For guest mix 148 I invited Mihut. He’s a Romanian DJ and producer who’s been active in Helsinki since 2015. He started making (FM)waves first at Bassoradio, then later moved to Radio Helsinki and he also runs The Sound Collective, a label connecting artists in Helsinki and Bucharest.

He’s a equally comfortable playing in small rooms and larger stages. naturally shifting between downtempo jazz-leaning moods, minimal house, deep house and techno. Always focused on tight selection and groove he moves comfortably between new material and older cuts, which is evident in the deep & dreamy mix he prepared for us.

Let’s dive in!

Hi there, how’s things Mihut? Can you introduce yourself briefly to our listeners?

Hi, all good! First and foremost, thank you for the invite. I am Mihut, a Romanian DJ, record collector and producer based in Helsinki and writing this as I fly back from Romania, so things are beautiful and hectic.

What’s been keeping you busy of late?

DJ gigs are constantly picking up after the pandemic, both local and international gigs, but also I am trying to spend more time in the studio and make music. Currently working on an ambient project with my Romanian colleague Romulus C, some interesting music that became alive in the theatre world. 

I run my label, THE SOUND COLLECTIVE, that I started during the pandemic, mixing both of my worlds, Romania and Finland, and try to create a musical bridge between the two, not focusing on one genre but more on good music that I like and want to put out there. 

I also have a deep connection for radio, and I am fortunate enough to host a show on Radio Helsinki, that should resume its brake really soon. 

What’s been keeping you busy of late?

As I mentioned, dj gigs, just played Electric Castle festival in Romania, with my duo project named Helsinki to Bucharest and also producing with Aleksi Myllykoski the Grotesk + events where we invite some amazing dj’s, upcoming Cassy and Paramida. 

Professionally I do sound and acoustic installations, some interesting projects coming, but we have some cool bars and restaurants now with really good setup, such as Teller and Shelter restaurants, first one with Klipsch horns and second with Bowers & Willkins. 

Do you have any fond musical memories from your childhood?

My parents made me take piano lessons for years, hated them back then, haha, but love the fact that I know how to read notes and make harmonies.  

What drove you to electronic music in the first place?

I come from a musical loving family. As a kid, my father used to listen cassette tapes and records of Vangelis and Jean Michelle Jare, Pink Floyd, lots of blues. Being in the art school all my life, I started hanging put with the older crowd that were traveling abroad and were bringing cd’s, so I started getting to know the Love Parade compilations, Westbam, Sven Väth, Prodigy, and slowly started getting really into it. 

What about DJ’ing, and how did you get started?

The first time I touched a deck was at Celentano beach in Mamaia, the place where Sunwaves festival is now. It was 1999 and I painted a mural on a wall and started toying around with their decks and loving it. 

After that, in 2001, moved to Cluj Napoca and started working in a club and basically that was it, been playing eversince. 

Name a few records or songs that had a big impact on you in your early days and why?

Depends how back in the days. 

Way way back :

Sven Vath – Harlequin, the beauty and the beast
Prodigy – Weather experience 
Deep Forest – Sweet lullaby 
Prodigy – The weather experience 

Not so way back: 

Ricardo Villalobos – Andruic
Azymuth – Jazz carnival (Global communications space jazz mix ) 
Jean Caffeine – Jeans Afterthought 

Do you have any memorable experiences to share from your early days as a DJ?

Margaret Dygas getting me drunk in 2001 or 2002, don’t recall the exactly, that was a night I still remember, and opening for Dave Clarke in 2000 or 2001, talking to him for like 30 min, before I learned who he is (back then internet was a rarity and didn’t know how he looked like 😅 ) 

You are an avid vinyl fan and record collector. Tell us a little about your collection and how you go about finding records to buy?

My collection is purely records I love. I just buy stuff I really want to have on vinyl, from any genre. I don’t buy from Discogs much lately, shipping costs and grading badly made me avoid it, usually when I travel I always visit one, two record stores. And lately lots of classic records got repressed so I bought them. 

As a DJ, you’re known for your extensive knowledge of music – ranging from Jazz to techno to trance and everything in between. How has your collection expanded over the years – is your approach systematic or organic?

There is no system. I like I buy. I like to ask the record shop guys to recommend me local stuff, to discover good labels or artists. Of course, there are some records that where on my wish list for years till I got my hands on a copy, or some I still look for. Can be 10 years till I find a copy. 

When you select records for your sets, what’s your approach like?

Off, this is a tough question. I don’t really prep my sets in detail. Of course depends on the slot I play, but I usually choose some of the new records I got and some old weapons. 

Do you have any good stories to share about the live shows or DJ’ing?

My last gig at Electric Castle was special, it was my birthday, and its a place where there are lots of friends, including the two stage managers, and just before I played Mitäs Mitäs festival, last slot, 5 degrees and we all took the cold like superstars and just enjoyed the music. 

Name three to five secret weapons that you almost every time carry in your bag?

Hmm, this is a good one. 

Jean Caffeine ep is almost always in the bag. 
Audio werner – Maruki. Ah, so many of his stuff is great. 
Laurence guy – saw you for the first time 
Dj Q – Superclique , one of the best tech house tunes there is. 

What have been your most memorable record finds? Any good stories?

Barcelona flea market Moodyman and Three Chairs unofficial press. The record had nothing marked, no catalog number, nothing, 1 euro. I usually take a chance on those, as you never know. This really paid off, it a rare expensive record and hard to find. 

Do you have a comfort record, one you can put on that makes you feel good no matter what?

Thievery Corporation Symphonik  and first Vilod album. 

I just need to ask, how’s your vinyl record collection organised? 

Genre / alphabet and in some sub group as label or artist (for example Cabaret or Perlon as I have so many ot them) 

Name five tracks or releases that are currently on heavy rotation?

Tino – set you free 
Mountain People – memorandum 
Brett Johnson – When i get home ( main version ) 
Housey doingz – fonky 
Benedict – can’t stop 

Who are the artists and DJ’s you think deserve more attention than they get currently?

I will stick to mostly to the local ones, in Finland we have amazing selectors and Dj’s, like Mongi and Si mon, Ed Kim, Flink, Tatu Turunen and Henri Michael, Valeria Croft, who also produce, and nowadays Sagwa, who started DJing recently but her love for the music is undeniable. 

From Romania I want to mention Eirwud Mudwasser, who I got to know recently, thru the amazing venue Bar ton in Bucharest. He is dj-ing, producing, but is an amazing humble guy, who I would love to spend more time with. 

And from Barcelona, he is Romanian but based there, Erast. He has an amazing selection, but he needs to move his ass and play more. 

Tell us about your shows on Radio Helsinki?

After Basso Radio died, a whie after I moved to Radio Helsinki, and in paralel was doing another show with the label in Uk on Komrad. That went silent because of some politics, but trying to resume it on Ida Radio ( writing with them as we speak,  fingers crossed ). 

But Radio Helsinki being on FM as well, was always the main one. 

How did you get started and how have the shows evolved?

Bad Neighbors is a show about music exploration and people from different worlds showcasing their love for music. We play ambient, drum and bass, garage, jazz, minimal house and anything in between. 

What has been the most rewarding part of running the shows?

Getting to know people and what they love musically, and being in the studio. I hate pre recorded shows, I love being in the studio and make the show live. 

Any good stories to share from the past shows?

A good show was with my ex University colleague, Mihaela Noroc, about her round the world trip shooting for her book The Atlas of Beauty, interviewed her after she was on Oprah!! 

And the second one, my once a year special with Paleface, the drum and bass edition where the whole studio was trembling. That was proper fun. 

Any plans for the coming months?

Releasing a new Ep on the label, the first drum and base one, finishing the Grotesk + special events, and I am due to make a couple of remixes. 

Did DJing eventually turn your attention into making music or was it always there right from the beginning?

I started Dj-ing first, but being a technical guy and love exploring technology and how it interacts with music, I started slowly buying gear and trying all sorts of setups till today where I have a full size studio. 

How have you evolved as a producer? 

Off, slowly. I think my studio setup evolved more than I did, but it helps me evolve with it. 

Are there any new tools or musicians or artists who have recently inspired you?

Tools not really, maybe just speaker wise, as I am doing mastering and I got the new Barefoot footprint speakers and they blew my mind. 

Roberto Rodriguez always blows my mind, I mastered his ambient album and its absolutely a must check. He always supported me as well, from the Bassoradio days. 

I want to mention Aleksi Myllykoski, who I dare to say we became really close, and we have this thing where we push each other to do more and more, but his label, Signature dark, that also released Roberto’s album, is definitely a must check. 

Out of your own releases, which do you have the strongest bond with and why is that?

Heavenly without a doubt. It came out when I had a some sad personall happening in my family.  

First Ep came out as two original tracks, one ambient and one a stip down club version, and after came Heavily remixes, where close friends and artists did their take on it. 

What does the coming 12 months hold for you in regards of releases, collaborations etc.?

12 months is far away. My schedule is so hectic that in 12 month anything can happen. 

But really focusing on creating the live act with my really talented geek Romulus C, finish the remixes and create an ambient album which is currently in progress. 

Next Ep out in the label, is from Henri Michael, a drum and bass one, and one track fratures Paleface rapping.

What’s your setup like and how do you work on music (process, themes, details)? 

I don’t like working with my laptop, just to polish track. All the gear in my studio is synced up, so I like to do live jams, record, cut edit and done. 

What’s your current favorite piece of kit? 

Hmm, i-instruments sx1 and recently i got the amazing ASR sampler. 

So the livesets, I assume you leave a lot of room for improvisation. How has your liveset evolved during the years and how does it work currently? Please go into details 🙂

I only had a live performance in Metsala, before the pandemic. 

It was really fun, nerve racking buy fun. 

Romulus ( Romi for short ) lives and breathes ableton, so everything starts from his side. I am on the analog side clocked up by his ableton. 

Before we were using a Mackie analog mixer now we switched to Roland mx-1 which syncs also well with the roland tr-8 ( with the 4×4 pack ) and the roland tr-8s. 

Also we switched to Arturia mikrofreak as a synth, actually there is so much you can do with it. 

We are still looking at bass synths for live, i have the korg ms-20 but its hard to move it around. We will see !! 

What have been the most rewarding parts of playing live?

The end of the gig knowing you didn’t mess up or that something didn’t stop working and the people danced on the music. 

The Sound Collective is your label – tell us about your vision for the label and what’s in the pipeline?

The labels vision was to make a bridge between artists from Finland with artists from Romania. In the pandemic I put together two different VA’s, first one with only Finnish artists and the second one a mixture between Finns and Romanians. And what an amazing bunch of artists we got from both sides. 

I only have one Ep decided for the near future, the drum and bass one I mentioned earlier, but I am constantly looking. If anyone reads this, shoot some music. 

Pick one release out of the catalogue and tell us a story behind it, please?

Paul Ilea’s Atlantis album. Paul is a really talented producer from Romania, he makes so much stuff, musical produc of The Voice, movie, theatre. His album is a musical journey, Atlantis was performed live by the sea, in a remote Mediterranean location, video recorded and can be watched on youtube. The audio recording was cut and mastered and packed into an album. Must check. 

Where do you find the music and the artists for the label? 

Mostly friends, but I am always open to suggestions. Sometimes I stumble on some good music and contact the artist and put it out. 

What has been the most rewarding part of running the label?

The VA’s. Having artists from Helsinki put together with big Romanian artists that they looked up to was a good moment.

What’s your take on the current state of electronic music?

Unfortunately I think its pretty devided, turning more into a business. I understand financials are important, but it should be more about music. Electronic music started as a underground movement for people to express who they are. I believe there should be space for everyone, all people, music genres, promoters. 

Let’s talk about Helsinki. Can you talk about your beginnings?

I moved to Helsinki and didn’t know anyone. I got to know Susanna Nuutinen and she started talking me places and got to meet Oded Peled and Roberto Rodriguez. 

Robe was the one that entrusted me with a Basso radio slot and Jenny and Jimi ( Metsala guys ) were the first ones to book me. From there was a fun rollercoater till today. 

What’s the scene like today?

Helsinki has a small but dynamic scene, with big differences between summer and winter in the type of events. Unfortunately we don’t have the audience and budgets to bring some Dj’s we would want to listen, and the few venues that can are too focused on one two genres of music. But don’t want to complain, we had some amazing events with the artists that we love, to mention Laurence Guy last year. 

I would want maybe the young generation to take a step back and enjoy all kind of music, everything is so fast paced nowadays. 

Can you name a few local acts, events or locations that should be on people’s radar?

If you love house music Grotesk + events. 

Summer super vibe always the guys from Nitkulaasko and their summer madness, and the rooftop by Alexis with daytime dj’s thru the summer. 

Of course, the classic proper clubs, but everyone knows those. 

So the mix, can you tell us a little something about that? 

I always get weird when I need to record a mix, because I want to fit so much and go thru so much music. Let’s say its new and old stuff I really love and wanted people to listen.