Rex The Dog “Breed” interview + mix.

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I had a chance to interview Rex The Dog. Why? Shameless promotion for his clubnight, BREED. It’s all kicking off this Friday @ Dalston Superstore, London.  If for some reason you never even heard of Rex The Dog, check the video below… after hearing this, many years ago, I went out and bought a copy the next day (true story).

Where did the idea of Rex The Dog come from? The name, the imagery?
Well, I’ve always drawn quite a lot and I used to draw this dog who was always drinking other people’s milkshakes… when I made Prototype and sent a demo to KOMPAKT I drew a cover with him on, and it just seemed good to bring the drawings and the music together like that. Those early drawings of Rex look all wrong now, he looked like a sort of Jack Russell with a pointy snout. He’s not a Jack Russell, he’s an English Bull Terrier.

But before that, how did you make your start in music, what inspired to you become a musician?
Well, I started out with a Casio keyboard when I was really little, with a VLTone, which my mother bought me. I was learning the piano but I really wanted something electronic… actually the first thing I learned to play on that was the theme to Dallas, it took me ages to work it out.

Who are your biggest musical influences?
From very early on, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, New Order, all the pop that I listened to at school, and then later I started getting into rave and hardcore, which all sounds awful now. Actually, TV theme tunes were quite exciting to me when I was a kid, like Airwolf has an amazing sequencer bassline. It all kind of seeped in for better or worse.

Ok, we did a bit of research and found out you weren’t always Rex The Dog and you had a chart topping project called JX, and were part of Planet Perfecto at a time when music sold well. Are you mega-loaded?
Ha ha, no!

(He said this whilst wiping his nose with a £50 note)

What would you say are the differences between those projects and Rex The Dog?
Hmm, I don’t think there is actually a huge difference. I suppose I make more instrumentals now, and the focus is a bit more on the production and the synths, but tracks like ‘Bubblicious’ could almost be JX tracks no?

You’ve done a fair few remixes as Rex The Dog, what are your favourites and have there been any cases of you rejecting offers that have come in?
I think any of the ones with Karin Dreijer Andersson singing – like The Knife and Fever Ray – also Royksopp – are huge highlights. Playing around with Karin’s voice is a bit of a privilege, I’ve not actually worked on a voice I like more. But I do reject quite a lot of remix offers, usually because of time restrictions, but also, if there’s nothing in there that interests me, I don’t think I can bring anything to it.

Download - Royksopp – This Must Be It (Rex The Dog K-DART Remix)
Preview –

Can you leak me a copy of your Shoes remix? Tiga said it’s totally cool. He did his “totally cool” face when I asked him.
I want to see his ‘totally cool’ face! I can dig it out, but I don’t think it’s very good. I missed the deadline by about 6 weeks because I was sick. Personally I think it was lucky for me that it didn’t come out.

Can you send it to me anyway?
Erm, ok…

So, I caught on twitter you’ve been working with Kris Menace, what’s the news with that? Anything coming out in the near future?
Well, yes, we’ve made a totally over the top and shameless rave track called ‘Pow!’ and we’re planning a vinyl release. To sort of mitigate the over-the-topness, I’ve made a really lo-fi Casio remix just using a home keyboard*. Actually The Magician has put it in his latest Magic Tape. If you listen to Magic Tape 12, it’s the track towards the end that sounds lamer than all the others!

Is there anybody you’d like to work with?
I have a few secret wishes, but they should probably stay secret I think. That’s a boring answer isn’t it?

It is a bit, but never mind… so any plans for another Rex The Dog album?
Yes! But it’s at that stage where it’s just a bunch of sketches and bleepy noises. Also, I’ve sampled so many old tracks that I might as well hire that lawyer now to get me out of prison.

What has been your favourite music this year, any new discoveries to watch out for?
Well, I keep mentioning Henrik José who is making kind of melancholic, electronic heartbreak music, he’s also made an audio visual thing called Photo Album, which is like an exhilarating collage of zaps and found-sound juxtaposed with dreamy holiday type footage. There’s one particularly good sequence with a kite. It’s sort of like that plastic bag sequence in American Beauty, but all brand new again. It’s on Vimeo somewhere and well worth clicking ‘full screen’ and getting lost in it.

(PR guy sidles over and reminds us that we are supposed to be talking about Rex’s new club night)

(THIS!!!!)

So! you are starting a night called BREED at Dalston Superstore this week, what can we expect from the night?
Ha ha! Yes! Well, it’s something I wanted to do for a long time, and it’s basically an excuse to throw a party where I can present a lot of my visual ideas, and have DJs and music that I really like. Everyone is going to play very electronic stuff but with a good party vibe.

We’ve also been building these Rex models, and printing a bunch of T shirts just for the party. Dalston Superstore is fantastic, it’s got like the perfect basement, with a really great warm sound.

Will there really be laser-eyed robo-rexes in the bar upstairs? I’d like to steal one.
There will be! Although due to a disagreement between a smoke machine and a fire alarm, the upstairs ones will have LED eyes instead of lasers. The downstairs Roborex will have proper lasers. Unfortunately, you can’t steal one because they’re programmed to explode exactly four seconds after being touched (they’re not)

What do you prefer, a spy car that flies or a spy car that goes underwater?
Oh come on, there has to be one that does both?

There isn’t…
Ok, well, I’m going for the flying one please, when can you deliver it?

When I get the Roborex..
Er, ok, it’s a deal!

Breed Podcast 3 – Rex The Dog
BREED Podcast 3 – Rex The Dog by rexthedog1980 [Download]

Tracklist -
1 Mario & Vidis – Changed feat Ernesto [Rex's School Project Edit]
2 Matias Aquayo – Dance Machine
3 Gesaffelstein – Atmosphere
4 Penguin Prison – Multi Millionaire – Robert Owens Remix/ italo edit
5 Yazoo – Goodbye 70s – sleazy edit
6 Gesaffelstein – Aufstand
7 Hermanos Inglesos – Take Me Down (Back to 1987 with Dave Glimmer Remix)
8 Congress – 40 Miles
9 Gesaffelstein – Glass