One of the hottest names in British hip-hop, Hudson Mohawke aka Hud Mo is a producer who is helping define a new era for hip hop and electronic music, making raw, soulful, golden-era hip-hop that is at times reminiscent of a young Prince dabbling with 1990s UK dance music.
Hudson Mohawke’s youth belies the fact that he has had a long and varied history as a producer and DJ. Starting out in Glasgow with gigs for Subcity, he moved on to become the producer in the Hip-Hop combo Surface Emp, who were part of the collective (along with Rustie, The Blessings and others) which would become LuckyMe. He attributes his deconstructive production style to an early involvement in turntablism, being at the age of 15 (under the name DJ Itchy) the youngest ever UK DMC finalist.
His first official release to get major notice was Trace on the Rush Hour compilation Beat dimensions Vol 1, in 2007, which then lead to a release entitled Free Mo, a track on the Ubiquity Records compilation Choices, Vol. 1; subsequently, he was featured as a remixer on Choices, Vol. 2.
In 2008 his viral hit EP Ooops! on LuckyMe/Wireblock was a much sought-after platter, and soon the seminal Warp label were knocking at his door demanding more.
In the year since his debut EP on Warp, Polyfolk Dance, was released, his skills have been courted by R&B and soul stars such as Chris Brown, Rihanna and Erykah Badu. He remixed everyone from Mars Volta to Crookers and a collaboration with the rock band Bloc Party is in the pipeline.
His debut album, Butter, has been lavished with four- and five-star reviews by the music press.
Perhaps the most unique and multi-faceted artist to emerge from the LuckyMe collective, his first album is a bold statement of intent, equal parts humorous, maddeningly catchy, and sonically groundbreaking. HudMo is the current darling of a scene which (suitably for a Warp signing) is currently in the process of generating and rejecting a series of outlandish names for itself. Wonky, aqua-crunk, or glitch-hop - as it is variously known - has a lot in common with dubstep and hip-hop. Hudson Mohawke’s album Butter, however, has a much broader palette of influences – synthesizer-blitzed hip hop, '80s pop arrangements, head-spinning vocal snippets and woozy future-funkfrom, staggering electro-menace, it is an album that never gets comfortable with one particular sound, genre or mood.
In addition to his solo work, Hudson Mohawke collaborated with Mike Slott as Heralds of Change, releasing a series of 12" EPs on All City Records.