Wunderground Interview: Mulljoy

Dublin-based (but culchie rared), DJ duo, hipster-deniers and wacky photo enthusiasts, Mulljoy, sat down and had a quick chat with us ahead of their slot on the ungradio stage at Life Festival this weekend. The Mulljoy lads are, Shane ‘Mull’ Mullin & Simon ‘Killjoy’ Kingston, two Dublin based DJs, whose common love of portmanteaus and electronic music saw them join forces (and names) to become regulars on the Dublin scene in 2011. This in turn helped them to secure a monthly residency at OurHouse in Dublin’s POD where they played their diverse collection of music spanning genres from deep house through to techno.

The intervening years have been good to the lads as they have played in clubs across Ireland and also made their Berlin (Mo Nacht Cafe) & London (Ginglik) debuts with very well received sets. 2012 also saw Mulljoy make their festival debut with a headline slot with Dan Guerin in the Guilty Boy Association Dome at Knockanstockan. 2013 is certainly shaping up be a busy one with their ongoing residency at Melodic Dublin, gigs scheduled at a number of other Dublin clubs aswell as Cork, Limerick, London, Berlin, Barcelona & Ibiza aswell as the release of their 1st productions

1. How’s it going lads, thanks for talking to us. So can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been working on lately or things you have in the pipeline for the summer.

Mull

The priority over the last year to 18 months has being getting our clubnight Melodic up and running which we are glad to say is going from strength to strength and we’ll be doing our best to keep progressing in the same manner with a number of new avenues for it in the planning stages.

Simon

Yeah, we’ve been working hard on getting Melodic on the map and at the same time trying to build up a bit of a rep for ourselves from a DJiing perspective so it’s great to be getting the nod for Life this year. Well pleased! Just this week we recorded an exclusive set for Frisky Radio as part of their ‘Frisky Loves Ireland‘ feature on emerging Irish acts. Frisky is a very well reputed online station and subscription service with people such as Nick Warren and Dave Seaman on their roster so we’re very happy about that!

2. What’s keeping you busy at the moment, is it DJing, producing your own stuff or promoting the clubnight?

Mull

Combination of the lot really, close to finalising our summer programme at Melodic and trying to put a few tracks together at the moment also – could do with an extra couple of days in the week!

Simon

Summer line-up is looking sweet. There’ll be a host of number of nights showcasing our residents and local acts in between 2-3 big international acts. One of which is Dominik Eulberg at the Twisted Pepper and the other will be announced in the coming days for July 20th in The Grand Social. Anyone heading to Longitude that day would be advised to check us out after… gonna be big!

3. How do you think the Irish music scene is faring at the moment?

Mull

I think it’s quite strong at the moment, there’s never been as many nights on around Dublin with a constant stream of quality every weekend so there’s something for everyone. On the production end of things, it’s great to see the likes of Mano Le Tough & Chymera doing so well on a global scale while at home, there’s more & more people producing with quality constantly on the up.

Simon

As a whole I’d say the scene is working its bollocks off! There are crews all over the country doing their best to put on quality nights in extremely difficult conditions. Our budgets are always tight but you still see big name acts appearing in Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Dublin and elsewhere every single weekend. It also means competition is fierce, but without that the scene would go stagnant. It’s hard work but it’s putting Ireland on the map as a place that loves its underground scene. That’s the feedback we’re getting from artists and agents anyway.

4. Who is your artist or artists to watch this year?

Mull

An artist who is producing alot of quality tracks at the moment is Dan Caster, one who is definitely on our radar for future Melodic.

Simon

In the coming weeks you can expect a release on Life & Death from a female producer going by Val (I think!). DJ Tennis introduced us to her stuff when he was over last week and holy shit, this girl is talented. She also happens to be Sting’s daughter and used be in a band called I Blame Coco… True story. Nothing released as of yet, and I can’t find any reference to her dance productions online but just you wait. She’ll be huge.

5. Whoa, the apple doesn’t fall far from the field of gold wha? (awkward silence) So what’s the most memorable set you’ve ever played?

Mull

We’ve been extremely lucky over the last 2 years to play alongside some amazing acts in front of some super crowds but stand-out ones to date have to be October 2012 with Edu Imbernon, with Aril Brikha March 2013 & our headline slot in the dance tent with Dan Guerin at Knockanstockan 2012.

Simon

Yeah agreed on all counts. The October gig with Edu was immense. He compared the crowd to that of a rock concert and listed that as on of his top 3 gigs, globally, last year… *swoon. Knockanstockan with Gearbox was fucking deadly… such energy in that tent. That is until I hit the wrong button on my controller in the middle of a pretty big drop… that was awkward!

6. So you’re liking the festival crowds, have you played Life before? Are you excited to be playing?

Mull

1st time & cannot wait! As above, one of our most enjoyable sets to play was to the festival crowd at Knockanstockan last year so can’t wait for more of the same Saturday night!

Simon

The first of many we hope! We’ve been fans and patron of the festival for years. I have fond memories of dancing to psytrance in the muck in Gort many moons ago! Great to see it come so far and to be booking acts of this year’s calibre, us included!

7. What other artists on the lineup do you admire?

Mull

Well in terms of Melody driven Techno, there is no better than Laurent Garnier so looking forward to catching him after our set Saturday night. Also, really interested to see what type of set Amon Tobin brings as I’ve heard amazing things. Floatings Points & Modeselektor should be cool aswell. Aside from that, looking forward to getting around as many of the tents as possible and checking out as much of the best Life lie-up yet as possible!

Simon

I can’t wait to see Mmoths perform. The lad is seriously talented. He’s eluded me to date. You can’t say no to a bit of Kerri Chandler either. I’m hoping he takes off his shoe to scratch records with… no man can do scratch with a high-top like that man. Bicep will most certainly be getting a visit from me. Some homegrown house for the lads!

8. What are your big tracks of the moment?

Mull

Loving Edu Imbernon & Coyu – Open Air, Run to the Field (Mr Bizz Remix) – Frankyeffe & Okinawa (Gabriel Ananda mix) – Piemont, at least two of these should get a run out Saturday!

Simon

I’m swaying in the direction of deeper, more industrial techno at the moment. I hate trying to put genres on tracks, it’s impossible. Sven Vath’s recent Boiler Room unearthed so many new tracks and producers for me. In particular; Liuff Settanta (Original Mix) from Margot. It’s a beast.
Also loving Tom Middleton’s ‘Penrose Steps’. Hopefully the crowd will be raring for a bit of dirt on Saturday from 9-10pm when we play the ungradio stage because I wouldn’t mind lashing it out! *shameless plug

Catch Mulljoy playing at 9pm on Saturday on the ungradio stage at Life Festival…

Photo: Allyn O’ Neill