After headlining one of Australia’s more successful festivals in the form of Subsonic, our interview guests have left a lasting impression we’d like to think, one that’s naturally mutated from the earlier incarnations of Son Kite and Trimatic.  Key components of improvisation, meditation and consistent faith have been integral in their successes – appearances on Cocoon, KNM and mule electronic is more than reasonable evidence.  That’s of course all prior to their upcoming 12″ on Traum as well as the heavily anticipated relapses into the discourse of an aforementioned alias.

Their perspective on life should be something that’s admired, and in their own words, life should most certainly dance through you.  We couldn’t agree more.  Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson are the clandestine soliders that configure the front that is Minilogue.

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Kn:  You’ve previously mentioned that you draw influences from both the techno and trance scenes alike.  What in particular influences the Minilogue sound, and in retrospect have there been any special moments that have played a major role in influencing the development of your sound to date?

M:  We might have mentioned that we draw influence from trance and techno.  But that was before… and everything is changing and developing.  We get older and grow as human beings so I would now answer that life and this universe is inspiring us now. A major change in influence and development was when we started to feel more and think less… we started to “jam” and improvise everything instead of planning what to do.  Our daily meditation has made a big difference in our music as well.

Kn:  You’re currently managing two very different projects; Imps and Minilogue.  Would you care to explain the differences for those who don’t know and how does the production process vary for both projects?  What’s coming up in the future for these two projects?

M:  IMPS was a project we started together with two friends from Melbourne, Ian and Phillip alias Decoy.  They came to Sweden a few years ago and we had a jam session together.  We made an album out of the session and released it on Mule records.  Very improvised and jazzy sound to it… with no goals in mind.  We don’t have anything new coming with this project… yet… but who knows! Minilogue is our own main project (Sebastian and Marcus) and we make everything under this name… techno, house, ambient, jazz… well… music.  We’re releasing a new album with Minilogue next year… hopefully beginning of next year.  We also have a new 12″ release on Traum Schallplatten in January.

Kn:  Minilogue encompasses a depth in musical ideas that seem creatively free, as displayed on the Animals album released on Cocoon in 2008.  From dance floor oriented organic techno to lush ambient electronica, how do these very different sounds intertwine with your own thoughts on the ongoing mission as a single entity?

M:  Nowadays we’re trying not to think so much and feel and experience things instead.  So when we feel inspired and creative we sometimes use this creative energy and put it into music without thinking what to do with it… just letting the energy flow through us! In this way we never really know what is coming out… and that’s soooo nice!!!  It’s still us as an single entity but with a more diverse outcome.

Kn:  Your own imprint under the same name was set up as a concept label where you freely release your own material.  So far we’ve seen great releases from the label which adopts a pre digital philosophy, whereby labels used to release both A side and a deeper B side track.  Tell us about the decision to stick to such a risky format?  Any new releases we should be looking out for?

M:  It is like you say… a concept label where we’re free to release whatever we like without thinking of sales and profit.  We only print a limited amount and make it more of an art thing than a traditional label thing.  In this way we don’t feel any risk since we’re not looking for profit.  If we’re not looking for gain there will be no pain.  At the moment we don’t have any new release planned… we’re putting all our energy into the new album.

Kn:  You’ll be returning to a European winter after leaving Australia.  Is the quieter period of this season a time where you focus on different aspects of your lives and sound and is there anything in particular that you want to accomplish before the curtains of summer 2012 are drawn?

M:  We’re moving away from the future driven way of living since we believe this is something that distances us from life, what is now is never away and we believe our purpose is to meet what is now as honest as we can.  When we get back home we’ll share some time in the studio together and finalize the last parts of our new Minilogue and Son Kite album, after that we don’t really know.

Kn:  You’ve just played the Subsonic Music Festival, just north of Sydney.  An outdoor event that’s perfectly conducive to the deep hypnotic techno sound of Minilogue.  How did you perform in terms of the live construct?  Surely there must be a level of improvisation going on between the both of you when you play live? Are you showcasing any new material for your Australian tour?

M:  It was an amazing festival and we had a super great time while playing.  Our liveset is pure improvisations, we have prepared a way of playing that enables us to create new soundscapes and rhythms while we’re playing, working to get into this very moment; creating a possibility for the people dancing to the music to move into the present moment; the only place where a deep experience can take place.  This is the main reason why we play live.

Let life dance thru you!

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Links:  Minilogue  /  Beatport  /  Facebook

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A few more words worth hearing from Minilogue at Mutek 2010…