Moomin

Sebastian Genz, performing under the alias Moomin, shaped his artistic path through the creation of understated yet potent deep house. During the opening years of the 1990s he focused intently on amassing hip-hop vinyl. By 1995 the expanding archive prompted him to begin performing as a DJ in Kiel, Germany, his native city. Concurrently he explored music production on Fastracker, a basic DOS-based sequencer. Over time he added physical equipment, notably an MPC, which allowed him to draw samples from the jazz, funk, and hip-hop holdings he had gathered. Disillusioned with the prevailing German hip-hop environment, he shifted his attention to house music and relocated to Berlin, the country’s hub of creative activity. More than ten years afterward, in 2010, he issued his first EP on AIM, an undertaking he approached with greater emphasis on quality than on punctuality. Favorable critical response drew the attention of Smallville Records, whose roster already featured Move D, Christopher Rau, and the label’s founders Smallpeople; the imprint invited him to prepare a complete album, which appeared in 2011 as The Story About You. His measured, contemplative approach aligned closely with the label’s aesthetic, fostering an enduring association. Building on the reception of that debut album and several subsequent EPs, Smallville prompted a second full-length Moomin project, issued in 2016 under the title A Minor Thought.