Move D

Move D has spent three decades proving that a producer can stay in the town where he grew up and still be heard everywhere else. David Moufang was born in Heidelberg in 1966, and the university town on the Neckar has remained his base while his records, collaborations and live sets have carried the name across ambient, techno and deep house. When a London move would have been the obvious career step in the 1990s, he has said he stayed home, partly because of the cost of living in the British capital.

Heidelberg and Source Records

According to Wikipedia, Moufang's early influences were space, technology and music, and he became proficient in percussion and guitar before turning to electronic music. He was introduced to techno in 1989 and spent time playing ambient techno in clubs before moving into production. In 1992 he founded Source Records in Heidelberg with Jonas Grossmann, a partnership documented by Resident Advisor, and the pair released their first material together as Earth to Infinity.

The label became the home for much of his early catalogue. Big Rooms (1993), credited to Deep Space Network, the duo of Moufang and Grossmann, came out on Source, followed by the Reagenz album in 1994 with the American producer Jonah Sharp, and the solo album Kunststoff in 1995. Alongside Source he released work on a long list of other labels, among them Silent, FAX, Warp, Compost, Aus Music and Smallville.

Collaborations

Few producers of his generation have collaborated as widely. Wikipedia lists a long run of albums with Pete Namlook for FAX Records, beginning with the Koolfang project's Jambient in 1995 and continuing through Wired in 2001. Conjoint, his ambient-jazz project, released Earprints on Source in 2000. In 2008 he released Songs from the Beehive with Benjamin Brunn on Smallville Records, the Hamburg label that regularly released their joint work.

Reagenz returned in late 2009 after a 13-year break, Resident Advisor reported, and later produced the triple LP The Periodic Table. His longest-running recent partnership is Magic Mountain High, formed with the duo Juju & Jordash and described by Moufang in a 2014 interview as his main collaboration. The project plays improvised live sets built on hardware, which he contrasts with DJing, where he says his aim is to serve the crowd. He has also worked with the Connecticut deep house figure Jus-Ed, including the Underground Quality release It's a Struggle (2011).

Sound

Moufang does not sit in one genre. Sound Shelter, summarizing his catalogue, lists techno, minimal, deep house, downtempo, disco, dub, electro and ambient, with swing and melodic detail as constants. Wikipedia describes him as a German deep house musician, and Sound Shelter notes that Kunststoff established that range early. The Manchester student paper Mancunion describes him as a vinyl purist who has stayed out of the spotlight, and he has said playing vinyl limits what he can bring to a set.

Notable Releases

Beyond the early Source records, Cymbelin arrived on Warp in 1996, and Tomboy / Freud's Baby with Thomas Meinecke followed in 1999. In 2006 he released the Silk and Schmoove EP on Compost, in 2014 he mixed fabric 74 for London's Fabric, and in 2019 he released Building Bridges on Aus Music.

Live at RTS.FM

RTS.FM recorded Move D twice in 2010. The first set, from February 2010, was made at the channel's St. Petersburg studio and runs 1 hour 17 minutes, with more than 23,000 views. The second, from November 2010, runs 2 hours 8 minutes and has drawn more than 52,000 views.

FAQ

Who is Move D?

Move D is the recording name of David Moufang, a German producer and DJ born in 1966 in Heidelberg, where he is still based. He co-founded Source Records in 1992 and works across ambient, techno and deep house.

What is Source Records?

Source Records is a Heidelberg label that Move D (David Moufang) founded in 1992 with Jonas Grossmann. It released early Move D records including Kunststoff (1995).

What is Magic Mountain High?

Magic Mountain High is a collaboration between Move D and the duo Juju & Jordash. It performs improvised live sets built on hardware and was described by Move D in 2014 as his main collaboration.

What is Reagenz?

Reagenz is Move D's project with American producer Jonah Sharp. Its first album appeared in 1994, and the pair revived the project in late 2009 after a 13-year break.

Has Move D performed at RTS.FM?

Yes. RTS.FM has two Move D sets from 2010: a 1 hour 17 minute set from its St. Petersburg studio on February 6, 2010 and a 2 hour 8 minute set recorded on November 7, 2010.