Who is Gary Moscheles ?? According to persistent rumours, he counts a manufacturer of tennis rackets and a professor of ancient Greek among his close relatives.

"Shaped" meshes a funky, organic feel with the trademark offbeat quirkiness which can be found in previous projects by Gary's various alter-egos.

Gary Moscheles mashes up funk, jazz, disco, jazz funk and funky jazzy disco breaks with twittering synths and syrupy vocals into a highly innovative slab of (ch)easy listening.

Press cuts

"The dance underground lives by its own rules. Whether circulating obscure white labels to DJ friends, making musical references to even more obscure artists or hiding behind pseudonyms, dance artists are, by nature, ornery creatures. And few are as difficult as the man who has chosen to call himself Gary Moscheles for a side-project release on a lowprofile Belgian label.

By day Mike Paradinas labours under the µ-ziq moniker, creating disjointed, awkward and angular tracks that shift the boundaries of what's acceptable in esoteric techno. At night, he dons a cape and becomes Gary Moscheles, the epitome of cool and the world's greatest swinger. As a louche lounge lizard to rival Dean Martin, the alter-ego in question is only interested in music you can dance to - as opposed to usic for the brain - arid he goes to great lengths to create the perfect atmosphere for hedonism.

From the vibes samples of 'Mamborama' to the ridiculous and OTT parody of showbiz insincerity that is 'Gary's House', Moscheles plays around with any strand of dance he can think of. Repetition is his stock-in-trade, often used to hypnotic effect, but sometimes used to irritate in the same manner as a squeaky toy oil a blackboard.

On the plus side, the modern-day mambo of 'Mamblues' is drenched in the sort of Acid-y squiggles last heard during '87's supposed Second Summer Of Love, while 'Walk It Llke This' strains towards authentic jazz-dance. Yet again, Moscheles can't restrain his more sarcastic tendencies, and closer listening reveals rude words or funk chants buried in the mixes. His crowning glory is probably '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8', where Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock's 'It Takes Two' early rap classic is stripped down and remade with a smirk. For all his desecration of past music, however, it's easy to tell that Moscheles has an abiding love for all tile cheesy sources he samples. Certainly, there's enough evidence here to suggest the real reason Mike Paradinas chose this pseudonym was to allow his more conventional side room for expression.

Fans of u-ziq's experiments might scoff at 'Shaped To Make Your Life Easier' arid mutter about recognisable beats and rhythms being beneath them, but their loss is our gain. Elect Moscheles Minister Of Fun today and watch the clouds of gloom lift." -Dele Fadele (NME, Dec7, 1996)

"SSR once again on form with an album release that is sure to become a lo-fi Classic. Mike Paradinas takes on the guise of Gary Moscheles and comes up with a cheeky fusion of jazz, funk and disco that will keep your pants swinging from here to jazz heaven, Gary is definitely a man who knows how to make you feel good, in fact 'Gary's House' is the perfect place to stay. Both groovy and jazztastic this is very tongue in cheek, but also very good." (Wax, 12/96)

"Gary Moscheles is of course the man with more aliases than Howard Marks. Mike Paradinas, aka Jake Slazenger, aka m-ziq. Rather than seek therapy for his multiple personality disorder Mike/Jake/Gary prefers to lob out variously-hued musical platterz for the deelite and delectation of his confused fans with Gary being the moniker designated for the nicking of old acid-jazz trax by the looks of things. So '12345678' takes Jimmy Smith's '8 Counts For Rita' and messes with its mind. 'Johnny Hates Jazz' bowdlerizes Johnny Pate's classic 'You're Starting Too Fast', 'Mama Rama and 'Mamblues' both reek of Cal Tjader, 'Goodbye Jazz People' sees Mike/Gary chatting over Charles Garland's 'Betty Boop' etc etc. So if you want to hear classic dance floor jazz with acid noises and lo-fi loops slammed over them, Gary Moscheles is your man. If, however, you prefer the funk of the originals then Gary Moscheles seems more like a sham." (Jockey Slut, 12/96)

"Mike Paradinas dons yet another disguise for his latest E-Z excursion. Cocktail bar vibes given a good kicking from some lazy breakbeats: 21st Century lounge muzak." (I-D, 12/96)