Set your stopwatches, this weekend horological hipsters Nixon are dashing through Munich with the next wave of artistic talent in tow for the ‘The Nixon Art Mosh’.
A mish-mash of graphic designers, painters, illustrators, photographers, DJs and VJs, The Nixon Art Mosh is creating quite the buzz with what promises to be a top pop-up ‘party with a purpose’. Making stops all around the globe, including London, Singapore, New York and Paris, this Sunday it touches down for two nights in Bavaria’s cultural capital, Munich. This year the mosh showcases the the work of budding creative talents including Brett Walker, George Morton-Clark, Orlando Campbell, Matt Small, Cheryl Dunn, David Bray, Greg Eason, Mc Bess, LG White, Best Ever, Crista Léonard and Adam Bricusse.
i-D online caught-up with one of the featured artists, Mox. Mr Mox will be on hand both nights of the Munich leg of the Mosh to provide an animated visual backdrop to DJ Kutmah’s beats. Renowned for his work with Coldcut and The Cinematic Orchestra amongst others, the part-time architect, part-time abstract moving image-maker took a break from making buildings talk, drawings dance and music come to life to give us the low down!
What was it like growing up in Poland? Well I travelled a lot with my parents, I spent quite a lot of time in Berlin, Budapest and Poland but it was always quite hectic because of the Iron Curtain and The Communist State. That whole part of Europe was messed-up. So already as a kid I saw the difference between West and East, in the architecture, roads, everything.
When did you start DJing? In the 90s techno and drum’n'bass kicked-off, I was organising parties and working at a techno magazine and brought some people, Goldie for example, from the UK to Berlin. 15 years later I signed with Ninja Tunes and ended-up in London, working with the same people who used to be my idols.
How did you move from DJing to making videos? When I DJ’ed I always wanted something visual behind me and I used a lot of abstract architectural animations. Then I started making music videos for tracks that had been released by Ninja. It was a totally cut and paste way of doing music videos.
Tell us about using stop-frame animation… I did it because I love the whole analogue thing. I’m still a really digital person, 3D animation has always been my thing. I mean, I don’t want to make the next Toy Story, I’m interested in physics and what happens with colours and how I can use the software in an interactive way.
Where do you go for inspiration? A lot of it is from architecture. I’m in this town Graz in Austria now and there’s this gallery here in a really crazy building, the Kunsthaus Gallery. Two years ago I made an installation on the façade of the building, me and these two pianists. We did this crazy show with the building reacting to the music.
What attracted you to The Nixon Art Mosh? I like the freedom – I can play whatever I want, project whatever I want. It’s difficult presenting live shows, because I do them and then that’s it; if you weren’t there you missed it but that’s what makes it exciting.
What’s next? Working with Coldcut on their next album. Collaborating on the audio-visual concept for this new upcoming producer called MOIRE, which is going to be like a 3D thriller with a soundtrack (check it out here). I’m also working with Toddla T and his new live show that will have its premiere on his tour with MAJOR LAZER.
The pop-up Nixon Art Mosh takes place from 29th to 30th January, 7pm – 12am, Praterinsel.
cargocollective.com/moire
moxlive.tv
Text: Felicity Kinsella
