Paul Mogg  

Great partnerships have littered our cultural development for centuries. Whether it be art, comedy, film or music, the double-act/duo dictat has helped to produce some of the world’s most inspired work. Now with their Moon Unit project in full swing, Paul Mogg (one half of the Psychonauts) and Xaver Naudascher (owner of Supersoul Recordings) look to break into the halcyon realms of such pioneering twosomes by creating a new musical landscape that has already seen their releases praised by the likes of Prins Thomas, Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, DJ Hell, James Murphy and The Klaxons to name a few. As the pair prepare their debut album and begin to hit clubs with the Moon Unit live show a new label collaboration with DFA’s Death From Abroad off shoot will see the pairs analogue inspired recordings explode across the globe in 2008.

Paul Mogg has released records on Mo’ Wax and Gigolo, remixed Tiefschwarz, Liquid Liquid and Gina X and as a DJ has taken apart countless dance floors around the world. Xaver Naudascher has released records on Gigolo, !K7 and Ministry Of Sound and since 2006 runs Supersoul Recordings. Both children of the 70s, Paul grew up in the cider swigging Somerset market town of Yeovil whilst Xaver’s formative years were spent in a very different environment, that of the Italian fashionista capital Milan. Whilst Mogg, freshly inspired by mid 80s break dancing and body popping was putting on parties in local halls as there was nothing going on, Naudascher was trying to impress female schoolfriends with new dance moves at the Linea Club to the sounds of Pet Shop Boys, Art of Noise and italo-disco. About as diametrically opposed as initial club baptisms can go it was ultimately their combined love of new music that was to bridge the pairs’ cultural divide and united them in their search for the perfect beat.

By the time Naudascher moved to Germany in the late 80s he was DJing at parties playing the likes of Foetus and Front 242 when people wanted Chic and James Brown. Meanwhile Mogg was beginning to make a name for himself as one half of turntablist duo The Psychonauts, cutting and splicing everything from electro, hip hop, disco, techno, house and funk. Already friends from his Yeovil days with Unkle’s Tim Goldsworthy, the pair soon hooked up with Mo’ Wax, beginning their illustrious recording career and burning their sound into the world’s subconscious.

Fast forward to the turn of the millennium and both artists found themselves independently releasing on DJ Hell’s Gigolo imprint and through a mutual friend were introduced whilst Mogg was spinning in the German capital. Thus over the course of more clubland discussions, a joint love of analogue synthesizers and electronic music lead to its logical conclusion and a studio session was suggested. Moon Unit was born.

Releasing the epic analogue synth ten minute workouts of Moon Unit Parts 1 and 2 in 2007 saw the accolades roll in as the duo quickly established a following from both DJs and press alike. From single of the issue status in DJ, iDJ and Mixmag to charting in many of the world’s most respected DJs’ charts word was spreading about their lunar, Carpenter-esque soundscapes. With 2008’s Parts 3 and 4 gaining similar praise and the inevitable 5 and 6 waiting in the wings, the Mogg & Naudascher partnership is currently working on a debut album with Irish singer Rosalind providing a new vocal dimension to both their studio work and live show. Having already played live at Sketch during London Fashion Week, Mogg & Naudascher’s live project is set to tour more extensively throughout the rest of the year as the Supersoul label is soon to be featured on a double CD release by DFA’s new talent scouting sub label, Death From Abroad whilst the pair put the finishing touches to their debut studio album.

Further with a string of Mogg & Naudascher remixes about to drop including Psychonauts – ‘World Keeps Turning’ (Souvenir), Pylon – ‘Danger!!’ (DFA) and UNKLE – ‘Hold My Hand’ (Surrender All), this year is set to be one huge lunar eclipse of the dancefloor.