 
MOVING SHADOW RECORDS
Reso-Nation of the UK Breakbeat Generation
by Scott Edmonds
Photo of Rob Playford on the Kung Fu Knowledge Tour by dMarie
Images of the HQ team courtesy of Moving Shadow
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SHADOW:VISION
2AM San Francisco time. I receive a reply to my e-mail from Julia Warrington, the publicist for Moving Shadow Records. She wonders what on earth could keep me up so late. It’s about 10 AM in London, and she and the rest of the Moving Shadow staff have been in the office for about 2 hours doing the run of publicity and marketing for upcoming events and releases.
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 Warrington:
"It’s almost 10 years since Moving Shadow was formed. Since then, we've released over 140 singles on Moving Shadow, 40 on Audio Couture, and over 20 full-length albums. We love music, and we want to keep developing our artists, encourage the new talent coming through, and support the excellent British dance scene. "
Based in Soho, London, Moving Shadow Records is a beacon of the London underground’s heart and soul. The Moving Shadow imprint and its sister label, Audio Couture, have progressed over the years to become an impressive reference towards breakbeat culture. What sets them apart from other labels that have released the funky tunage in the past ten years? Moving Shadow Records’ founder, Rob Playford, and his publicist, Julia Warrington, give some insight into this question.
Playford:
"When I started doing this, it wasn’t even called jungle or drum&bass. When I started doing this, there was a whole group of people in the UK scene who were doing a certain thing. Obviously, we got heavily involved in the whole drum&bass thing, and people spotlighted us and other labels as creating drum&bass. So the whole idea is that we just liked coming up with new ideas."
 Self-taught in the principles of running a record label, Playford began his musical career as a disk jockey spinning Northern Soul and Hip/Hop. Having later been absorbed into the sounds of house and techno, he was inspired to release his own recording, Orbital Madness (circa 1990), which achieved cult status, and with that came other artists desiring to release tunes as well. Point blank -- from the early emergence and transformation of acid house to hardcore to breakbeat to jungle, Moving Shadow has defined itself as a reflection of the drumming pulse of the UK underground.
The Moving Shadow sound is unique in both experimentation and production. Over the past 10 years, the label has stayed current with the wants of the public, and produced tunes that would rock a jazz club, to cuts that would destroy a dancefloor, and leave the audience fired and laced with sweat. It goes without saying that music drives emotion, and this seems to be what Moving Shadow has been impressing on the global underground market for years. Emotion-laden breakbeat/drum&bass/newjackjazz/whatchawannacallit beats that maintain constant dancefloor pressure, and garner respect from all camps involved in the growth of a seminally "young" scene.
SHADOW:LABEL
Playford:
"Moving Shadow tries to reflect the whole scene. It’s not just about the label. Some people like their own little thing. They do really good concentrated things in their own little ways. But me, personally, I like the whole genre."
 Honestly, these guys are pulling their share of the weight. The label of is comprised of a team of four: Rob, who is in overall command, of course, and Scott and Julia Warrington, who run the office with the assistance of Gav Johnson, who also doubles as Rob’s studio assistant/engineer. A definitive canon of the UK breakbeat generation, Moving Shadow releases have warmed the hearts and stirred the emotions of millions of listeners. Arguably the most famous Shadow release would be "Bombscare" by 2 Bad Mice, but the Shadow has released many other classic UK tunes over the years such as Omni Trio’s "Renegade Snares" and the young Blame’s "Music Takes You" to "Terrorist" by Ray Keith. Such tunes carved the developing sound of jungle -- from the hardcore breakbeats of the early nineties, to the textural and unique layering of today.
Moving Shadow releases have primarily spotlighted established acts. This year, the company has released such albums as Aquasky’s Bodyshock, Tech Itch’s Diagnostic, Omni Trio’s Byte Size Life, and the highly-anticipated release of Diffusion Rooms by The Guardians of Dalliance. With the release of the breakbeat and jazz-fusion based compilation, Professor Tsung’s Art of Science Funktion in August, Rob and his crew once again have shown the versatile nature of the label. Indeed, time has allowed the label to recognize established acts, but Playford and company are bringing fresh ideas to its camp. One cannot encapsulate 10 years of achievement. No way. However, Playford and company have worked tirelessly over the last decade to fuel a movement driven by evolving audio textures.
AUDIO COUTURE:AVANT GARDE
Playford:
"Moving Shadow has some established acts, and it’s the case that does carry some prestige, and that makes a difference. So with the new stuff, we want it to come through naturally, so we can see for ourselves what is the best stuff, and what does well."
The Audio Couture offshoot imprint allows new talent to come aboard the label, and showcase sounds that would not typically find themselves on the main Shadow label. The tunes released on the Shadow sub-label find themselves to be more experimental -- pushing the notion of what is traditional or mainstream for a musical genre like drum&bass that is constantly changing, morphing, and re-creating itself.
SHADOW:KNOWN UNKNOWN
The Shadow is making waves for the millennium by releasing new remixes of some of their classic tunes. Titling the releases The Known Unknown Series, Moving Shadow has enlisted the help of producers from all genres to recreate their own interpretations of earlier releases. The Known Unknown Series gives those who have been avid fans of the drum&bass sound a new twist on the tunes that were released years ago, circa 1990-1994. The first of which, "DrumTrip," remixed by Dom and Roland, brought a new audience wanting more of the old sound. Future remixes down the line suggest an array of familiar artists reworking such tracks as Deep Blue’s "Helicopter Tune" and "Bombscare."
SHADOW:GAMES+SHOWS
Recent news has Moving Shadow in a licensing deal with Rockstar Games, a division of Take-Two Interactive. The company will provide three tracks for Grand Theft Auto 2, as well as the entire soundtrack for the film short that accompanies it.
Sponsored by Rockstar Games and Diesel, Moving Shadow has announced a 15-date tour of the UK. The line- up includes Rob Playford (Timecode), E-Z Rollers & MC Jakes, Dom & Roland, Aquasky, Calyx & UB Nice, and DJ Addiction.
Y2K:THE SHADOW OF THE MILLENNIUM
Moving Shadow's first album release for the millennium will be from Bournemouth-based trio, Aquasky. Entitled Aftershock, the album will be more than just the follow-up to this year's hugely successful Body Shock album. There will also be a role reversal: the full-on tracks will be remixed as downtempo numbers, whilst the downtempo tracks will be remixed as upbeat stompers. Expect to hear hip hop, jazzy house, disco breaks all nestling alongside funky drum&bass -- the sound that indicates Aquasky's diverse style. Aftershock is due for release in March 2000.
Also out on Moving Shadow is the follow-up to 99.1. 99.2 is a double CD that features a lengthy Timecode (aka Rob Playford) mix of tracks from the current Moving Shadow roster, as well as a bonus mix by Aquasky of Omni Trio tracks.
Lock on to the Shadow: http://www.movingshadow.com
For specific information, contact
Moving Shadow Records
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