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Moonshot (UK)
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Moonshot is the collaboration of three UK-based singer-songwriters Daniel Kent, Jeremy Grant and Richard Wolfe. Formed originally in 1988 by Daniel and Jeremy, Moonshot became a three man outfit in 1993 when Richard became part of the group.
Since 1993 the band has produced several home-studio albums that blend the very individual writing styles of the three members to create a unique and memorable sound. Each album produced during this time has it's own feel, but Moonshot's music could be broadly described as a melting pot of trip-hop, ambient groove, electronic pop and traditional song writing. Unlike most bands, Moonshot does not have a frontman. Instead it is an equal collaboration between it's members, all of whom are involved in the writing/singing and programming of the music.
Moonshot's new album
'Friday Street' is arguably the band's most accomplished work to date. From the opening dance anthem of London Boy to the 70's soul funk of 'Read Him His Rights Malone' to the trip-hop flavoured title track, 'Friday Street' is Moonshot at their most creative and challenging.
The Band
Daniel formed Moonshot in 1988 with Jeremy and another friend Robert Richman, at the time all three of them were 13. However after the bands first album Robert decided he no longer wanted to be involved and Dan and Jeremy continued as a duo until 1993 when Richard joined.
"The early days for Moonshot were a far cry from the set up we have now," remembers Dan. "Jeremy would play a small Yamaha keyboard and I would sing badly into a small tape deck, and by and large, this was the way we made albums for five years."
Despite the primitive equipment Daniel and Jeremy did recorded 45 albums during this period starting with the true Moonshot debut 'Fallen Grace' and ending with 'Accidental Observations'.
"As you can imagine, we weren't exactly taking our time with the albums," continues Dan, "in fact for most of that period we were churning out an album a month. Most of them are pretty horrendous, but there were glimpses and we've revisited a lot of songs and taken them to their full potential."
Since 1988 Daniel has written in excess of 500 songs both with the band and on his six solo albums. He is a singer, songwriter and self taught keyboard programmer and guitarist. With Richard, Daniel designs and produces all Moonshot's projects as well as his own solo albums.
Richard met Daniel at Birmingham University in 1992. With both having a keen interest in music they quickly became friends, and in the latter part of the year began to work on a project together under the name TimePeaces. Shortly after this Richard became a member of Moonshot.
Prior to meeting Daniel, Richard had written a solo album called Sweet Excess - a collection of slow, piano songs and a far cry from the beat driven music of Moonshot in recent years.
"It's funny to think of the stuff I was writing back then - in retrospect I had a real fear of drums and a strange pre-occupation with long instrumentals, but then again the music Daniel and Jeremy were producing was also totally different to where we are now. I think the quality of the albums in recent years stems from the unique combination that you have when the three of us are involved. It's the blending of our different styles and approaches that makes Moonshot what it is."
He continues, "Out of the material I've written for the band, most of my favourites, are favourites because (I hope) they have good tunes and moving lyrics, but also because they are about the people and places that have had the most impact on me. These songs include Cello, which I wrote about an ex who had a great impact on my life and changed the way I looked at love and sex. I'm also really fond of Three, which I half wrote on a beach in Thailand - it's also the first track which was written specifically for a woman's backing vocals. My final choice of favourite is Rain - which I wrote for one of my now (sadly ex) best friends. When she was on Holiday in Greece, she hired a cottage and lived out there for a while. One night she couldn't sleep and went for a walk in her garden and it began to rain. She said that she could hear music in the storm but couldn't find a way to describe it. I promised her that I would write her some words and music based on her description of the storm, which I did."
Richard has produced two further solo albums since 1993 - The Semiotic and Clarity.
Friends since they were six months old, Jeremy and Daniel decided to try to write some songs during one school holiday.
"We thought it might be fun, remembers Jeremy, I never thought we'd still be doing it 14 years later. There are many famous bands that don't last nearly as long as that. The first song that Daniel and wrote together was called 'Til The End of Time', and it wasn't actually too bad. It took absolutely ages though, weeks if I recall. After that we got a lot quicker, but perhaps too quick for a while - we didn't give the songs the time they needed for the first five years or so."
Jeremys contribution to the Moonshot sound has always been based in different kinds of music to Daniel and Richard. Whilst his two partners are keen followers of more contemporary bands and songwriters, Jeremy has more classical roots and is the only member of Moonshot to have studied music.
"Jeremy always gives us something we would never have thought of without him," comments Dan. "His orchestral arrangements are always very thorough and his understanding of harmonies is really important. More than this, he allows the music to go in different directions."
Jeremy is a singer; songwriter and pianist.
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