“i wanted to record something which explores the murkier side of my taste across minimal tech to tribal.”
based between edinburgh and london, noodle is part of the grdn collective and can often be found playing in clubs around edinburgh’s cowgate, most notably sneaky petes. leaning towards soundscapes that are acidy, dubby, sparkly, all the good stuff, noodle’s selection is glorious and can be delved into via her residency on ehfm where she flows through her softer side or at her club night, neurons, which raises money for mental health charities.
Hey Milli! How are you doing? What have you been up to lately?
I’m very well thank you! Recently, I have been trying to embrace more stillness in my life. For me, that looks like taking more time to rest, reducing the amount of time I spend consuming multiple forms of media at the same time, and trying to bring a little bit more intention to my life. Musically, I have been working on a new club night concept called ‘neurons’. I ran the first night in early February and managed to raise £800 to donate to two mental health charities ‘OCD action’ and ‘Rethink Mental Illness’. It’s been a great thing to bring my obsession with music together with my career, and interest, in mental health work.
Let’s start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?
Some of my earliest memories of music come from sitting in the back of the car and being educated on jazz by my Mum. The ‘education’ was her repeating a ten-minute long jazz piece she’d heard in Formentera called ‘The Sidewinder’ by Lee Morgan. It makes me smile just thinking about it: my brother and I would protest every time she reached for the repeat button, and she’d just roar with laughter at the ridiculousness of it. It’s a great piece of music though, and I thank her for it now. The track noodles around forever and there’s something so funny and brilliant about that.
My first memory of modern electronic music was when I was 15 years old. I remember an older relative visiting once and leaving her MP3 player lying around. Listening to those tracks for the first time was like finding treasure and I scribbled the names of the files on scraps of paper so that I could find them after she left. There was a lot of electro and early progressive house from the likes of Ed Banger records, mau5trap, etc.
Who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?
I was completely obsessed with Deadmau5 during my mid to late teens. Listening back to ‘Secondary Complications’ I can see some of the connecting threads between what I enjoy today and what I enjoyed when I was younger.
Was there a formative moment growing up, whether that’s seeing your favourite band live or an incredible DJ set, that led you to this path?
I was definitely inspired by female DJs like Nina Kraviz, Maya Jane Coles and Monika Kruse. I bought a controller when I first moved to Shanghai in 2015 and started making mixes with the sole purpose of creating something to run to. Experimenting on the controller provided a basic understanding I needed to start playing in clubs regularly as part of a very cute collective of friends, artists and DJs in Edinburgh called GRDN.
Where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?
I am a really easily inspired person. Conversations inspire me, film inspires me, scenery inspires me.
What has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?
Everything by Jay Tripwire and the Mole.
You’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the concept behind this one?
I wanted to record something which explores the murkier side of my taste across minimal tech to tribal. I’ve always loved minimal and tech house, and I’m sad about the connotations: commercially-driven, male-dominated…perhaps even boring? But there’s something deep, sensual and hypnotic about these sounds to me. This is an all-vinyl mix because my trusty steed (DDJ-SR) finally died on me, and I’ve found the approach to recording all-vinyl is refreshingly different: playing records makes me think less, and anything that allows me to rely more on feeling than thinking is something I want to do more of. Playing records also forces you to make more intuitive decisions, because you’re not distracted by the limitless expanse of information, or separated from the music by a screen. The mix also reflects the job I’m often tasked with of warming up in my local club ‘Sneaky Pete’s’ which can go from empty to full in a matter of minutes.
When was the last time you were on the dance floor?
A few weeks ago in Distrikt bar, Leeds.
What are you most excited about right now?
In mid April I’ll be returning to visit the city I studied and lived in for two years, Shanghai. After that, we’re heading to Taiwan. Part of that trip involves going to Organik festival, which has been on my bucket list for a very long time.
What’s on your vision board at the moment?
Running in the Pentlands, Asia, Waking Life festival, watching more films like Withnail & I.