FKA Moonbase Commander, the newly mononymised Moonbase has returned to the fore with one of the best new electronic tracks of the year, It Don’t Matter. The track features none other than Anderson Paak, not only one of the biggest current buzz artists in hip-ho, but music as a whole, having recently been considered for a Best new Artist Grammy. Last year saw Moonbase, real name Nick Luke, launch his own label Trench Records, and this year promises to be massive both for his artists and his solo output.
We wanted to get to know the music behind the man, so we asked Moonbase to share three albums that changed his life. Enjoy!
DANGERDOOM, The Mouse And The Mask
This is one my dad got me into when I was 13. He showed me The Mask and then and I grabbed the rest from Limewire one piece at a time (in terrible audio quality). The album leans heavily on cartoon skits mostly taken from Adult Swim so it’s pretty fun. Before this I had never really heard much hip-hop nor knew what sampling was, so hearing a DOOM album first off really set the benchmark high.
Mr Oizo, Lambs Anger
I found this album through Mr. Oizo’s (now-defunct) MySpace page around the time I was first listening to Danzig (weird parallel I know). I remember hearing the track Z on the web player and ripping it straight from there before buying the album. At the time I knew nothing of the French electro movement that was taking place, but the pure fucking craziness of Oizo got me hooked and looking for more.
Venetian Snares, Rossz Csillag Alatt Született
Even though I was already listening to as much music as I could find, V Snares was the first artist that made me think “Shit, I need to make electronic music.” In my last year of high school I went to see a friend’s art show. He had built an audio-visual installation to the track Öngyilkos Vasárnap, which remixes Billie Holiday’s version of Gloomy Sunday. Hearing that track for the first time to an intense lightshow changed my life. The whole album is brutal, beautiful and wholly experimental – a perfect recipe for teenage angst.
Catch Moonbase on tour next month:
Thurs March 2: Section 8, Melbourne
Fri March 3: Brown Alley, Melbourne
Fri March 10: Rocket Bar, Adelaide
Sat March 10: Death Disco, Perth
Image: Supplied