On December 5th the Mixmag Christmas Party will blow the capital away once again with a line-up so huge that only the world’s biggest and best dance music magazine could possibly have put it together.

Dont Stayin.com caught up with our upcoming guest Rex The Dog a few weeks before his appearance at the Mixmag Xmas party to have a good old chin wag about his influences, his views on the current music climate and what the future holds.....

1. You use a lot of varied and old school keyboards to make music, creating a unique 70’s sound, who is your biggest influence from this time? And from today?

Ooh from the 70s it would be Kraftwerk I think. ‘Neon Lights’ and ‘The Robots’ especially. Then in the early 80s it would be Mute Records, like Daniel Miller’s early production on Warm Leatherette and the first Depeche Mode album. I bought our Korg 700S and Arp 2600 pretty much because of those records. Things from today that are influential seem to be quite Swedish at the moment, John and Jesper Dahlback and Familjen

2. What do you think about the current movement in minimal techno? Do you find your own music suits this?

The term minimal has been around a while now, and when I started making records with Rex, we sort of fitted in, in an over the top way, with that scene. It was cool to be glitchy and a bit mad sounding. But now I think that super smooth digital minimal thing is not really where we’re at.

3. What are your top tips when producing a new record?

Ha ha, the best tracks we’ve made have been made by accident when we’re trying to do something else. So the best tip would be, forget your expectations, push yourself, and try to have fun. Harder to follow than it sounds!

4. What’s the craziest gig you’ve played over the years? Which DJs really know how to throw a party?

At the moment, we love Fanklub DJs out of Antwerp, they always throw amazing parties. They do their own thing and have their own special crowd. Apart from that though, the craziest gig so far would be, erm, Fortdance in Russia I think, where it takes place in a fort on an abandoned island. The only way to get there is by boat (unless you’re super famous and you can go in a helicopter). Great gig, the only downside to the fort is that it stank.

5. What’s been the ultimate highlight for you along the way?

Actually, a really big highlight just happened! I’ve been making animations for a while that go alongside the music, and for a while I’ve been experimenting with cardboard models and stop-motion. I never really had the experience or skills to make a full length piece, but recently we hooked up with an amazing French director who took the rough movies I’d made and built a whole video around it. It’s coming as the video for our next single Bubblicious. And it’s mega exciting. It’s all done with cardboard.

6. If you could party with 5 people, dead or alive, who would they be?

Andy Warhol. ET, Snoopy, Afrika Bambaata, Michael Mayer. (ET would be the waiter, until midnight when he would be allowed to cut loose).

7. In your opinion what are the best and worst things about the music scene currently?

Hmmm, I don’t know that I can pick clear answers to that. I get a bit bored by distorted repetitive rowdy music that doesn’t have any melody or emotional element. And there’s a lot of it. The best thing is that we’re not stuck with just that sound, and that it’s always changing

8. What has been the ultimate tune of 2008 for you?

I’m still really into Hot Chip’s ‘Ready For The Floor’ . Extended Mix is the one… I love the bassline.

9. You’re playing at the upcoming Mixmag Christmas Party, are you looking forward to this? Any weird and wonderful things in store for us?

Totally excited! Hopefully Rex will come. He stays home for most gigs, but as it’s Christmas I may get his doggy earplugs out. If he hasn’t eaten them already.

CHECK OUT REX ON THE DOG ON THE NET

www.rexthedog.net

LIMITED £12 tickets available from www.ticketweb.co.uk

ALSO ADDED TO THE LINE UP TODAY TIMO MASS AND SANTOS