Orb Podcast 003: Brendon Moeller

As soon as he settled in New York in 1993 to begin his producing career, Brendon Moeller’s time has been spent in the studio producing highly venerated eclectic albums, singles, and remixes. Born in South Africa, his parents noticed his talent as a musician at an early age, hence, signed young Brendon up to take piano lessons. However, Moeller’s interests were quite different from what he was learning in those lessons, one of the reasons he gave up the piano and music until the age of 19. Later, Moeller joined a band as a drummer for some time which didn’t excite his potential as an artist considering the other members’ lack of interest. Fed up with this frustration, Brendon made a pilgrimage to one of the art capitals of the world, New York, where he was free to pursue the music he always wanted to create.

Now, Moeller is one of the most prominent producers in his style, especially in post-Basic Channel dub techno. Since his move to New York, Moeller has risen through the ranks as a dub technician releasing material through several major labels like Speedy J’s Electric Deluxe, Echocord, and Silent Season. He has also worked with several world class vocalists like Paul St. Hilaire, Mikey Dread, and Mutabaruka, and has been a regular at famous venues like Fabric and Berghain.

Most of all, the South African producer likes to keep it simple.

“My goal is, first and foremost, to create timeless, quality music that resonates with people from all walks of life. I want to evolve musically. I want to be able to continue making music and support my family with it… and if all goes well, would love to make enough money to purchase all my favourite analogue synthesizers.”

He is a proud pioneer and trail-blazer of the dub landscape; laying down the road as you walk it must not be easy, but then again there aren’t many who can say they’ve done it. As Beat Pharmacy and at times Echologist or Mono Blanco, Moeller released an impressive number of albums, all of which have stood the test of time. His musical range spans from jazz, techno, dub, afrobeat and psychedelia, which demonstrates that Moeller is not afraid to challenge the concepts and styles of any genre—best illustrated in the podcast he exclusively did for us.

Tracklist
01. I-LP-O in Dub – Dark Money Dub
02. Terekke – JQM
03. Moebius – Flink
04. Rapoon – Abstract Two
05. Arovane & Porya Hatami – Specreature
06. Philip Glass – Part 5
07. Joe – MPH
08. Harmonious Thelonious – Low Beat
09. Terrence Dixon – The Test of Time
10. BNJMN – Undulations
11. Forest Drive West – Static
12. Phil Moffa – the Nameless City
13. Zadig – Solar Analogue
14. Muslimgauze – Your Arms, Your Opium
15. Ena – 26th Divided