Chill Music welcomes Kirill Matveev, a producer, DJ and label owner of Mixcult and its many offshoots as well as a presenter of Mixcult Radio. We sat down to discuss his most recent vinyl release, a mix compilation on Moonglade Sound called ‘Transcend’, which showcased a slightly different style of music from the artist.
Hi Kirill, welcome to Chill Music, you have a new mix compilation out now entitled ‘Transcend’ on Moonglade Sound out of Bali, Indonesia. What does ‘Transcend’ sound like and how did you come to make this mix for the label?
Hi! Thank you so much for your interest in what we’ve done at Moonglade Sound!
Transcend LP is, for us, a soundtrack for life—I’d put it that way. I wanted to release something unique, something that would stay in a listener’s collection as something special, something worth discussing with a friend, something a record store owner would be excited to introduce to their customers. And ultimately, something that would still be interesting and enjoyable to listen to years down the line
What is your musical background? Can you tell us a bit about your roots?
Good question. The thing is, I only started to truly understand and define my musical roots relatively recently—about ten years ago—even though I’ve been spinning records for over twenty-five years. First and foremost, there’s dub—a sound I heard a lot in my youth but didn’t fully realize how much it influenced me. It turns out that most of the music that ends up in my DJ bag has traces of dub in it. And of course, there’s techno, especially the kind that was released in the second half of the ’90s.
It seems you’ve been championing and a respected figure in the world of dub techno for quite some time, this mix takes a different path somewhat sonically however, has this love of more experimental left field and chill sounds always been in your arsenal or is it an evolution of your taste in recent years?
Ever since I discovered trip-hop in my younger years, I’ve always paid attention to records in that style. But I never really focused on it or actively sought out that kind of music. A couple of years ago, someone suggested I record something in this vein, and after that, there was no stopping me. As a result, I now host a regular Moonglade Sound radio show on Bloop London Radio, airing every fourth Friday of the month. Let’s call it not an evolution but rather an expansion of my professional musical interests.
Beyond this project, you are dipping your toes into many other aspects of the music industry with your Mixcult imprints and its numerous sub-labels and we can see from Discogs that there are many, can you share with us a little about these various labels? What drives you to juggle all of these different sub-labels?
I receive a fair number of demos, and sometimes I realize that certain tracks simply must be released. As a DJ, I also don’t like to limit myself to strict stylistic boundaries. Essentially, I put out music that I would personally buy if I came across it in a record store. That’s why I had to create sublabels for different subgenres—to keep things organized instead of throwing everything into one big melting pot.
For example:
- Believe In Records focuses on electro & broken beats,
- Black In Stock is dedicated to deep, atmospheric dub techno,
- Panna Cotta Music releases groovy minimal house,
- Mud Trax is all about tech-house bangers, and so on.
If I ever start releasing indie rock or new wave, I’ll have to come up with a catchy name for that too! 
How has the mix compilation been received?
Right now, it’s hard to judge how the listeners have received this compilation—the record has just come out, so time will tell. But I have a feeling it won’t go unnoticed ))
Can you share with us one of your favourite chill-out tracks to conclude this interview?
Let’s go with Driving Force by Beat Pharmacy. I wouldn’t call it my absolute favorite track—I’m afraid I don’t have a single favorite—but it’s truly fantastic! Just listen to it!
It would be even better if I shared a link to my Moonglade Sound mix series playlist:
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