DJ }Moose

DJ }Moose origianlly hales from Edinburgh, UK, but spent much of his early years in West Africa. He has now finally settled in Shetland, the most northerly group of islands in the UK, and in between has lived in London, Biggar, Orkney and North Wales, as well as many a friends floor!

}Moose is no stranger to the music scene, having been performing one way or another since the 70's. As harmonica player with london based progressive blues band "Latent Heat" he could be heard with the other four band members in the dark underground club scene of the late 70's.

During the 80's he experimented with electro-folk and performed many live gigs in North Wales and Liverpool using strange modified 8 track tape players, early analogue synths and Benny Overton whistles to produce an extremely unique sound! This lead to his involvement with dance and house music, and you could find him hedonistically partying for whole weeks at a time in the height of the "rave years".
(Editors Note: no change there then!)

A slight change of direction in the 90's found }Moose back on the harmonica again, with "The Red Vans", a six-piece country blues outfit based in Shetland. The band were together for over ten years and released three albums to critical acclaim: "Painted Blue", "Skinny Dippin'" and "Tasty Little Fish", as well as several radio performances on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland. Although Shetland-based, they still managed to delight audiences on the UK mainland, including an appearance at the prestigious "Celtic Connections" festival in Glasgow.

During his time with the 'vans }Moose was increasingly experimenting with computer based music sounds, embracing the new technology to produce techno and house style tracks. He was also keen to integrate decks with the 'vans live performances, and pulled this off to a capacity North Star (Shetland's largest music venue) during an all night gig in 1995, with help from a well known Shetland DJ.

The early 90's also saw }Moose's involvement with the "Wobbly Gang", a large collective of musicians that knew how to party BIG style! }Moose played keyboard and harmonica for "Zebedee Neep & the Wobbly Gang", a live band fronted by the great Stevie Hook. Stevie released the album "Nimnims and Blipblaps" in 1994 under the Wobbly Gang Productions label. Zebedee Neep had numerous members over the years, making use of a wide variety of intruments, samples and sounds traversing genres from Disco to Heavy Metal - great fun, and somehow they all survived!

Over the last few years }Moose has become more involved with the house music scene. His eclectic musical background has rubbed off in his mixes which encompass a wide range of styles and sub-genres. His material is drawn from a diverse range of sources - including lesser known producers, obscure promos and "B" sides - and has an earthly, world sound summed up in a recent review of one of his promo mixes:

"Ahhhh…how reFRESHing it is when a DJ puts together a compilation that is completely out of the norm. Simmer Dim Deeper Dub takes on an almost world house sound that traverses unkown boundaries. Open your ears and let yourself go on a little adventure deeper down."
(review of Simmer Dim Deeper Dub on http://www.thefreshpage.com/)

And in his own words:

"Music - it's all about smashing genres and pulling new ideas, feelings and creations out of the hat. To be stuck in a musical rut is like being bogged down in mud; your wheels turn but you get nowhere."

Although primarily studio-based, }Moose is quite happy to get out in front of the crowds. You can also hear him live on Internet Radio DJ }Moose, and his sets are regularly streamed through Internet radio stations all around the world - a truly global DJ!

He's also still involved in the blues music scene, fronting a four-piece outfit, "The Rumshack Blues Band". As well as penning and performing }Moose's own material, the band specialize in early blues from the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Johnson. Get out and hear them if you have a chance!