Moshi Moshi Records started off as a hobby in 1998. Set up by three friends who had jobs working for major record labels. It was intended as a way of working with the bands that they loved but which didn’t fit in with the agenda of the day-job taskmasters. Early single releases from Zan Lyons, Kathryn Williams & Pedro and J Xaverre earned the label some plaudits. And sold a few records. Over the next five years Moshi Moshi slowly started to build a reputation for interesting, slightly leftfield, low-key releases. Then in 2004 things changed. For a start Moshi stopped being a hobby and became a fulltime job. Very soon after, Hot Chip and Bloc Party arrived and Moshi Moshi quickly became a name known to more than a few. Chart success followed with Yeti and The Rakes and higher-profile album releases from Architecture In Helsinki and Au Revoir Simone helped lift the label onto a new level. Then from 2006 onwards came artists such as Hot Club De Paris, Tilly And The Wall, The Wave Pictures, Slow Club, James Yuill, The Drums, Summer Camp, the list goes on.

In late 2006 the two remaining Moshi Moshi founders decided they wanted to get back to their one-off 7” release roots and the Moshi Moshi Singles Club was born. The intention was to try and release one 7” each month by a new up-and-coming artist. It would be limited to 1000 and only be available in a select group of indie stores. The artwork would be restricted to one colour and be designed by the bands themselves. Now some 40+ releases later the singles club’s roster makes an impressive list – (including) Kate Nash, Late of The Pier, Friendly Fires, Lykke Li, Florence and The Machine, Kindness, Dananananayckroyd. Disclosure. In 2011 Moshi Moshi expanded its remit by partnering up with some very talented young A&R folk to set up the imprints Tender Age, Not Even, Apricot and Dream Beach. Working under the Moshi Moshi umbrella these new labels have already yielded a clutch of exciting releases by artists from as far afield as Kenya and Seattle.

At the same time as running the record label Moshi Moshi Management has been quietly guiding the career of Metronomy and Slow Club as well as producers Ash Workman and Ollie Bayston. From 2012 this side of the business started to expand dramatically and now features a sizeable roster of emerging artists.

Looking back on the Moshi Moshi roster (particularly since the label ‘went fulltime’ in 2004) it’s a collection that bears comparison with any of its peers. For a label run by two people with no financial backing, it’s nothing short of an inspiration.

Beats/Features: knoxfortune@gmail.com
All Reposted material features Knox Fortune production

Bob Nastanovich and Mike Hogan each share three songs and discuss why they matter to them. We don't have special sets of ears. We just love music, old and new, and want to share the noise.

GIDEÖN
HOMO-CENTRIC RECORDS / NYC DOWNLOW / ADONIS / R3 SOUNDSYSTEM / BLOCK9

GIDEÖN has a background in music spanning 33 years. In addition to his studio practice as a recording artist, his work as a creative director, stage designer and curator, he is also a touring DJ and an avid collector of vinyl. Since his first set of turntables in 1990, GIDEÖN has devoted his life to collecting vinyl from the US, Jamaica, Latin America, Africa, and the UK. He specialises in Northern Soul, Latin, Reggae, Gospel, and Disco rarities. House Music, above all else, is his first and greatest love. 

He is currently Creative Director of a new opera being developed in partnership with English National Opera. He has a degree in Music with Visual Practice (BA Hons) and was guest Creative Director of Music for London Borough of Culture 2022. Recent projects have seen Gideon head up Creative Direction for Dua Lipa’s record breaking Studio 2054, winning the MVA’s Music Video of The Year award. He was production designer for lead artists at Live at Worthy Farm, Glastonbury’s virtual festival livestream. 

As a curator, he programmed two events for Chaka Khan’s Meltdown Festival in summer 2024 and is currently Head of Music at The Roof Gardens in London. Other projects include work with Anohni, Banksy, Imperial War Museum, Finnish Opera House, Hercules & Love Affair, Lana Del Ray, Skrillex, Brian Eno, Roisin Murphey, The Blessed Madonna, Honey Dijon, and Jorja Smith.

GIDEÖN co-founded, co-directs and curates Block9’s festival nightlife institutions The NYC Downlow, Genosys, Maceo’s and IICON at Glastonbury Festival. He is also resident and co-booker at London’s hottest queer club night Adonis. As a radio DJ, GIDEÖN has been actively involved in broadcasting for over three decades. Since cutting his teeth on London’s pirate stations in the late nineties, he hosted a weekly show on London’s Soho Radio for 3 years. Recent guest appearances include New York’s Beats In Space, London’s Rinse FM, NTS Radio and BBC 6 Music. He recently held a residency at BBC Radio 1.

GIDEÖN has been involved in political activism his entire life and is now increasingly focussed on organising hybrid cultural-political events partnering music and protest, often under the banner of R3 Soundsystem. Together with charities Love Music Hate Racism & Stand Up To Racism, GIDEÖN has organised major sound system interventions on many of the Stop Brexit and Stop Trump and Anti-Fascism protests. He is actively involved with fundraising for several LGBTQ+, human rights and social justice organisations including AllOut, Medical Aid For Palestinians, Prepster, Human Dignity Trust and Refugee Community Kitchen. GIDEÖN sits on the advisory committee for The Right to Dance, part of War Child’s NGO Network.

R3 Soundsystem is a consortium of DJs, musicians, producers, record labels, festivals, nightclubs, sound systems, activists, and cultural organisations, all united by love of music and the rejection of right-wing nationalist values. R3’s three Rs stand for RESIST/REJECT/REVOLT.

GIDEÖN’s House Music label HOMO-CENTRIC RECORDS launched to showcase both his solo productions and collaborations with close queer comrades. The label focusses on the LGBTQ+ heritage of House and attempts to pay homage to its lost heroes. Its manifesto states the intent to re-establish the lines of queer musical tradition at the heart of House, lost to AIDS and the capitalist desecration of dance music itself.

We're not the best, but we're pretty good.

@chancetherapper
The Social Experiment
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