| Moving Shadow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Rob Playford |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Official website | movingshadow |
Moving Shadow is an English breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass record label which was founded in 1990 by Rob Playford.
The label began in 1990, operating from Playford's Stevenage home. Playford had become a focal point for local, young artists and bedroom producers seeking advice on releasing their own music following his first three 12 inch vinyl releases. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The label's first release with a 'Shadow' prefixed catalogue number came in 1991; the Psychotronic EP by Earth Leakage Trip. [5] Many artists attributed to early Shadow releases were Playford's aliases or collaborations, such as 2 Bad Mice, a group he formed with Sean O'Keeffe and Simon Colebrooke.
As the rave scene scratched the surface of the mainstream music industry in 1991 and 1992, Moving Shadow, like its friendly rival Suburban Base and D-Zone, enjoyed some UK Singles Chart success through Blame's "Music Takes You" and 2 Bad Mice's "Bombscare". [6]
Moving Shadow's output could be seen at this time to represent the complete spectrum of the genre. The label released albums from both Omni Trio [7] and Foul Play [8] in 1995 and the first of a series of regional compilation albums such as The Revolutionary Generation, [9] Storm from the East [10] and Trans-Central Connection, [11] highlighting artists both local and distantly-located.
In 1994, Playford began working with drum and bass artist Goldie on tracks written using his Rufige Kru alias, after Goldie made contact with Playford about appearing in a documentary he was making. The result was Goldie's Timeless album, produced and engineered by Playford and released in 1995 on the better-funded FFRR Records. The album was one of the first drum and bass titles to achieve mainstream success, going on to be one of the best-selling drum and bass albums of its time. [12] [13] [14]
In 2000, Moving Shadow published a retrospective of their catalogue to date. [15] [16]
The label stopped releasing new artist material in 2006. [17] [18] A digital only release of previously unreleased tracks and versions, "Cut Out Shapes" by "Omni Trio” was released in 2012. [19]
In 2023, Moving Shadow expanded its list of the digital sales platforms servicing its catalogue from Apple's iTunes Store (since 2006) and Beatport (since 2008) [20] to include other download and streaming platforms of the day as well as its own YouTube channel. As of May 2023, the entire Moving Shadow back catalogue is accessible on Spotify. [21] [22]
The "Two on One” series was a collection of specially commissioned tracks spread over 9 (12 inch vinyl) releases. Each release featured a guest artist (not signed to the label) on one side of the vinyl and a Moving Shadow artist on the other. The artwork design was split over the 9 releases so as to create one large 3’ x 3' image. [23] Released 7 February 1994 - 26 December 1994. [24]
The "10” series was a limited edition retrospective of the label's popular tracks to date. Released 11 September 2000 - 14 May 2001. [25]
The "MSXEP” series was a collection of double 12 inch vinyl releases featuring new artist and existing Moving Shadow artists alike. Released 3 January 2000 - 20 March 2006. [26]
Drum and bass is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's jungle scene in the 1990s.
Clifford Joseph Price MBE, better known as Goldie, is an English music producer and DJ.
Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music.
Formed in 1991, 2 Bad Mice are an English breakbeat hardcore group, composed of Sean O'Keeffe, Simon Colebrooke, and Rob Playford who was originally the third member and the owner of the Moving Shadow record label. In the 1990s, the group had two singles that charted in the UK.
Alex Reece is a drum and bass musician. He popularized the use of two-step breaks in drum and bass, and was an influence of the jazzstep sound, a mix of drum and bass and jazz. Reece was one of the musicians in the Metalheadz collective, and has also worked under the pseudonym of Fallen Angels.
Metalheadz is a major drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie.
EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert.
Timeless is the debut studio album by British electronic musician Goldie. It was released on 7 August 1995 and is universally regarded as a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass music.
Kjetil Dale Sagstad, better known by his stage name Polar or K, is a Norwegian electronic music artist. He is originally from Meland in Norway, and grew up with his former musical partner Teebee. Together he started Subtitles Recordings, which Teebee now runs by himself. He currently lives in Bergen.
Good Looking Records is a jungle and drum & bass record label, formed in 1991 by producer LTJ Bukem. The label specializes in jazz-influenced and atmospheric intelligent drum & bass.
Robert "Rob" Haigh, also known as Omni Trio, is a British electronic, ambient and experimental musician.
Deep Blue is the alias of electronic and drum and bass musician Sean O'Keeffe.
Ed Keeley, better known by his stage name Friction, is a drum and bass producer and DJ from Brighton, England. He runs his own record labels, Shogun Audio & Elevate Records, and has formerly presented a regular overnight show on BBC Radio 1.
Commix is a Drum and Bass project now solely composed of George Levings from Cambridge, UK.
Wormhole is the debut album by the English drum and bass act Ed Rush & Optical. Recorded between 1997 and 1998, the album was issued on 16 November 1998 through their self-run Virus Recordings label on vinyl and CD formats. The CD edition was a double disc, the second disc containing an hour-long continuous mix while the LP was a five-disc boxset, with a single track per side. On 26 November 2012 the album was reissued on both formats with new artwork, the LP edition being pressed on green vinyl.
Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle. Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical, since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the co-founder of the record label Virus Recordings which releases his records along with other drum and bass acts. He is most associated with the aggressive styles of drum and bass music known as techstep, darkcore and neurofunk.
Robert Dickeson, known by his stage names Apex and Robert Oaks was a British drum and bass music producer and DJ from Kent, England.
Matt Quinn, known by his stage name Optical, is a British musician, producer and DJ. He is co-founder and owner of Virus Recordings, a widely regarded drum and bass record label. He is best known as one half of drum and bass duo Ed Rush and Optical, whose debut album Wormhole has been described as one of the most significant LPs of the drum and bass genre. He is also the brother of Jamie Quinn also known as Matrix.
"Freeway" is a 1952 jazz song composed by Chet Baker and recorded with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet. The song was released as part of an LP album and an EP single in the U.S. and a 45 single in the UK and France in 1952.
Paul Pesce, better known as Peshay, is a British drum and bass and electronic music producer and DJ.
