01-16-2007, 12:47 PM
I first had the pleasure of meeting Moussa on the Internet about 5 years ago......
He impressed me so much that I decided to bring him to Chicago for a show, sadly we lost the venue and I did not get to see him play, but I did see what a great guy, along with being a great DJ/producer he was.
With a crapload of releases/remixes to his name, and the world tour, it's nice to see some people still have a great attitude about things, Moussa is one of those guys. He does not get to the states much, so when he does, you need to make a trip to see this master at work.
1. When did you get into or notice a "scene"?
I was in a very dodgy band at school (we were terrible, although ironically we've actually all had pretty good music careers) then I discovered clubs and electronic music aged 16 and havent really looked back since.
2. When did you start DJing/producing?
Well we were playing around with synths at school, then I got into DJing, and by the time I was at university I was playing in clubs regularly. I spent some time in France in the early '90s and got one of my first big breaks there - I was resident for the Soma parties, which a bunch of mad British ex-pats used to organize right at the top of the Pompidou Centre. They'd somehow persuaded the people in charge that holding a rave in one of Paris' major architectural and cultural icons would be a really good idea. It was cool - I got to play alongside luminaries like Sasha, Darren Emerson and Andrew Weatherall, and it made me really appreciate the global nature of the scene.
3. We see you have had alot of releases and remixes, which one was your favorite to work on?
That's an impossible question! The latest one you've done (or the one you're working on now) is usually your favourite. The ones bubbling right now are Dave Lambert - "House In Play"; Eddie F - "Connected"; Ricky Stone - "House Machine Needle Queen" and DDL - "How Do You Do". But if I have to answer your question: I did a remix a year or so ago for another track by Dave Lambert called "Yeah". I suppose I've got a particular affection for this one because it was the first remix I did under my own name, rather than previous pseudonyms like Philter or PF Project.
4. You keep a pretty full tour through the year, what's the scene like in Russia compared to some of the other places you have played?
Sure, although I also like to take a couple of months off every year. I love touring, but you also need to make time for other stuff, when you''re travelling all the time it can be tricky to find the energy for studio work for example ... Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are off the hook - I love playing out there. But anywhere with an enthusiastic crowd and a big sound system is fine by me, whether that's in London or Tokyo or wherever!
5. On that note, how are things in your local area as far as edm music goes?
London is undergoing a real resurgence at the moment. There's a new generation of insanely up for it clubbers out there and the clubs are full. The new alcohol licensing laws have also helped, and the afterhours scene is very big right now...
6. What gear do you use in the studio?
Well it's all shrunk down to the computer these days (if you don't count the keyboard and some speakers). I still have a rack- full of tasty outboard gear, but to be honest I havent switched it on for a couple of years :-)
7. What does Moussa like to do when he is not in the studio or DJing around the globe?
Hang out with family and friends, plus I love good food and good restaurants. I'm also a pretty avid reader (novels, current affairs, whatever) and a closet internet geek ;-)
8. Any live mixes of you on the internet that our readers might be able to listen to?
Sure thing, check my Web site: http://www.DJMoose.co.uk
9. Any plans on coming over to this side of the pond for a show next year?
Yeah there's a couple of things in the pipeline! Again check out my website/blog for news... you can also sign up to email updates here: http://www.feedburner.com
10. Where do you want to go in the future with your music?
I want to carry on growing my record label Oven Ready (http://www.ovenready.net) and also take things to the next level with my own productions and remixes. I've got a couple of singles coming out next year: "Love Key" featuring Kathleen Fisher, with remixes from Jody Wisternoff, Static Revenger and Ledge (on Slammin Muzik in Germany) and "Fade Away" featuring Daniel Sherman; remixes from Openair, Lebedev and Leonid Rudenko (on Starview in Holland). At some point I'd probably like to do some kind of album project, but we'll see how things pan out!
Kind Regards,
Moussa Clarke
Web sites: Ovenready.net DJMoose.co.uk MySpace.com/MoussaClarke
Again, many thanks to Moussa for sitting down with Doug from VisionaryUrbanTactics.com
He impressed me so much that I decided to bring him to Chicago for a show, sadly we lost the venue and I did not get to see him play, but I did see what a great guy, along with being a great DJ/producer he was.
With a crapload of releases/remixes to his name, and the world tour, it's nice to see some people still have a great attitude about things, Moussa is one of those guys. He does not get to the states much, so when he does, you need to make a trip to see this master at work.
1. When did you get into or notice a "scene"?
I was in a very dodgy band at school (we were terrible, although ironically we've actually all had pretty good music careers) then I discovered clubs and electronic music aged 16 and havent really looked back since.
2. When did you start DJing/producing?
Well we were playing around with synths at school, then I got into DJing, and by the time I was at university I was playing in clubs regularly. I spent some time in France in the early '90s and got one of my first big breaks there - I was resident for the Soma parties, which a bunch of mad British ex-pats used to organize right at the top of the Pompidou Centre. They'd somehow persuaded the people in charge that holding a rave in one of Paris' major architectural and cultural icons would be a really good idea. It was cool - I got to play alongside luminaries like Sasha, Darren Emerson and Andrew Weatherall, and it made me really appreciate the global nature of the scene.
3. We see you have had alot of releases and remixes, which one was your favorite to work on?
That's an impossible question! The latest one you've done (or the one you're working on now) is usually your favourite. The ones bubbling right now are Dave Lambert - "House In Play"; Eddie F - "Connected"; Ricky Stone - "House Machine Needle Queen" and DDL - "How Do You Do". But if I have to answer your question: I did a remix a year or so ago for another track by Dave Lambert called "Yeah". I suppose I've got a particular affection for this one because it was the first remix I did under my own name, rather than previous pseudonyms like Philter or PF Project.
4. You keep a pretty full tour through the year, what's the scene like in Russia compared to some of the other places you have played?
Sure, although I also like to take a couple of months off every year. I love touring, but you also need to make time for other stuff, when you''re travelling all the time it can be tricky to find the energy for studio work for example ... Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are off the hook - I love playing out there. But anywhere with an enthusiastic crowd and a big sound system is fine by me, whether that's in London or Tokyo or wherever!
5. On that note, how are things in your local area as far as edm music goes?
London is undergoing a real resurgence at the moment. There's a new generation of insanely up for it clubbers out there and the clubs are full. The new alcohol licensing laws have also helped, and the afterhours scene is very big right now...
6. What gear do you use in the studio?
Well it's all shrunk down to the computer these days (if you don't count the keyboard and some speakers). I still have a rack- full of tasty outboard gear, but to be honest I havent switched it on for a couple of years :-)
7. What does Moussa like to do when he is not in the studio or DJing around the globe?
Hang out with family and friends, plus I love good food and good restaurants. I'm also a pretty avid reader (novels, current affairs, whatever) and a closet internet geek ;-)
8. Any live mixes of you on the internet that our readers might be able to listen to?
Sure thing, check my Web site: http://www.DJMoose.co.uk
9. Any plans on coming over to this side of the pond for a show next year?
Yeah there's a couple of things in the pipeline! Again check out my website/blog for news... you can also sign up to email updates here: http://www.feedburner.com
10. Where do you want to go in the future with your music?
I want to carry on growing my record label Oven Ready (http://www.ovenready.net) and also take things to the next level with my own productions and remixes. I've got a couple of singles coming out next year: "Love Key" featuring Kathleen Fisher, with remixes from Jody Wisternoff, Static Revenger and Ledge (on Slammin Muzik in Germany) and "Fade Away" featuring Daniel Sherman; remixes from Openair, Lebedev and Leonid Rudenko (on Starview in Holland). At some point I'd probably like to do some kind of album project, but we'll see how things pan out!
Kind Regards,
Moussa Clarke
Web sites: Ovenready.net DJMoose.co.uk MySpace.com/MoussaClarke
Again, many thanks to Moussa for sitting down with Doug from VisionaryUrbanTactics.com