Moonshine Music

Moonshine could always be counted on for variety and quality in the 90s. House, trance, techno, jungle, breaks, ambient... it was incredibly rare to see any label indulge in every aspect electronic music offered. Never so underground that they'd release complete unknowns, yet never quite commercial enough to be accepted by the mainstream, they stradled the line as credibly as any label.

That changed at the turn of the century though. Seeing how club culture was having great success in America, Moonshine decided to go for the brass ring and began to reformat their strategy in the same vein as Britain's mega-labels. It proved to be their undoing.

I remember back in 1997 that this was THE label. I saw an ad on TV for Keoki's new (at the time) album and nearly pissed myself. It was very shortly thereafter that I got the sense they were going in a very stupid direction. For me, the beginning of the end was That Trance Mix, which was so painfully generic and bland I couldn't give it away fast enough. And I'm a trance DJ. That should tell you something. They later followed up with Luv 2 Trance and Trance Classics. It was like watching someone photoshop a great work of art and add nothing but cheesy effects. They released some wonderful tracks in their time, but in their latter years they fell into the awful slump we call "mainstream". Not they Moonshine was ever the saviour of the underground, but they lost all their clout when they started releases Ferry Corsten's stuff. And again, I'm a trance DJ. That should tell you something. They will be sorely missed.

I agree that the early moonshine records were very good, but I feel that this label has caught up too much in the commercial aspect of electronic music. I mean, I discovered awesome dj's like D:Fuse and Ferry Corsten from moonshine records, but now it seems they just churn out mediocre albums that don't have much depth to them. I recommend staying away from moonshine if you want really good quality trance and house, etc.