1992: Mooch were 'formed' in April 1992 by Steve Palmer. The early recordings were tape-only and featured musicians who worked with Steve at North London Collegiate School in Edgware: The mark I line-up. These early tapes featured guitar, flute and percussion, along with more exotic ethnic instruments collected by Steve from festivals, ethnic shops and even museums.
1993: After recording these ‘Ambient’ music tapes, there came one of the early recordings: ‘3001’ - A tape sent to Andy G, then working at Mike LLoyd Music, was enthusiastically received, and led on to dealings with Taste Records, who released ‘3001’ on CD. Later came the cassette-only ‘Planetfall’, which continued the vaguely science-fictional music of the band with Steve's interest in stories of alien life.
The first Taste only release was the ‘Postvorta’ CD, which was recorded directly after ‘3001’, which saw a more ethnic sound being produced, although this was still recognisably Mooch, and included the classic tracks 'Winged Beings', and the always-performed live favourite 'Extended Life' with its rushes of bass and clattering percussion. ‘Postvorta’ acquired a number of fans for the band, including 'quality item' BBC Radio 1 DJ Mark Radcliffe - Listeners were now in double figures!
1994: After recording a few more tape only releases, the third official album was recorded: ‘Starhenge’, and this was to be a much more ‘Ambient’ affair than the earlier albums.
1995: ‘Starhenge’ saw the congealing of the mark III line-up. It was this album that brought the first joint composition from the band, this being the ambient space-ethnicity of the final track, 'Dr. Strangelight', in which growling analogue keyboards underpin shimmering bells, birdsong, and lush strings. But it was perhaps the central twenty-four minute track 'Culture' that typified the new sound, with its mesmerising African percussion, ghostly keyboards and a spectral analogue of other sounds courtesy of Garry and Phil, all alongside the classic echo-bath guitars of Steve.
1996: Steve now began working with Pete Wyer, an old friend from university days, and Pete contributed a strong electric guitar sound to the increasingly sequenced compositions. In this year too came the final, and best group composition of the mark III line-up, the fifty-three minute ‘Flight of the Dub Voyager’. This piece was culled from an amazing two-hour multi-instrumental recording session held in Garry's room.
1997: With Cal working on his drum'n'bass project Urbanite, Steve, Garry and Phil Watson worked on the music that eventually became ‘In Search of Homo Sapiens Psychedelicus’, parts of which emerged later on a later CD. This year Steve also recorded ‘Acid Drenched Symphony’ using ‘Rebirth’ software.
1998: Now working with Andy G at his new Dead Earnest record label, the 4th and most recent CD album ‘In Search of the Acid Metal Grille’ was produced.
1999: This year saw the release of ‘In Search of the Acid Metal Grille’. Space cadets everywhere, enthusiastically received this recording of spacey, techno rock grooves. Working in collaboration with the Future Sound Of Exeter, Steve and various friends played a series of gigs to promote the Mooch sound, usually in Exeter, but also at the occasional festival.