DJ Brian

The venue in which this Southern Californian honed his DJing skills was just about idyllic: under the stars and the night sky at free monthly full moon parties. In order to get such a privileged slot, he impressed the founders of Moontribe (the promoters) enough to inspire them to let the up-and-coming DJ into their ranks. After joining Moontribe in 1995, DJ Brian swiftly rose among the ranks of local and touring DJs; soon he was sharing the bill with the likes of Orbital and Underworld. Moonshine, the influential dance label based in Los Angeles, was quick to sign him, thereby placing in an elite group of artists that include Goldie, Gus Gus and Dieselboy. Brian favors hard-hitting, high-intensity music of all kinds, especially trance and house. His style made him a natural fit at the full moon parties – he's exactly the sort of DJ who knows how to bring crowds higher and higher as the sun slowly begins to break over the morning sky. Brian's seminal releases for Moonshine were the Hardesertrance compilations, a series of hard trance compilations from the heyday of the full moon rave scene. Hardesertrance was released in 1997; The Spirit of Hardesertrance followed in the winter of 1998; and Hardesertrance 3 – Son of the Moon rounded out the series in 1999. On another Los Angeles electronica label, Phatt Phunk Records, he released the full-length album Los Angeles Trance Excursion. He has also contributed to other albums, either as a DJ or a producer. Most recently, Brian released his fourth Moonshine album, Psychotrance 2002. This album shows a departure from his original style, and a remarkable facility to mix breaks and other experimental techniques with straight-ahead house and trance. The stylistic evolution coincides with the artist's first attempt to create a...