’d like to tell us about..?

I am really looking forward to the release! It´s a worthy finish of a great year, and a massive kickstart into the new one, as the beginning of next year will see a compilation on mau5trap with a slightly different approach, so you will be surprised. Also is my next album planned to be released somewhere around spring.

We Want Your Soul is out 20th December on Size