Dave Aude

by Diana Potts

Dave Aude's production contributions span the barriers of dance music. He has produced for artists like DJ Keoki, Barenaked Ladies, Faith No More, Orgy, and Madonna, while his own productions rest between high-energy house and tranced-out jungle that have made him popular amongst the jungle and techno crowds.

Aude's music environment was constant as a child. By the time he was 18 he had a garage full of synths, sequencers, and drum machines. At 22 he started a four-year stay as a full-fledged MIDI instructor at the Los Angeles Recording Workshop. In 1991, Aude visited a Los Angeles dance club, Truth, where he heard house music for the first time. House appealed to him as something he could take further to pop music with his production history. He befriended the promoter of Truth, Steve Levy, and the two formed the group Lunatic Fringe which lead to the founding of Levy's label, Moonshine Music. Aude built a recording studio in the label's West Hollywood, enabling him to work with Moonshine artists. He also mixed a series of compilation albums and played a big part in one of the label's biggest techno hits, DJ Dan's, "That Zipper Track," which he recorded under the alias Needle Damage. He has a number of mix albums to his credit, including 2000's Rush Hour, 2001's Nocturnal Wonderland and 2003's Mixed Live.