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Meschi Talks & Aural Delights

 
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Meschi is a Glasgow born London talent with a building discography and already solid house reputation. Having started the revered online house/techno site This Is our House focusing on the rawer and more analogue sides of the scene, he's also had releases through Lux Rec, Lunar Disco and Boe Recordings, showing a flare for a more skittering Chicago style and rapid percussion bombardments alongside womb-shaking basslines.

Aheaad of his Streets of Beige this Friday we caught up with him for a little chin wag and to hear what he had to drop on our aural doorstep… check the super fine mix at the bottom of the interviw…

How are you today Paul?

I’m good, had a very busy day in work, just cycled home and happy to be here. Been listening to mixes all day and really looking forward to Friday.
 
What was the last song you listened to before our interview and how has it affected your day?
 
I’ve actually just listened to a new NCW track on Apartment Records. It’s just about to come out, or come out already. The EP’s called ‘Pharaoh and Goose’, like a sort of free jazz Theo Parrish work out. I’ve included this in the promo mix I’ve done for the night. I tend to listen to more relaxing music after a hard day’s graft, and this one’s settling me into the evening nicely.
 
What was the first song you heard that turned you on to house music?
 
When I think back to it, this is quite a hard question. Back in Glasgow my older brother Frank Mitchell and his friends were always listening to great music and I think at a time when I was buying a lot of drum and bass, a friend played us ‘Tessio’, Luomo’s Present Lover album on Force Tracks and the beauty of that track has stayed with me a long time.
 
How did you start out Djing/producing?
 
I started learning piano when I was about 5, and went through jazz and classical exams fairly early in life, I then went on to playing bass in various metal bands through my teenage years until about 15 when I bought some old Omnitronic turntables and some hip hop records from a friend. I then couldn’t stop buying records and the more mixes and music I heard, the more I wanted. At about 21 I thought I’d start playing around with making music and see what comes of it. I think the early years of piano playing and music theory definitely comes in very handy.
 
Where did you grow up? And how do you think this affected your musical influences and journey to where you are now?
 
I grew up in Glasgow and was surrounded by a lot of great characters who were passionate about a lot of different music. Growing up with a crowd like that, it was always and has always been about having a good time and music was central to that. I then moved to London when I was 18 and was blown away by the city and its influence on me through club nights, music and the people I’ve met has been huge.
 
If you had to give you're music a personality, what would it be?
 
Curious and mathematical
 
What are your thoughts on the recent resurge in vinyl labels and the renewed interest in vinyl and sound quality?
 
About 5 years ago, everyone was saying vinyl was dead, that sales were going down and record stores were shutting left right and centre, and I enjoy the fact that that’s just not the case. I’ve never seen so many interesting new labels starting up releasing such great music. I think the interest shown in these labels proves that there is a dedicated base of music listeners out there who will always buy vinyl, and so long as that base doesn’t just get older without passing on the merits and passion of vinyl – as was passed down to me – it will always be bought and listened to.
 
Would you say you're at the forefront of that movement?
 
I would say anyone who is regularly supporting their local record shop and buying vinyl, and supporting smaller underground vinyl labels (as well as the more established ones) is at the forefront of that movement.
 
How did This Is Our House start?
 
I started it up with Mother (Mark Maxwell) and Frank Mitchell (the brother). We have hung about together for a long long time and were always sharing music, introducing new stuff and really digging what most of us are into it separately. So I decided I’d like to start a site to write about good shit, doesn’t have to be house music, but just good shit. Then it sort of quickly evolved into doing reviews, interviews and feature articles, some amazing guest mixes by some brilliant DJs and artists. We then got Nigel (Perseus Traxx) on board and Don O’Kane (in my opinion one of the best and often overlooked DJs I know).
 
What are your plans next for it? Have you any plans for a label?
 
Well we’ve just been hooked up with a monthly radio show on www.myhouseyourhouse.net which is really exciting. It starts Tuesday 18th September between 9pm and 11pm GMT and will run every four weeks. Frank and I will be starting up a low key night in Stoke Newington that’s dedicated to bringing in a lot of unknown, or lesser played DJs. The guys and girls around who run nights and labels and who never get the slot their talent and passion deserves. The unseen behind the scenes you know?
 
There’s always plans for a label but just waiting for the right time to pounce on that. In the meantime A project I’ll be starting up is a cassette tape label that will be releasing some weird and wacky shit, but all good. First out will be a brilliant modular drone soundtrack from a Brutalist Architecture photography exhibition produced by Aleks Jurczyk from Glasgow and got some more dark, crazy weirdness lined up for that too. That should be happening early next year.
And got a ton of other plans for numerous projects over the next year or two.
 
What's coming up release-wise for Meschi?
 
Next up is my full EP on Boe Recordings called Rural Transmissions. I have a remix of a track from a new Glaswegian producer caller Alex-Ander. I have an ambient project that will be released under Paul Mitchell with Tabernacle records. I have a track on a various artists release from JAM Traxx and a track from a various artists release on Photec Fields, a new label out of Holland. So enough to keep me busy for the time being, and I’ll be putting together a house album for release next year.
 
Finish this sentence. "CDJs are good for… A) DJing, B) cheating, C) supporting mugs of hot tea.
 
CDJs are good for DJing, cheating and supporting mugs of hot tea. Apologies for the ridiculous diplomacy of this answer, but I believe it to be true in all respects, it depends how you use them, when you use them and why you use them. For example, people like Mick Wills use them for some amazing edits.
 
What's the strangest place you've ever woken up?
 
On a recent trip to Croatia, whilst we were travelling the country, I woke up in the middle of nowhere, under huge pine trees with the loudest crickets you’ve ever heard. I remember it being very sci-fi at the time.
 
Who is your favourite new artist?
 
Auntie Flo, soon to be legendary Glasgow artist.
 
Who is your most underrated musical legend?
 
Edgar Froese, although hardly underrated for anyone who has never heard of this legend of the Kosmische scene… set aboot it!
 
Top 5 Vinyl-Only Labels?
 
Apartment Records
Workshop
MOS
Signals
Novel Sound

Meschi plays Streets of Beige this Friday alongside Italojohnson & Tony Lionni. Full details here.