I think Dave Aude pretty much created all the releases for the artists. All original releases certainly have the same quality in concept. If so Dave is an underrated producer. DJ Dan’s Zipper Track and Put that record back on are the definition of mainstream house/techno of the time period.
DJ Duke “Journeys by DJ” is one of the finest mixes with perfect selection/programming. Keoki “All mixed Up” & “Disco Death Race 2000” are hall of fame mixes for me. DJ Dan’s EPs Dave Aude “Push that Thang” (the techno version)
Are all essentials from the glory days.
I was played hating when fellow Texan D-Fuse became the man of the minute for them. He killed the Psycotrance concept and I don’t mean in a good way. Too bad they listened to his mix and not mine. 🤣
in 1993-1996 Moonshine was one of my favorite distributers. Their compilations and what they helped distribute were so important pre-internet for me especially the comps in 1993-1994. The Psychotrance series, United State of Ambience, Trip Hop test comps, DJ Culture mix series etc etc. They turned me on to a lof of great european artists. Growing up in the early 90s in Los Angeles this was probably the most important label or at least the most popular putting out west coasts version of what they were seeing in rave music. It was exciting times. Literally being a pulse of the underground. I remember their Happy Hardcore series (which I didnt like at all) was just an example of how on top of the scene they were with their releases. Happy Hardcore had just hit the west coast in like 1994/95 and sure enough it was in stores what seemed like the same week. Same thing with Trip Hop or Chill out. Or the Deserttrance styuff. Even Acid Jazz they were on top of early on. They had comps out right away along with the scene and sound. It was like a mirror of what was playing at the warehouse parties. I went to Moonshine headquarters in Santa Monica 1995 and the guys were super nice to me. Gave me like 10 huge posters and a hat just for stopping by. Like someone posted here, as a label they didnt put out much good music. Maybe if you like drum n bass or something. By 1998/99 the label really went way too far into drum n bass, breaks etc and totally ignored techno and house. By 1998 I moved on from the label and never bought another thing. But from 1993-1997 they were super important. Equally important to me as Instinct records. When I think of Mooonshine, I think of Los Angeles raves in 1995. Good memories of their melting pot of styles.
It's important to note that this label primarily LICENSED the music in its catalog from the vast amount of pre-existing dance music releases in the uk and eu and simply re-packaged this music for the U.S. market in the form of mixes and compilations. They were not visionaries, going strength to strength with mind-blowing A&R acumen; they were simply smart business people with access. Right place, right time.
Moonshine brought us so many great mix CDs and tapes in the late 90s! Thank you Moonshine! You were never tied to a specific sound, and the raver nation appreciated you. Well done.
I like many others are very sentimentally nostalgic about this label. While back in the 90s and early 2000s I never really purchased music based on labels, a lot of my CDs and artists that I followed were associated with Moonshine. The great thing about Moonshine was the wide array of electronic genres they had. While I never purchased any of their compilation albums I did buy mixes from artists and DJs that I followed.
Also, if anyone is curious what exactly happened to them, this is what I found: Posted 2005- "Moonshine Record went out of business several years ago. They were at one time the biggest and most respected Electronic indie label in America. Owned by Brothers Steve and Jon Levy (both originally from the UK) they had a great run. Trouble started around 2002 when their main distributer screwed them out of loads of money for product sold, that coupled with the downturn in Dance Music sales (today a sad fraction of the soundscan numbers dance did across the board up until 2001/2002)put them in bad shape.
They continued to release loads of compilations up until 2 years ago but then started stiffing people on the music they licensed in, it got to the point where no labels of any genre wanted to license them music for their Mix and DJ compilations. I believe DJ Dan was the last CD they properly released.
They kept selling the stock they had on hand and as it runs out it is gone.
Moonshine owners John and Steve Levy also own BPM magazine and the Djmixed.com brand , which is run by BPM, but Moonshine is gone."
Posted by AK1200 in 2009- "moonshine owed tons of money to artists, including myself, and shit started going downhill, i.e tower records closed etc, and they filed for bankruptcy and got out of paying thousands of owed royalties to loads of people. i lost about 15k with them, and am sure big people like carl cox lost a lot more......
it was absolutely the catalyst for my entire career and success from 97 to 2001 though, so am happy to have been a big part of that even though i had so much owed to me.....
nothing has been the same since really, no other label crosses so many genres in a way they did, and they promoted, you could guarantee you would see a moonshine ad on the back cover of almost every music mag in the USA...."
When I got into the electronic scene back in the mid nineties I dove into many of the big names at the time and after I got into broadcasting Moonshine was my first stop when it came to ordering the newest and coolest cuts at the time along with a few other record companies. It was a sad day when Moonshine shut down and many DJ's and artists scattered off to other labels or went independent or simply vanished because they couldn't get into a good deal with another label! I still slide back into some of the old tracks of yesteryear and sometimes younger folks ask where I got my tunes from. Many newer acts today are pretty good but I miss the sound of freshly opened vinyl and the gritty old school club sounds when it was new and cool and not all cookie cutter, over mixed and over done. Moonshine is surely missed by many of us older DJ.s!
Moonshine temporarily revived my habit of consuming music on disc shaped media, albeit smaller and shinier than the kind that I used to rabidly collect. Even with the totally unjustifiable markup arbitrarily and greedily demanded by the parasitic swill that control the music industry, may they all rot in hells of their own making, I regularly purchased Moonshine offerings to discover new music in my post-club era.
It worked for me and for the most part, other the painful ear bleeding caused by Mixed Live: Moonshine Overamerica, San Francisco (CD) through no fault of AK1200, my Moonshine discs are great. Much pain can be had by randomly sampling the unbearable Happy Hardcore series as well. Only slightly more painful than http://trololololololololololo.com/ Truly cringeworthy.
I was sad to hear of the label's passing, which happened shortly after my disposable income dried up. I hope my inability to keep spending insane amounts of cash had nothing to do with the untimely death of one of the truly decent 1990s era labels. Moonshine, along with Red Rhino Records, Fifth Colvmn Records and Wax Trax, will be missed.
Happily worthwhile product at a reasonable price still floods the market thanks to Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI and Satan. Not. The sooner these vultures all die in a fire, the better. IMHO.
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.
steelgrooves
May 6, 2023DJ Duke “Journeys by DJ” is one of the finest mixes with perfect selection/programming.
Keoki “All mixed Up” & “Disco Death Race 2000” are hall of fame mixes for me.
DJ Dan’s EPs
Dave Aude “Push that Thang” (the techno version)
Are all essentials from the glory days.
I was played hating when fellow Texan D-Fuse became the man of the minute for them. He killed the Psycotrance concept and I don’t mean in a good way. Too bad they listened to his mix and not mine. 🤣