Moonraker
Biography
Ever since the band's formation in the late 1990s, Moonraker has been extremely difficult to categorize. Alternative pop/rock is part of what they do, but the East Coast residents' dreamy, hypnotic, jazzy work has just as much to do with urban contemporary, funk, disco, and club/dance music. Portishead, Radiohead, Björk, U2, David Bowie, and Steely Dan have all been cited as influences, but Moonraker's sound also brings to mind the soulful grooves of Erykah Badu, India.Arie, N'Dea Davenport, and the Brand New Heavies. In fact, Moonraker's lead singer, Kelli Scarr, has such an R&B-minded vocal style that she would probably sound perfectly natural singing in the Heavies or performing a vocal duet with Badu, Davenport, or India.Arie. One term that Moonraker's members have often used to describe their music is "livetronica," which is their way of saying that they have been greatly influenced by certain types of electronica but aren't totally electronic themselves. Moonraker's approach does, in fact, owe a lot to the softer, smoother, side of electronica -- as opposed to techno and the harsher, more abrasive forms of rave music -- and they have obviously been greatly influenced by trip-hop, chill-out, acid jazz, and downtempo.
Selected Discography
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