Rex the Dog gears up for Matter's Mixmag bash

Tell us a little about yourself, and your style of music

Well, in the studio, there is me and I control most of the equipment, but there is also Rex. He is my dog and he has an input too.

He does mostly 'executive production' but he is the other half of the band for sure. For our sound, well we're kind of influenced a lot by early 1980s synthpop and New York B-boy music but also by anything experimental that is going on with electronic music.

We make music to dance to, but we like to use melodies and make things feel emotional too.

You say that you're very into creating sounds from old 1970s synthesisers. What do you feel this brings to the music?

It is just a passion to use these old machines and experience a little of what it must have been like in the early days.

You have to struggle a little with the old synths but when you're lucky, and they're in the mood, they give you really good stuff.

For us it's a personal route to making music, rather than using too much software and stuff that everybody else has. If you are excited by the tools you are using, that can be a really good stimulus.

What came first - the interest in animation or music? How do you feel these things work together, and how do you reckon they add to the live experience?

They came at the same time from a very young age really, with flip books and sketchbooks and then I went to art school. And at the same time I was making music, at first with the little Casios, and then getting more serious as I became a teenager.

We use the animations as a big part of the live show because that represents the music how we see it. It locks in perfectly for us, because there is always that question about how to present electronic music live and give it some value beyond just pressing 'play'.

With animation and our synths, there is hopefully something exciting to watch that is energetic and different each time.

You've worked on remixes for bands such as The Prodigy, Depeche Mode and Soulwax. What's the secret to a great remix, and what process do you go through when you tackle a track?

The secret to a good remix is an amazing original track, which we've been lucky to have a few times. And then you can reframe things so that they are differently emphasized or give them a fresh style, or you can see if the track can do a new job, for instance work in a club.

The other secret, if the original components are not so great, is to be super lucky and have a fresh unrelated idea. This is much harder, because luck and deadlines don't mix. I think we find these remixes more difficult than other people.

What has been your favourite performing experience so far?

In the UK it has to be Matter. It is the best place for us to experiment with pushing the animation side of things, and the crowds have been great.

Matter has such a sophisticated visuals system, and each time we play there, they are pushing it a little harder. Last time we had four independent animations running in sync on four screens.

I am working with a second animator who is a technical hotshot and this time we are working closely with the lighting side also. It's a killer venue, state of the art in every way.

Where do you feel you fit in in the current music scene?

Ha ha, no idea! We just do what we feel.

Sometimes I think we are pretty cool, and that eventually people will hear about us in a big way. Sometimes I'm not sure. Rex is always sure: he thinks we is the king. His grammar is not so great.

What does the future hold for Rex the Dog?

More shows, bigger shows, and new music!

Which act are you most looking forward to seeing at the Mixmag party?

Actually, Killa Kela, I love watching a bit of human beatbox and I've seen him a couple of times before. So I hope our set times don't clash...

How do people get hold of your music once they've seen you at Matter, and where can they catch you next?

We actually play at The Royal Festival Hall supporting Royksopp the next day (Saturday April 11th) and then we come back to Matter again later in the Spring I think.

Music-wise, well we have our extended album coming out on CD and vinyl picture disc. I'm quite proud of the picture disc actually, it was really tricky to design. And there is a whole bunch of stuff on Beatport and iTunes or Amazon if you use that internet thing that everyone seems to be talking about ...

For more information, go to rexthedog.net