Moon Boots

Working under the alias Moon Boots, producer Pete Dougherty blends the influence of French house, minimalistic funk, disco, and soul into his highly melodic tracks. His joyous dance instrumentals often featured various guest vocalists, with Nic Hanson and Fiora singing lead on high-performing songs from his 2017 debut, First Landing, and artists like Black Gatsby and Cherry Glazerr making appearances on 2023′s Ride Away. Dougherty was born in Brooklyn and was obsessed with electronic music throughout his teenage years. Following a childhood spent learning piano, he soon discovered synthesizers, hip-hop, and the underground techno scene. Shortly after leaving Princeton University, he relocated to Chicago, where he DJ’ed, worked on original music, and played in a synth pop trio that toured sparingly. While performing and absorbing new sounds, Dougherty was also at work on original tracks, blending the influences of French house, jazz, minimalism, soul, and other discoveries. After returning to his hometown of Brooklyn and being introduced to the heads of the Anjunadeep label, Dougherty put the finishing touches on his debut album as Moon Boots, First Landing, a colorful and varied collection of melodic club tracks and R&B-tinged electronica. The album was released in the summer of 2017. A 2018 EP based around the Black Gatsby-assisted First Landing single, “Power,” appeared in 2018 and featured remixes from Mylo and Cratebug. Dougherty’s sophomore Moon Boots album, Bimini Road, arrived in 2019 and eventually landed on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart for electronic releases. The next several years saw a steady stream of singles, remixes, and EP releases, with projects like 2020′s Pure Moons EP series and a Bimini Road (Remixed) album that featured takes on Moon Boots tracks from Kenny Dope, Alex Metric, and others. In 2022, Dougherty began sharing singles in advance of an upcoming third studio album, starting with the Cherry Glazerr-assisted “Come Back Around” in July of that year. Full album Ride Away was released in March of 2023, and featured appearances from Ora the Molecule, Dope Earth Alien, and many others. ~ Fred Thomas