Moonstarr

"Toronto is the most frequently overlooked North American city for edgy electronic music, but the town has long had healthy house, drum & bass, and techno scenes. Now add broken beat producer Moonstarr to the list of ignored but not overrated producers from the T-dot. Remixes collects his unique looped and layered reworks of Amsterdam's Rednose Distrikt, soundtrack legend Ennio Morricone, and fellow future jazz artists Middlefield and Povo. Moonstarr's signature clipped beats streak along like a racing cyclist, jerking over bass bumps and swerving with clever Latin percussion. With equal quality over the dozen tracks included, it won't be long before Moonstarr becomes mayor of a newly respected scene." — Tomas Palermo - XLR8R

Records from Canada's Moonstarr sound lo-fi, like they were made on the cheap with the first pieces of equipment a kid could lay his hands on. But who cares? In a club they kill-they're to-the-point, nasty, brittle, bouncy and hard-hitting. ""Detroit"" will please fans of Henrik Schwarz and Pepe Braddock with epic-length synth-framed gloss. " — Franz Carr - XLR8R

Though indie rockers get all the props for their international success, Canada’s electronic producers have earned similarly stellar overseas reps — the difference is they’re often largely ignored here at home. So Moonstarr and his co-owned label Public Transit are giving everyone another chance to cop the man’s finest twelve-inch remixes. Recently relocated to Montreal from Toronto, Kevin Moon alternates between applications of Brazilian beats, Detroit techno and jazzy hip-hop as he chops up artists ranging from well-known (Britain’s Jazzanova) to obscure (Sweden’s Povo) to classic (spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone) to Canadian (R&B crooner Ivana Santilli). Though only one is an original (the synth-jazz number “Greed”) these dozen laidback-but-still-bumping electro-organic tracks hang together like the work of a singular sophisticated artist. But he really rises to the occasion when building a broken beatscape beneath vocalists, particularly a rapper/chatter like MC Collizhun — let’s hope Moonstarr invites a few guests onto his upcoming artist album. By Joshua Ostroff. March 08, 2006
- Exclaim

Kevin Moon (aka Moonstarr) is often recognised as one of the most innovative electronic beat-makers in Canada, despite the fact that he's officially made only one record in the last four years; 1997's seminal Hexed EP. He's spent his hiatus running his label, Public Transit Recordings, and helping to break the acts like Abacus, Lal, Monochrome and others onto the indie-electronic stage. Dupont, nevertheless, picks up where things left off, reintroducing listeners to Moon's post-junglist, beat-damaging production style. The tracks "Duplex" and "Greed" express those qualities best, with their hard-bop breaks and jerky cut-ups, while "Dust" takes things to the extreme with edits that make your Discman sound like it needs a cleaning. There's rawness here and it's cool, except when it's so explosive that some of it comes off as abrasive and unrefined. The balance is reset on the other parts of the disc where Moon explores subtler textures with elements of techno and funk. "The Electro Trio" and "Working Man's Hustle" sound like an electronic band jamming through different grooves in a booze-can of the future, while "Interplanetary Thoughts In Flight" features Moon on the mic, vocoding a robotic rhyme of inspiration in the spirit of "Planet Rock." The six tracks are supplemented with almost as many interludes, featuring phone messages over Moon's beats, which then divert to other interludes to showcase the beats that his friends have left on the answering machine. A good indication demonstrating that not only is Moon still in fine form, but that there's more to come from his mates as well. By Prasad Bidaye April 03, 2001 - Exclaim

Kevin Moon released a little teaser of his sound with an EP version of Dupont last year on vinyl. It was quickly circulated around the DJ network, most likely on the strength of the fantastic thumping grooves of "Dust." This audible gem leads off the wider release of Moonstarr's full-length and should have clubs shaking the dance floor around the globe. "Dust" is the crown jewel of this record and because it starts things off on such a high note, the rest of the album doesn't quite catch up. After throwing crashing drums lined with slick piano loops, Moonstarr brings the levels down to a more calm state with jazzy instrumentals and hip-hop breaks. But just because these cuts don't have the same intensity as "Dust" possesses doesn't mean that they're not pleasurable. "Next Move" is a fantastic hip-hop track with Voice taking MC duties, flowing her lyrical seduction over Moonstarr's polished production. "Working Man's Hustle" is also followed up immediately with a reworking of the same track by Nu-Era, an extra tacked onto this reissue of Dupont, and it's a strong indication that Moonstarr has tapped the system when one of his musical heroes remixes his track. Complete with the Dupont subway station on the cover, his own record label mimicking Toronto's Transit Commission and various references to the city in which he lives, some might wonder if Moonstarr will only create a buzz locally in Toronto. But having already made a slight buzz in other countries, it looks as if Kevin Moon could be one of the city's opportunities to blow up spots worldwide. By Noel Dix- May 08, 2002
- Exclaim

Toronto ex-pat and now well-adjusted Montrealer Kevin Moon keeps a pretty low profile in the city, mainly because he’s up to his eyes in music-making. The latest offering from his own label showcases some of the many remixes he’s been holed up in the studio creating for the past couple of years. He loves up Ivana Santilli’s “Breathe Inn” with a percussive beating, while the Stockholm jazz of Povo meets the rolling barrage of bruk-beat on his “Uam Uam” remix. There’s also remixes of Amsterdam’s Rednose District, Todd Sines, Pase Rock and Middlefield, as well as the “Another New Day” remix he did for Jazzanova, Ennio Morricone’s “Ritratto D’Autore,” and an unreleased take on Recloose’s “Processional.” His rep grows bigger as Moonstarr continues to bring quality and style to a variety of genres. 8/10 (Scott C) - Montreal Mirror

Toronto’s Kevin Moon, aka Moonstarr, has earned his reputation one beat at a time. Making music and DJing since the mid-‘90s, Moon is heavily influenced by the likes of Mad Mike, Juan Atkins, DJ Premier, 4hero and seemingly the entire Reinforced roster. "I’m the grandkids," he says seriously. "Mark and Dego are my parents and Mad Mike is the grandfather. I’m at the bottom." Releasing his own flavours of drum & bass, techno and hip-hop on various labels since 1997, he’s managed to refine his sound while still maintaining his "big dirty break beats." In 1998, he formed Public Transit Recordings, putting out music by many artists, including his own new Dupont EP. Compost Records will feature his "Dust" on their forthcoming, Future Sound of Jazz 8 , and Reinforced Records has just licensed "Baby Girl," his hip-hop collaboration with sharp-witted female MC Voice. There’s also international label interest in the music of Workshop, Moon’s new project with Movement DJ John Kong. "Moonstarr seems to be fully into what we’re doing," says Spencer Weekes of Goya Music. "We’ve got high hopes for the Canadian. He’s flying the flag, albeit with a maple leaf." Denise Benson October 26, 2001 - Exclaim