Moonshine Overamerica:

Whatever your opinion of Moonshine Records and its amazing tendency to fill store racks with a procession of Keoki mixes and comps inevitably featuring Cirrus, the label has definitely helped to bring electronic music to America's attention. Over the past few years, Moonshine has also provided a massive boost to the live tour scene with its Moonshine Overamerica package, which hit a new peak in 1999, doubling attendance from previous years and filling venues nationwide.

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For those who missed out on the Moonshine caravan (which also toured extensively in 2000), the label has produced a new video release, Moonshine Overamerica: The Documentary. The film navigates the behind-the-scenes world of this traveling musical circus -- kind of a Rolling Thunder Revue for the new millennium.

While it's a generally accepted rule that electronic performers are more expressive behind the decks than in front of a mike, the artists featured here are loquacious and friendly. They're also thoughtful enough about their experiences that, while they won't set any world records for introspection, they're definitely worth spending an hour with. Since the momentum is not provided by lengthy commentary, the video is edited in a rapid-fire style, bouncing, leaping and jumping from artist to artist in quick succession -- accurately capturing both the pace and feel of the music.

Although there's a fair share of predictable high jinks -- Keoki riding his motorcycle, etc. -- cutting-edge artists like legendary techno man Carl Cox and drum and bass experts AK1200 and DJ Dara are offered a platform for more serious artistic issues. The junglists in particular have the most interesting segments, weighing their experiences as newcomers against the ascendancy of drum and bass in the States. Dara, an Irish expatriate, has an especially unique perspective, coming from the D&B-saturated British Isles. Unfortunately, their efforts are neglected in the film's backing soundtrack, most of it focusing on Moonshine's bread-and-butter techno and breakbeat instead.

Ultimately, though, the video does allow us an all-too-rare glimpse into the day-to-day and on-the-road adventures of some of electronic music's finest. Worthwhile watching for diehards or the simply curious.