Joel Mull - CODEC - Los Angeles US - Jun 2007

Biography of Joel Mull

Joel Mull is one of those timid types that seems to achieve quietly. You don't hear of him releasing countless albums or playing 10-hour sets. Nor does he seem the type to draw attention to himself with boisterous antics or outspoken critiques. Yet while his name is not immediately synonymous with techno like say Jeff Mills, those who have heard his productions or his live sets can attest to the quality and commitment displayed by this Swede.

Born in 1975 in Stockholm, Joel's first exposure to sound was black and white-yes, he took to the piano. From there, it wasn't long until his curiosity and natural musical disposition led him to the keyboard, the drums and even things altogether more electronic-such as the synthesizer. His love of music too, was unrelenting for he spent some 6 years studying at the Adolf Fredrik Music School. And like many of the superstars before him, he spent much of his personal time enjoying the sounds of hip-hop, funk and new school electronic outfits like Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode. Add to that left-field inspiration from Miles Davis and Bj�rk Boards of Canada, Sigur Ros, and you begin to understand why his interests-much like his music-are particularly well rounded.

To this point though, his career aspirations remained vague and he was still undecided. It wasn't until 1991, that the young Swede experienced his first rave party and not surprisingly, was captivated by its scale and grandeur, not to mention its ability to coerce a certain emotiveness and positive sentiment. This was the glorious 90s-a period that had seen Detroit embellish itself firmly on the electronic map-while Europe and the rest of the world was playing catch up. His old school friend and general techno legend Adam Beyer, was already experimenting and it was at that time, Joel was introduced to the Technics turntables-and given the opportunity and encouragement to learn to mix records. Later, Peter Benisch (another of Swedish techno's quiet achievers) encouraged Joel to look further into production methods and sampling. And by 1993, Joel had purchased his first sampler to add to his growing collection of records. Many eons later, he finds himself between his laptop and extensive studio, pumping out the storming and the smooth-the sinister and the exciting. Life today is very different those of yesteryear-for no longer is he buying dozens of pieces of expensive equipment.

He garnered much respect with his early releases on Loop Records in 1995/6. He has also twiddled knobs for Jericho records as well as Primevil, Hybrid, L�sk, SVEK, Drumcode and Code Red. His discography is long and diverse and highlights his versatility as a superb DJ and producer who can lay down anything from the most driving tribal funk to the sweetest most luscious, complex sounds.

1997 he establishing his own label, InsideRecords, in an attempt to promote and publish music that he could have some control over. And today, in techno circles at least, this label is held in remarkably high esteem.

As a DJ, he represents his country consummately-at his best on 3 decks with a CDJ and Final Scratch in tow. He has been invited to DJ all over this little globe, at numerous clubs and parties. From Europe cross the Atlantic to US and South America, Asia and Australia. Between the years 96/98 he held a recidency at the famous Unit club in Hamburg/Germany. This was a special time in his career and gave him a good education in how to hold a dancefloor alive.

Today, his inspiration continues to be drawn from all and everything around him-from travel to people to music and anything else. No less, his cohorts from his native Sweden are no slouches either. On the contrary, the Swedes contingent is strong-yet alongside Beyer, Lekebusch, the Dahlb�cks, P�r Grindvik, Erik Prydz, Hardcell, Joel can truly hold his own. Remix work for everyone from the Advent to Ben Sims and Mhonolink, close the chapter. A quiet achiever yes-but not one to be underestimated.

http://www.railyardrecordings.com
http://www.myspace.com/joelmull