Marcos Mozen [Interview]

Hailing from Brazil but now calling Japan home, Marcos Mozen is perhaps best known for his work as Hoffmen, a progressive house alias which emerged in 2021 with releases via Late Night Recordings, KRSL and SoulArt Recordings, amongst others. The next two calendar years would see the Brazilian add key projects to his resume, recording EP’s for both Droid9 and Venture Records. 2024 would bring the dawn of a new era for Marcos, adopting his given name for his production work and creating his Hayashi Records imprint. Now, one release into the label's journey, Marcos presents his second artist EP for the imprint entitle 'Rover'.

Progressive Astronaut caught up with Marcos to learn more about the release of 'Rover', his background, electronic music in the Brazil, DJing, moving to Japan and much more. Enjoy

Hi Marcos, thanks for talking to us today. How has the first three quarters of the year been for you so far?

Hi Progressive Astronaut, thanks for the space. Well, it's been really cool and things started to get better after Hayashi Records released your first EP. We've had some great feedback from established artists like Armin Van Buuren, Loco Dice, Richie Hawtin, Mind Against, Maceo Plex, Joseph Capriati, Graciano Raffa, Danny Tenaglia and the legendary Paul Oakenfold. I was surprised to see them downloading the tracks and commenting.

Let’s look back on the year up to now, what gig of yours has stood out the most and why?

This year I have not played here in Japan, due the lack of opportunity, and I`m more dedicated do producing, but I gig that I really loved was on Club The Loft - São Paulo / Brazil , when I did an 8-hour set, it was very special because it was my last night in Brazil and 3 days later I moved to Japan.

Now let’s look at tracks (not your own), what is a track or tracks which have come out this year that has impressed you the most and why?

There are several, but this one by Polo(AR) - Bruto [Flow Records] I really liked, I'm drawn to bass, any track that has a strong bass line is my thing.

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? What does a day in your life look like?

Well, for now I live like a normal civilian, I wake up early, go to work, come back at night, stay in the studio for about 2 hours and the next day I do it all over again. It's quite different from the life of an artist who makes a living from music, travels to do shows, gives interviews, spends more time in the studio, etc.

For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you?

When I started producing in 2021, I tried to make sounds similar to those of the artists I liked. But over time, I found myself and today I feel very comfortable making my own sounds. I create a lot of stuff on the synthesizer, other times I modify samplers that I buy from Splice, packs from Dmitry Molosh or Guy J. In fact, I bought the latest pack that Guy J released called Elements and made Track Rover with the sampler from that pack.

How did growing up in Brazil affect your music taste and direction into becoming a DJ and producer?

I was exposed to music from a very young age because in my family I have a cousin who is a rapper, a brother who is a drummer and my father who was a musician. But the real turning point came in 1992, when I went to a matinee for the first time at a nightclub called Twists that was in my city. And there was a DJ named Ricardo Guedes. When I saw this guy playing, I was paralyzed. A lot of my musical taste arose because of him, because he played a lot of stuff that wasn't available in Brazil at that time. I remember it like it was yesterday when he played (House Of Gypsies – Samba [Tee's Freeze Mix]). That day, my heart boiled. From then on, my curiosity grew and I discovered other artists through the labels Strictly Rhythm, UMM Underground Music Movement and Nervous Records, where I met artists like Todd Terry, Hardrive, David Morales, Planet Soul, Armand Van Helden, among many others. Until 2021, I was just a DJ and because of the problem we were having with COVID19. I was depressed, sad to see what was happening to the world, I needed to keep myself busy somehow, since everyone was in lockdown, so I decided to learn how to produce. It was the best thing I've ever done in my life.

You relocated to Japan recently I think, please tell us why you decided to move, how it’s affected your creativity in the studio and how nightlife differs from Brazil to Japan.

Actually it`s been 24 years that I`m living in Japan, in 2000, things weren't going well in Brazil economically. I decided to go to Japan to work, save as much money as I could and then come back to Brazil to open a club. But that wasn't what happened. When I saw that I could earn much more than I imagined, I lost focus and started living like there was no tomorrow. At that time I wasn't a producer, I started going to clubs in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya more often and I noticed that the nightlife here is very different from the nightlife in Brazil. Japanese people really go to the club to see the artist. In Brazil, there isn't all this euphoria.

What were some of the clubs you went to early in your electronic music journey and were their specific nights or sets you heard which made you want to pursue DJing and production?

Yes, I used to go to Twists, Sollem, Emerald Hill, Dolce, The Loft. And here in Japan I used to go to Yellow, Womb, Underlouge, Sazae and Ageha. Every night I went to these clubs was magical for me, but there was one night in particular at the Yellow club when I went to see Hernan Cattaneo perform, where he did a 10-hour set. That day was incredible.

Who from your home country inspired you the most early on and why were they inspirational for you?

There are several, I really like the music of DJ Marky and Gui Boratto, both different styles, but I love their sound... But the guy I always followed was Ricardo Guedes, he inspired me until the last day of his life... What an incredible guy!!!

You have a new EP ‘Rover’, out now via your Hayashi imprint. Tell us a bit about the tracks and what sort of vibe you were going for on them.

The track ‘Rover’ is an infectious and growing groove, emerging melodies with a denser and more rhythmic ambience create a track with a hypnotic atmosphere. ‘Warehouse’ brings a perfect balance of fluid rhythms and a progressive groove, creating a dancefloor friendly track with smooth atmospheric textures, rounding off the EP with quality. This EP is a great gem for the dancefloor.

Is there a special meaning behind the track titles for you?

Yes, most of the time! When I’m producing, I put my feelings and desires into the track. One example was the Cordoba EP, which has 3 tracks named after cities in Argentina that I want to play in. I hope to be able to tour those places someday. I made Warehouse because when I was young I was a resident DJ at a club with that name. Anyway, everything I do has a meaning. Right now, I’m working on a 10-track album in tribute to Ayrton Senna that I’ll release in December 2025.

How much play have these tracks gotten in your sets and to what reaction?

I play them all the time, although I don’t have many tour dates, but every time I have played them they have had great results, small, dark clubs with a strong sound system, they have been well received.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily in your recent productions and more specifically on the ‘Rover’ EP?

For ‘Rover’ I used the sampler from the latest package that Guy J released called Elements, converted the sampler to midi and made a small change. And for Warehouse I did most of it in Diva, nothing extraordinary. Well, I have a 27 inch Mac, I just installed Ableton Live 12 and still need to install the Rolland and Arturia plug-ins, I have 4 Yamaha HS5 monitors, 1 Novation Launch Control XL controller, 1 synth Roland Juno DS-76, 1 Korg MIDI keyboard and in 2 weeks my Roland/JUNO-60 synth is coming. I am slowly building the studio but I am always buying something for the studio.

Now that you have your Hayashi imprint, what is the thought process in terms of where your new music goes? Does some of it get shopped to other labels first? Or how do you go about deciding what gets released on Hayashi and what doesn’t?

I will continue to send my tracks to labels that I like, but (if they don’t want to sign my tracks) I have my own label to do that. But I’m also willing to release tracks on other labels, as long as the other label wants it.

Why was this year the right time for you to start your own label and will you eventually be signing music from other artists?

I felt it was time to take another step in my career, I decided to do this to increase my chances of being able to promote my music. The intention was just to release my own tracks. But I changed my mind, I want to be part of the new generation that is emerging, I want to do Hayashi Records events not only in Japan, but in many parts of the world, I want to give opportunities to those artists who take music seriously and especially their career. The world today is very difficult, there are many greedy people who do not think about other people and this makes me very sad. Life is short and we all deserve to be happy. There are many artists who dream of coming to Japan, I would be very happy to be a bridge for these artists. That is why I want to dedicate myself and make Hayashi Records a giant in the scene.

Shifting to DJing for a moment, what were some of the main challenges and goals when starting out as a DJ and how have they changed over time?

From 1993, when I started, until the 2000s, the challenge for me was to keep people dancing. Back then, people were focused on the music. The DJ wasn’t the center of the party, and most of the time, people didn’t even know who was playing. (haha) The goal was always to keep a good mix so that people wouldn’t boo you. (hilarious). I’ve always been very focused, and over time, what was a challenge for me became part of me.

What is it about DJing, compared to producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?

For me, DJing and music production are two activities that complement each other. Both DJing and production are always interesting to me. Specially when I play my tracks and get a positive reaction, it is super rewarding.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks and perhaps also, your work as a producer?

As time went by, I gained more experience as a producer. I started to listen to music in a different way. I analyze every bar of a track and imagine how it was made. I pay a lot of attention especially to tracks by artists I admire.

How much prep do you put into the sets you play, or are they spontaneous for the most part?

100% spontaneous.

Current Top five tracks in your sets?

Marcos Mozen - In Dark We Trust (Unreleased)

Diego Moreira & Marcos Mozen - Mogura [Marcos Mozen Dub Remix] (Unreleased)

Marcos Mozen - Enter (Hayashi Records)

Marcos Mozen - Warehouse (Hayashi Records)

Marcos Mozen - Rover (Hayashi Records)

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

I have a pitbull, and when I’m not at any of those places or working on my business, I’m walking my dog and visiting friends.

If you could set up an event with a line-up of five artists of your choice, who would you book and what set times would you ascribe to the artists?

Simon Vuarambon (8:30 PM - 10:00 PM)
Khen (10:00 PM - 11:30 PM)
Guy J - (11:30 PM - 2:00 AM)
John Digweed B2B Hernan Cattaneo - (2:00 AM - 5:00 AM)

If you were not a DJ/Producer what do you think you’d be doing with your life?

I have no idea because I grew up listening to music. So honestly, I don't know.

What’s something people do not know about you?

That I'm a vegetarian.

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

I don't watch a lot of TV shows, but I did enjoy the 2004 series Lost and seasons 1 and 2 of Loki... after that, I've only watched movies.

Apart from music, what makes you happiest?

Being with my friends and traveling.

What can we look forward to from you for the rest of 2024? Any releases or gigs you are looking forward to?

I’m working hard to be able to give my best. Although, as I mentioned above, I don’t play shows very often due to lack of opportunities, so it’s hard to answer that question. If I were more well-known, I would definitely answer with great pleasure.

'Rover EP' is available now via Hayashi Records: https://tinyurl.com/5n7mrrsd