Dan Snaith, alternatively known as Caribou, has steadily evolved as one of the most interesting composers on the experimental-electronica landscape. Emerging in the early 2000s under the since vanquished moniker Manitoba, his breed of whimsical, dream-inducing rhythms has been the subject of much deserved hype and global critical acclaim.

His latest album Swim is a fluid combination of atmospheric sound and complex musical textures, moodier than his 2007 release Andorra. Caribou is set to hit our shores in February 2011, touring with the musically like-minded Four Tet. Here he chats to inthemix about the arduous yet rewarding process of making music.

So where have we got you this morning?
It’s evening here. I’m in Liverpool.

Well good evening to you. You’ve been adding Australia to your tour list since 2004 I believe, so what does it feel like to be one of the most anticipated electronic acts in Australia right now?
It’s crazy. It feels surprising. I’m really excited because I’m doing the show with Four Tet and whenever we get to do a show together it’s really exciting. We just had to add a second Melbourne show, which is great.

Just to get a bit of insight into you personally, how does one switch from a PHD in mathematics to a globally recognised producer? Do you think there is a link there?
Not the one that people traditionally imagine I guess, that idea that there’s some kind of mathematics in the music I make. They’re both two things that are so ingrained in my personality. I’ve been making music and doing mathematics for so long I almost can’t imagine myself without either of them.

It’s hard to say what the connection is. They’re things that have been enjoyable, challenging, stimulating aspects of my life. But people imagining there was some obvious connection between mathematics and the music, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Lets talk about processes for a minute. When it comes to creating sound, really innovative, emotive, cathartic sound, you seem to just get it. Where do these ideas come from? How does each track evolve?
I just spend an inordinate amount of time making music. I mean, for a whole year, working all day, every day, it’s all I will do. I end up making 600 to 700 tracks before whittling them down to about nine that go on each album, so it’s a long process. To be honest, my success rate in terms of tracks that I like is terrible; about one out of every hundred tracks!

But I’m so enthralled by capturing these sounds after weeks of trying to get a sound or melody that I like it’s such an exciting moment. It just comes together. In some sense it’s a process of trial and error really.