Rex The Dog makes music with synthesisers. He makes art. He also makes animation. Last year he presented his LIVE MODULAR SET in clubs all across Europe which created quite the hype, which will continue in May in America this year. Releasing on Kompakt Records out of Cologne in Germany, today Rex the Dog returns with a double header that somehow remarks a new direction for him that feels also familiar.

Crasher is one of the best releases I’ve heard in a while, and I guarantee it will stand the test of time. The A Side is utterly captivating! Full of relentless tension, cyclical sound patterns and acidic notes helping you disconnect from the world. Hold It/Control it is a damn sexy number and a great accompaniment to the A side, continuing the motif of hypnosis (or so his label calls it, “Analgesic Trance”) but brings you back down to earth with a sensual vocal chop. Peep below for some words he shared with us:

Interview

1. How did you first come in contact with Kompakt?

I first heard about Kompakt when I was buying records in a little record shop (sadly gone now) called Kubla, in London. The person behind the counter gave me a whole stack to listen to and it was the Kompakt records that stood out the most. Justus Köhncke ‘Homogen’ and Ferenc ‘Yes Sir I Can Hardcore’. Even just from the artwork you could tell it was a special label.

2. Kompakt is like a family. How important do you think is it for music to be a community rather than treated like a business?

Well Kompakt is a family but it is also a business or it wouldn’t have survived so long and strong! It’s a lovely place to call home –  that is extremely important to the label and artists I think – but at the same time, professionalism is very high.

3. What in your life and experiences has most shaped your music?

Hmm, the music I grew up with probably. The electronic pop and dance from the 1980s. I remember seeing ‘Jack Your Body’ on Top Of The Pops when I was a little kid at boarding school (we were allowed to stay up and watch that one show). I went to bed kind of confused/mesmerised by the stuttery voice and the bass line and the fact that it wasn’t a ‘real song’.

4.  Music, like anything else, works in trends, and is cyclical. Whether you conform or not, how would you describe the sound and scene at this point in time?

It’s cyclical to an extent, but each time a ‘style’ comes back around I think it only ever comes back in a new way. If you think about the swell in ‘trance’ like music that is happening recently, sure it’s ‘trancey’ but it’s still a reinvention. When trance fizzled away in the late 90s and 00s it had reached a sort of critical commercial ‘cheese’ peak.  Recent music like Avalon Emerson’s ‘One More Flourescent Rush’ draws on trance, but it’s slam back into the underground and a long way away from where the last trance era ended up.

5. What was the process like in creating Crasher? What inspired you/what did you want to achieve with it?

Ha ha, well actually I was trying to make something very driving and dark with no melodies. But when I set the sequencer up this sort of ‘trance’ riff fell out and it felt kind of right. The riff is a little awkward and reminded me of Cafe Del Mar so I went with it.

6. Any new talent on the scene you want to shout out to?

Ha there’s lots. Lanark Artefax is great, and I really like the aforementioned Avalon Emerson (although not strictly ‘new’).  The label Whities has released both artists, I find that label really interesting.

7. How was your experience in Australia? Are you coming back anytime soon? How does the clubbing scene differ from the UK?

It’s been a long time! I came over to play Future Music festival a while back and it was brilliant. I played a couple of clubs, like Chinese Laundry which was maybe the loudest place I’ve ever been. Super fun, I can’t wait to come back when Australia calls.

8. For our budding producer/dj readers, what would your advice be to getting some traction?

Ah, it has to start with making music that you really enjoy, finding your own unique voice and sound. Finding other music you love and connecting with that scene.

9. What is analgesic trance?

Ha ha, there is someone at Kompakt, and I can’t say who, but this person used to write all the best press releases and texts since the beginning of Kompakt. I specifically asked this person to write something for my ‘Crasher’ release and this is a phrase they came out with! I’m not 100% sure what it means but I like it a lot more than the typical ‘this is a banger destined to wreck dancefloors across the blah blah snore…’

10. Favourite festival and why?

I think my all time favourite was Wire Festival near Tokyo. I was travelling with one of my best friends and we met A Guy Called Gerald (super nice guy) and I played for only 30 minutes to the most screaming people I’ve ever seen. Japan can be an exhilarating ride!

 

Buy here: https://KompaktRecords.lnk.to/CrasherSR