Brothers Pavel and Vitaliy formed the Moonbeam outfit in 2003 in their home of Russia, and quickly proceeded to knuckle down in the studio. Releasing their debut Raven Gipsy EP in June 2005, their next move was to establish Moonbeam Digital and start collaborating with other producers like Jeff Bennett, Stephan Hinz, LeRon & Yves Eaux, Clubbervision and more. And within no time they were getting plenty of support form the likes of Flash Brothers, Hernan Cattaneo, DJ Hell, Mashtronic, D-Nox* and many more.
With things moving full steam ahead for the duo, in 2006 Sharam included Moonbeam remix on his Global Underground 029 Dubai compilation and only last year. And they also caught the attention of a certain ‘big’ name in dance music – Tiesto included their epic track See the Difference Inside on his In Search of Sunrise 6 Ibiza compilation. Bringing a mixture of lush techno sounds, melodic minimal and even a dash of trance, Moonbeam are in the country now. ITM talks to the outfit.
What does music mean to you?
Everything in our lives connect with music. It is always with us: in the morning, in the afternoon, at night. If we have a bit of free time outside of that, we go for sports, and spend time with our friends.
How do you find your inspiration for your music? Does traveling around the world inspire your music?
We find inspiration the world around. Travel also gives many fresh emotions: different the countries, different cultures. It helps to write new music. When we come from round, it would be desirable to go to studio and to write a track.
Where is your dream location to perform?
Australia for us the far and mysterious country, but we dreamed of Sydney much.
Would you get offended if one of your tracks was playing and people were not dancing?
We always try to play interestingly. We think that if people do not dance, for some reason they are not connecting with what that the certain track.
Do you think that Australia’s House/Techno scene is very different to that of Russia or Europe? If so, then why?
Electronic music has no borders. A good techno track can be heard simultaneously in the clubs of Sydney, Tokyo, Moscow etc. I hope that in time, more details will allow me to get get acquainted with the Australian clubbing musical culture.
What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you both while on tour?
The most mad experience happened to us with when we were touring across America. After an excursion into the city we returned to the house in which we were staying. The owner was not, and we opened the door but had forgotten the code of the security system. So it went off of course, and we had to sit back and wait for the arrival of the American police. Fortunately it all ended well!
Does it make any difference if you are releasing a track with your record label, Moonlight Digital, or with another label?
It is equally interesting to us to release tracks on labels like Traum Schallplatten, and on Moonbeam Digital. We just try to do good music, and whether or not it’s the best track we only learn after release, from our fans.
What is the best thing about producing music for other artists?
It is very individual thing for each musician and the artist. Different things are always inspiring you, things that happen in life everyday. Sometimes it’s the smile of an unfamiliar girl that’s enough to bring a good mood for a new track.
Does it help to have a vocalist to aid you during the creative process?
In our opinion, it is very important, when the vocalist and the musician understand each other well.
What do you like about your monthly radio show, Moonbeam Music, and what do you find the most difficult?
Internet radio us one of the most accessible ways to promote music, irrespective of borders and language barriers. We Proton Radio to be of radio one of the best the internet radio stations, and it’s very easy for us to work with. We’re real friendly with Jason Wohlstadter, and it was great for to us to play on Proton Party at the WMC in Miami this year.
How do you think your music affects people?
We are very glad, that our music finds the fans. We receive a plenty of letters from the different countries. And this definitely motivates me, and helps me to keep making the tracks. I want to thank all of our fans and I hope to find friend in Australia.
How does it make you feel to be included on Tiesto’s legendary compilation In Search of Sunrise 6 Ibiza last year?
We love to make music across various different styles, and to work with different vocalists. To 2007 we’d already done several techno tracks, and it was important to us to try our hand at something different and we wanted to go in the direction of trance. And inclusion on In Search of Sunrise 6 Ibiza gave us a lot of confidence that we went in the right way.
Where do you guys want to be, in terms of your career, in the near future?
It’s not something that we think of much. We simply try to work well every day.
Check out Moonbeam’s mix on ITM-FM, and catch them at the following shows…
Fri 16th May – Sydney, Sweetchilli
Sat 17th May – Melbourne, Ffour
