Movements is the long-awaited forthcoming release from burgeoning producer and composer Mazoulew, set to drop in October. An accomplished balance and variation of sounds, the record shifts deftly from the shimmering, sun-infused melodic techno sounds of ‘Ditto’ and ‘Ki Lo’; to the stunning, sultry and affecting themes of ‘Overture’, ‘Burnt’ and ‘Tourist’ — each cinematic offering a testament to Mazoulew’s neoclassical and ambient roots.

Already landing support from Jaguar on BBC Introducing Dance and Sian Evans on BBC Radio 1’s Chillest Show, Mazoulew reveals the latest single ‘Tourist’, distributed via The Orchard.

Mazoulew’s mature evolution as an artist influenced by his introverted and soothing surroundings illustrates a rising star in the making. Having already made his mark in electronic music as a collaborator, working with some of the UK’s most influential artists, 2018 saw Mazoulew progress as a solo artist with his debut Pangaea EP. He’s now received loyal backing for ‘Kin’ ft. Handbook from Jaguar on BBC Radio 1 and repeated plays for ‘Overdue’ from Tom Robinson on 6 Music Introducing.

Also making waves across the pond, ‘For You’ ft. Sebastian Davidson caught the attention of US tastemakers with heavy rotation on Sirius XM. Meanwhile, Australia’s Triple J has had his remix of Edapollo ‘Gold Light’ ft. Akacia locked on repeat, marking Mazoulew as one to watch with global appeal.

‘Ki Lo’ is set for release on Sep 3, with the full Movements EP dropping Oct 15.

WWD: Where in the world are you? How’s your summer been so far?

Hi, thank you for having me here. I left London at the end of last year, I had been in the city for over 12 years and just felt like I needed a little bit of time to clear my head and experience a new environment. I have moved to Italy, just outside Milan. Being here in the countryside has given me the opportunity to recentre myself and explore some new ideas. Escaping the noise of the city I think has had quite a profound impact on this record as it has allowed me to focus on much smaller, more intimate sounds and textures. It has been exciting for me to tap into those more delicate details.

WWD: Can you remember how and when you first got into electronic music? Why did it capture you?

I first got into electronic music when I was around 13 I guess. All my friends at the time were older then me and were all making hiphop and D&B so I very much grew up in that culture. My best mate from my home town used to make and perform live D&B that was all sequenced on two Korg Electribes that were synced over a midi cable — there was no computer involved and at the time I just found this so inspiring and immediately knew it would be a driving factor that got me involved in music.

WWD: Where were you at that time? What events and artists inspired you?

So at that time I was living in Hertfordshire and we were very much about putting on our own nights. We were equally lucky to have a number of small venues that we could rent but also being in the countryside, during the summers we would hold parties in the forests and those were a lot of fun. As I got a little older I would move to Cambridge and then onto London, again just feel very lucky that there is such a diverse array of clubs and venues to choose from.

WWD: What about nowadays? Your Movements EP is super-eclectic — could you tell us about the concept? What’s the story behind it?

Thank you very much. So yeah I guess it is fairly eclectic, I personally like to cover a lot of ground in my music. I feel like being confined to a specific genre or tempo really stifles creativity and can potentially lead to music becoming too safe in a way. When I am writing I like to approach each record in a new light and explore ideas that excite me. My inspiration comes from a very wide range of music and sounds so I guess that translates into my own work. The only thing that I really feel is important is that the record has an underline continuity and ‘sound’ to it which can be defined as the artist in question. It doesn’t matter if you are making a piece of ambient or hip-hop or electronica, to me, its the harmonic choices, the timbres, the way in which elements are compiled together that gives an artist their own personal sound.

WWD: Artist-wise who would you say was most influential with regard to your own sound, and its development?

I take influence from such a wide range of places it’s really difficult for me to pin down any one person as my biggest influence. Also I find myself taking inspiration from outside of the world of music to be honest, If I am writing music the last thing I want to do is draw inspiration from other musical works. Instead I would look for inspiration in cinema, architecture, literature and nature even. Someone asked me recently who I would like to sound like and I find that a strange question, I guess when I was younger I would think to myself that I would ‘really like to sound like that person’. The older I get and the more time I spend working on my music the less I want to sound like anyone else and the more I want to sound like myself.

WWD: We understand you’re working on a new live show — could you talk us through your studio / live setup?

Given the year we have all just had with Covid and so on, my plans for the live show have actually been pushed back into the new year. For now I am focused on a bit of travelling and writing a new record for 2022. All of this work, past and future will then be considered for the live show. For me I love the intimacy of writing a record for personal listening but of course it is a very different experience and approach when putting together a live set. With this considered some of the works will be revised, extended and even remixed into a more live show format. I will be using Ableton in conjunction with a bunch of other toys so I would say, stay tuned for that as it should be quite exciting.

WWD: And what about your creative process? Do you keep to a set routine / schedule? What does a day in the life of Mazoulew look like?

I don’t really think of it as a set routine as such but yeah I am working on things everyday. If I am in the studio I am always chucking round new ideas and working on new projects. Working in isolation can be a curse and subsequent blessing, you have no external distraction of course but in that you are left with just you and your ideas, this can sometimes be challenging and mentally draining of course.

Always searching for new concepts and ideas takes a lot from a person so of course there are days where you can feel like you have nothing to give to the world. Still the only thing you can do realistically is keep pushing on and trying. I don’t think any of us do this out of choice so to speak, it’s more a need. I need to create as that is what I am meant to do.

WWD: What else have you got coming up? What are you looking forward to?

I am aiming to get my new record finished up before the summer of next year and as I say start to formulate the live show alongside that. It’s going to be a busy couple of months between now and then. I have been asked by quite a lot of people to get involved with collaborations and remixes but I have been a little hesitant to take anything on as I am really trying to focus on my own work at the moment but I am sure some joint projects will be coming in the coming months. 2022 will be a ‘fresh start’ for a lot of people I think so for me it will be here trying to write the soundtrack that will carry people through that.