This student spotlight introduces you to David Moody, aka Moovs. David is an ICON Alumni who now shares his knowledge and experience as an ICON Instructor. Learn about David’s musical journey, his time working with KSHMR, and his aspirations as an ICON Instructor.
Introducing David Moody
Once you become a part of ICON Collective as a student, instructor, staff member, guest speaker, or anyone else, you’re a part of that collective for life. And David Moody has been and continues to be an excellent addition to the collective.
Beginning his time at ICON as a student, David is now moving on to become an instructor at ICON. His experience at ICON puts him in a unique position to give back to the collective that helped him hone his sound as a music producer.
It was also through ICON that David came into contact with the revered producer, DJ, and label head, KSHMR, whom he still works with today.
Besides teaching at ICON and working alongside KSHMR, David is also producing forward-thinking bass music under the name Moovs. He has releases on KSHMR’s label Dharma and will have more music coming in 2020.
David Moody Interview
We spoke to David about his transition from being a student at ICON to being an instructor at ICON, his new Moovs project, and more. Read our exclusive interview below.
1. After attending ICON, what made you want to come back as an instructor? What sort of wisdom will you impart to the students outside of the curriculum?
ICON was such a great experience for me as a student. It’s really an honor to be back in such a creative and welcoming environment as an instructor. I wish I had an educational environment like ICON when I started producing to help guide the way. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to help others in that way. Plus, teaching is a great educational experience on its own in a lot of ways. I feel like I’m learning and pushing myself throughout the process.
Ultimately, one of the bigger keys to producing is just to keep going. Keep making songs. Keep experimenting and pushing yourself to find new techniques and look at things from other angles. Also, listen and analyze a lot of styles of music from different eras. At the end of the day, no one is reinventing the wheel. Instead, they’re finding new and creative ways to put the same ingredients together.
2. How did you end up working with KSHMR? What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from him?
The opportunity came through my quarter three mentor, Chico. Chico helped me through the process of making some demos to pitch to KSHMR. After a couple of weeks working on those, I went to meet up with him and immediately started working. I’m still working with KSHMR now, and I really couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. He’s a really genuine guy that has an insane work ethic. I’ve also learned a lot of things from KSHMR, but one of my biggest takeaways is how hard (and how often) he works. It’s inspiring to see someone who’s made it to where he’s at in his career and keep grinding away at what he loves to do.
3. What do you think is the most valuable aspect of learning music production in a traditional setting?
For me, one of the most valuable aspects of ICON is the community of people within the collective. Often, producing can be a pretty lonely gig, so having a great group of like-minded people around you can help push you to bigger and better things. The curriculum at ICON is also excellent, and I certainly learned a ton in every class. But I felt like being in the school as much as possible outside of classes allowed me to absorb much more information from instructors and other students alike. I didn’t even realize I didn’t know, you know?
4. What are some exciting things you have coming up surrounding your productions?
I’ve recently put out music under the name “Moovs,” and I’m excited about what’s to come with that! I’ve also got a new track coming out on Dharma (KSHMR’s label) towards the beginning of 2020. Plus, I’ll many more to come throughout the year.