Floex & Tom Hodge: The 'Monday Is Okay' Mix

Music

After a chance meeting at Berlin Festival 2014, Czech composer/artist Tomas Dvorak (aka Floex) and UK composer/pianist Tom Hodge (of Piano Interrupted) began a long-lasting collaboration that finally resulted in this year's A Portrait of John Doe, an album recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Described as a response to today's "unceasing pursuit of efficiency, singularity and uniqueness", the album blurs the lines between classical, jazz and experimental electronic music.

Ahead of the duo's live tour in November, Floex has put together this great Monday Mix for us. Featuring music from the likes of Matthew Dear, Alex Smoke and Olaf Stuut, dig in below…

Please introduce yourself – who/where/what are you?

We are Floex and Tom Hodge and we are delighted to say we have just recently put out a collaborative record called A Portrait of John Doe, out everywhere on MKX right now!

Tell us about the Monday Mix you've put together for us. Where was it recorded?

TH: Tomas has taken the lead on this, but I can safely say it was recorded in his studio in Prague, where we did all our work together.

FX: There are some really classic tracks many people will recognise and some less known as well. I hope what makes it really interesting is the “mix” experience. We have included a few recent remixes of the tracks from our brand new album, particularly Max Cooper and Deltawerk. They are so cool and it was just impossible to resist to not to include some more personal stuff in the mix. Also there are some really old tracks and brand new one, I really like to mix tracks from different times, I am not searching only for brand new stuff.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

FX: I don't mind if it's club or bedroom, I just imagine this mix starts to seduce the listener with a more gentle vibe and then slowly hooks them to dance.

What should we be wearing?

TH: A nice tuxedo would probably cover all eventualities.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix?

TH: Somewhere with a lot of green tea/coffee.

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

FX: That's a really hard question. Just to choose one, I really love the opening track “Polygon Vista” by Olaf Stuut, it has this super timeless mood of the early electronica and incredible, kind of improvised organicity. That's why I put it side by side to a very old Aphex Twin track “Mookid”.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

FX: Definitely the starting track. Often I try to think about something but in the end, when seeing the real situation I change it completely.

Who got you hooked on electronic music?

FX: It wasn't Kraftwerk, or Depeche Mode, I actually hated this music. When I heard the first track from FSOL, Mouse On Mars or Aphex Twin, it changed my life.

What were the first and last records you bought?

FX: First, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 by Aphex and the last one Super Flu's remix of Max Cooper's 'Miocence', which is a really incredible track.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

FX: Taste of green tea, particularly Long Jing, which is the best taste I know. It would be served in a coffee place, all the people around would just drink coffee, only this one particular person would have the green tea, because they know what is the best.

If it was an animal what would it be?

FX: Green dragon

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

FX: Usually my own music, haha. Except the remixes, that's why I started to make them a bit more clubby.

TH: I actually can’t mix anything so I had to ask Floex.

What are you obsessed with at the moment?

TH: Coffee

FX: Green tea

What's your answer to everything?

TH: Coffee

FX: Green tea

Anything else we need to discuss?

TH: Well.. we’d love to mention that we are off on a live tour in November promoting our record. It’s going to be a lovely audio-visual experience with light balloons floating above our heads projecting a virtual symphony orchestra. Come and say hi!

Tracklist:

Olaf Stuut – Polygon Vista
Aphex Twin – Mookid
Arovane – Tascel 7
Floex & Tom Hoge – Prelude I (Deltawerk Remix)
Floating Points – Ratio
Super Flu – V13a
Calvin Fello – Where Are We Going
Four Tet – Planet
Stephan Bodzin – Strand
Floex & Tom Hodge – John Doe Arise (Max Cooper Remix)
Deltawerk – Departer
Kirilik – Plumberphonic
Yaeji – Raingurl
Matthew Dear – Send You Back
Mathew Jonson – Kissing Your Eyes (Tale of Us Remix)
Pezzner – Stop
Alex Smoke – Make My Day (Lusine Remix)
Zabelov Group – Lek (Floex Remix)
Floex & Tom Hodge – Prelude I