Hudson Mohawke

Scottish producer Ross Birchard, performing under the name Hudson Mohawke, crafts distinctive post-modern tracks that span numerous genres. His contributions helped define the direction of electronic music and hip-hop throughout the late 2000s and 2010s. As a co-founder of the influential LuckyMe label and design studio, he emerged as a central figure in the late-2000s “wonky” movement, where he generated an unstable take on instrumental hip-hop marked by jittery rhythms and vivid synth textures drawn from chiptune, funk, IDM, and additional influences. His signing to Warp substantially elevated his visibility, and after issuing the multicolored, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink 2009 debut album Butter he formed the duo TNGHT alongside Canadian producer Lunice. Their 2012 self-titled EP received widespread acclaim and played a key role in popularizing the EDM subgenre known as trap. Mohawke subsequently became a sought-after producer, contributing to projects by hip-hop figures including Kanye West, Drake, Lil Wayne, and numerous others. Following the bold and expansive second album Lantern in 2015, he composed the score for the 2016 video game Watch Dogs 2 and rejoined Lunice for the release of TNGHT’s II in 2019. Joint efforts with Azealia Banks, Danny L Harle, and Jimmy Edgar surfaced in 2021, while the third studio album Cry Sugar appeared in 2022. An EP with Nikki Nair and the full-length L’Ecstasy with Tiga both arrived in 2023.

Born Ross Matthew Birchard in Glasgow in 1986, he is the son of actor and singer Paul Birchard. He began DJing in childhood, and at age 15 he reached the final round of the U.K. DMC World DJ Championships as the youngest contestant while performing under the name DJ Itchy. He later hosted shows on the University of Glasgow’s Subcity Radio and established the LuckyMe collective together with several friends. As a member of the short-lived rap group Surface Emp he issued the 2005 EP LuckyMe.

Around 2006 he began releasing solo material as Hudson Mohawke, starting with the mixtape Hudson’s Heeters, Vol. 1 that year, and alongside fellow LuckyMe co-founder Mike Slott he formed the production duo Heralds of Change. The pair delivered four EPs on Dublin’s All City Records from 2006 to 2007, among them Show You with Oddisee and Secrets. In 2007 Birchard participated in the Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto, where he met Warp Records’ Steve Beckett. After a series of favorably received EPs such as 2008’s Ooops! and the sixth volume of the 7x7 Beat Series, plus remixes for artists including Lukid and Ghislain Poirier, Mohawke joined Warp and released the EP Polyfolk Dance in early 2009. Later that year he made his full-length debut with Butter, an expansive work of abstract funk streaked with neon colors that featured guest vocals from Dâm-Funk, Olivier Daysoul, and Nadsroic.

After recording a version of Jimi Tenor’s “Paint the Stars” for the 2009 compilation Warp20 (Recreated), Mohawke handled production on Egyptian Hip Hop’s 2010 EP Some Reptiles Grew Wings and then issued his second Warp EP, Satin Panthers, in 2011. He also put out the lower-profile R&B remix EP Pleasure. In 2012 he and LuckyMe labelmate Lunice released the self-titled EP as TNGHT. By reducing their sound to powerful, explosive beats paired with woozy, somewhat cartoonish synths and effects, the project exerted major influence and helped establish EDM’s festival-oriented trap style. The hip-hop community took note, leading Mohawke to begin working with Kanye West. Following contributions to the 2012 compilation Cruel Summer he officially joined West’s G.O.O.D. Music as a producer in early 2013. He assisted on tracks for West’s Yeezus in 2013 and The Life of Pablo in 2016 while also working on material by Drake, Pusha T, Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, and others.

Continuing with Warp as a solo artist, Mohawke released the Chimes EP in 2014 and the follow-up full-length Lantern in 2015, which featured guest vocalists Miguel, Jhené Aiko, Ruckazoid, and additional performers. He co-produced ANOHNI’s 2016 solo debut Hopelessness, an artist who had also appeared on Lantern. Ded Sec, Mohawke’s soundtrack for the video game Watch Dogs 2, came out digitally via Warp in 2016 and later on vinyl for Record Store Day in 2017. Expanding into pop production, he produced Christina Aguilera’s “Maria” in 2018 and Banks’ “Gimme” the next year. TNGHT returned in 2019 with II, an effort more experimental and less focused on bangers than their earlier breakout release. The following year brought three archival mixtapes: Airborne Lard, Poom Gems, and B.B.H.E. He also issued tracks with Tiga and Dance System plus the EP Heart of the Night.

In 2021 Mohawke and Azealia Banks released the single “Murda She Wrote,” while Mohawke appeared on albums by Danny L Harle and Jimmy Edgar. In addition, Hudson’s Heeters, Vol. 1 received a vinyl edition from Warp. Cry Sugar, described as a cinematic collection of motivational club music, arrived in 2022. Mohawke teamed with Nikki Nair for the 2023 EP Set the Roof, whose title track featuring Tayla Parx became a club success. Mohawke and Tiga subsequently released the full-length L’Ecstasy, a record leaning primarily toward house and including guests Channel Tres, Abra, Jesse Boykins III, and Elisabeth Troy.