Moon Roq: The ‘Shine A Light On’ Mix

You’ll also find a deep, rhythmic sonic exploration woven throughout their performances, which also echoes across today’s mix – recorded live at The Glove That Fits in November 2024.

Tuck in!

Please introduce yourself… ⁠

We are Adam and Harry, also known as Moon Roq.

Who are you, where are you and what are you

We are two mates and musical companions who met in London when we both worked at Mick’s Garage six years ago; bonding over a love of chug, the guv, red lights, strobes, and haze machines in a Hackney Wick warehouse as we worked on our Club Mick’s party series.

Fast forward from 2019 to 2025 and you could say that we’re now a national operation, because one of us lives in the Lake District (Adam) and one still resides in London (Harry). 

Adam started Moon Roq as a cosmic, trippy themed mix series some 10 years ago, before we both turned it into a blog; interviewing some of our favourite artists on topics such as ‘Space, Time, and Techno’. Then we started putting on Moon Roq club nights from time to time, before evolving to DJ under the same name.

What does your music sound like? ⁠Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)?

From the mixes, to the interviews, to the parties, to the DJ sets; the same musical themes run through – we like to delve into chuggy, punky, deep, trippy hypnotic electronic sounds, from the slowest tempos all the way up to the blistering highs. Whilst also being partial to a disco groove and a few cosmic curveballs. A good friend once described our music as “like if Todd Terje was from the UK and played techno every now and then” and we’ll definitely take that.

The artwork for the poster was of a sort of cosmic junkyard. Loads of trashed satellites and space junk piled up on a  planet in some far off galaxy. That feels kinda right. This jumbled, fictional mess of spacey, technology… in space

⁠⁠⁠Where was the mix recorded?

This mix is a live recording from our all night set at The Glove That Fits in November of 2024 – a firm favourite club of ours; it’s very intimate, sounds great, and is run with the best intentions. It always feels special doing parties there, considering there are only a handful of great small clubs left in London. 

It was a really fun night with the dancefloor full of our mates, the mix is a nice representation of our flirtations through cosmic disco, dark chuggers, and wobbly sort-of techno sounds

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Ideally you would be sat motionless on a stool, in the centre of the basement of an empty nightclub. Ideally it would be a Friday night and you would press play around 11pm to get the full sensory experience. We appreciate that might be hard to facilitate, but to be honest, anything less than that would be a disservice to the audio on offer. 

What should we be wearing?

Ideally some comfortable and dance friendly footwear. Just wear whatever the hell you want.

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

When we invite an artist to contribute to our mix series, we always start with the same proposition: to picture yourself sitting on the surface of the moon, drinking a cocktail, and gently coming down from a high. So we’d like to imagine ourselves in that context with a few records…

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Adam: DONALDS HOUSE & DJ CHRYSALIS – POUND BEND [APIENTO REMIX]
Harry: JUAN MACLEAN – SKIES OPEN

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Harry: There’s always something extra personal & special about a mix when you ask someone to record something for you, and you listen back through, realising all the care and intent they put into a brilliant mix. I really love this one from Chida: https://soundcloud.com/themoonroqexperience/moon-roq-016-chida

Adam: I’ve absolutely pounded this Talabot mix over the years. Its just lovely stuff: https://soundcloud.com/phonicarecords/phonica-mix-series-27-john-talabot

⁠⁠If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

If this was gonna teleport us back to a certain time and place, we’d like the idea of going to the Muzic Box to try and DJ alongside Ron Hardy. Mainly just to stand next to him in the booth and witness all his crazy techniques and the absolute chaos of it all… but also because he delved into acid house, italo disco and all sorts of wild stuff. Alfredo at Amnesia in the mid-80s would also be a sight to behold, literally spectating on the genesis of the balearic sound.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

Adam: My first set up entailed one Numark CDJ which I got for my Birthday in February, and then had to wait until Christmas in order to get the second CDJ.. and then finally until my next birthday for a mixer. So that was just quite a bloody frustrating period of time, thanks.

Harry: Coincidentally, I also had 2x Numark CDJs but I acquired them simultaneously haha. Interestingly, we both have the same set up today, just a mixer and pair of technics. Although I have what friends have described as porn star turntables; fully white decks with blue LEDs lights – pretty ridiculous but also pretty snazzy – bought them like this from a mate during covid and they’ve become part of the furniture.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

For us, the opening track always sets the tone and has a lot more impact on the night, building the audience’s trust in the selections – if everything goes to plan, once you’ve gained that trust, you can start to get away with taking a lot more risks and being more free… so yeah, the early records allow you to do that and then by the end… you could almost play whatever you like, within reason! Our last track in this mix / on the night is a emotional one by Barker, here’s a pic of us hugging it out at the very end:

What were the first and last records you bought?

Adam: The first CD I bought was Fatboy Slim’s Gangster Trippin, which was number 3 in the charts in 1998. The last one was “Disco Powerplay II” by Soft Rocks, which came out in 2006. Interestingly, Fatboy Slim and Soft Rocks are both Brighton-associated artists. Cool, huh? 

Harry: I believe the first CD I got my hands on was Gorillaz ‘Demon Days’, the last record I bought was DMX Krew’s ‘We Are DMX’ from a great lil Japanese pop up shop.

⁠⁠If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

A drunk cheeseburger perhaps. Or the hungover Pho the next day? No! Like a cigarette and slice of Kendal mint cake.

If it was an animal what would it be?

The incredible Secretary Bird. By that we mean: relatively unknown; beautiful; a killer of snakes; with long, slender legs; and talons that can fuck you up at a moment’s notice.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

“Seaman Level” by Cougarman & General Z. It’s one of those ones that you really have to just stop everything and press play. It starts with this weird warbling and screaming, and then when the beat comes in, it just comes crashing in, and it’s really jarring. Somehow DJ Harvey made it work at Fabric many years ago, but that says it all.

⁠⁠Upcoming in the world of…

We are delighted to be playing at KOKO Electronic this Saturday, Dec 20th alongside Ida Vie and Oyvind Morken. Then we have plenty of surprises coming for 2026, so keep an eye on our socials for that!

⁠Anything else we need to discuss?

Just get a load of this (please): www.moonroq.club

Photographer credit: https://www.instagram.com/tdbroll