Moonshake

Moonshake was a UK-based experimental rock/post-rock band existing between 1991 and 1997, notable for their use of textures and sampler technology in alliance with gritty urban songwriting.

History

David Callahan (vocals, guitars, samplers) had been in indie-rock band The Wolfhounds, who were active for much of the second half of the 1980s. Often associated with the C86 indie scene of the time, the band released several acclaimed albums of taut, fierce guitar pop and a dozen or so singles on a bewildering variety of labels.

Following the dissolution of The Wolfhounds, Callahan took the name Moonshake from a Can single on the seminal Krautrockers' Future Days album, and recruited fellow members Margaret Fiedler (vocals, guitars, samplers), John Frenett (bass) and Mig Morland (drums, percussion). Moonshake were signed to Alan McGee's Creation Records for their debut EP, First, released in spring 1991. At this point the band had continued to follow the harsh-effected guitar-heavy sound that had characterised a lot of the last Wolfhounds recordings. The results drew comparisons with Sonic Youth and especially My Bloody Valentine, whose music the songs on this EP closely resembles.

The band soon jumped ship from Creation and signed to the emerging Too Pure label in London, home of PJ Harvey, Th' Faith Healers and Stereolab. Their first single for Too Pure, Secondhand Clothes showed a leaning towards the dub-bass-heavy post-punk sound of bands such as Public Image Limited and The Pop Group. Their debut album, Eva Luna, which followed in 1992, earned the group many positive reviews for its unique sample-driven and rhythmically-propulsive sound.

After an even more compelling mini-album Big Good Angel in 1993 the band split in half, with Fiedler and Frenett departing to form Laika with Eva Luna engineer Guy Fixsen. The remaining duo of Callahan and Mig augmented the next incarnation of Moonshake with a host of guest musicians such as PJ Harvey, Lee Howton and Claire Lemmon of Sidi Bou Said, Katharine Gifford of Stereolab / Snowpony, Johnny Dawe from Collapsed Lung and saxophonist Raymond Dickaty from Gallon Drunk.

The resultant album The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow was released in 1994 (a few months before Fiedler, Frenett and Fixsen followed with their debut as Laika). Moonshake mark 2 had completely eschewed guitars from their new sound, relying entirely on looped and layered samples over the rhythm section. Also banished from the studio were any outside producers, whom the band had dubbed "an overpaid imposition".

Moonshake changed shape again for their final album in 1996 Dirty And Divine, which was released on the Seattle indie imprint C/Z Records (later licensed to a UK release through World Domination Recordings). Their ever-fluctuating line-up now included guest vocalists Mary Hansen (Stereolab) and Tor as well as Gifford and Dickaty, along with newcomers Matt Brewer (bass), Michael Rother (drums, not to be confused with his Neu! namesake) and Kevin Bass.

Shortly after this album was released, Callahan relocated briefly to Brooklyn, New York, USA, and effectively called time on the band in 1997. An EP of remixes originally commissioned to promote the Dirty and Divine album was belatedly issued in 1999, though this release was disowned by Callahan.

Callahan re-emerged on the London scene in the late 1990s and set up a multimedia/DJ/music project called The Surplus!. He also reunited with several former members of the Wolfhounds for live performances in late 2004.

Connections

In the past, Callahan has also enjoyed brief cameos with fellow contemporaries Stereolab (performing "French Disko" with them on Channel 4's The Word in 1993) and the Stereolab spin-off project Turn On.

Discography

Singles

• First EP (1991, Creation records)
• Secondhand Clothes EP (1991, Too Pure)
• Beautiful Pigeon (1992, Too Pure)
• Lola Lola b/w Always True To You In My Fashion (1995, Clawfist Singles Club)
• Cranes (1996, C/Z / World Domination)

Albums

• Eva Luna (1992, Too Pure / 1993, Matador-Atlantic)
• Big Good Angel (Mini-album) (1993, Too Pure / Matador)
• The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow (1994, Too Pure / American)
• Dirty And Divine (1996, C/Z-BMG / World Domination)
• Remixes (1999, C/Z)

Compilation appearances

• Beautiful Pigeon (1992, V/A "Independent Top 20 Volume 15", Beechwood Music; the track Night Tripper also appeared on a 7" single given away with the vinyl edition of this LP)
• Just A Working Girl (1994, V/A "Pop - Do We Not Like That?", Too Pure)
• Nothing But Time (1995, V/A "Volume 16 - Copulation Explosion")

External links

• Access through the Wolfhounds website