MOFODiSHU (moe-foe-dee-shu) is a free-noise/jazz/what-have-you quartet (at times a trio) that hails from New Jersey. This here bare-bones limited edition cassette brings together two of their previously released digital albums: Rhythm is for Gals and Live at the Court Tavern. Their interplay of scorched analog noise, buzzing guitar, and enlivened reed work, at first, took me back to what I imagined the Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton album was going to sound like when I first caught wind of it several years ago. It’s been so damn long since I’ve actually heard that album, so I’m not necessarily going to throw that out there as an apt reference point, but MOFODiSHU certainly do share a thing or two with these towering figures: lurching atmospherics, skewed melodic lines that cut straight through, and a clear understanding of tension and dynamics. As this c90 spins out, though, you begin to hear more of their laptop/turntable, generally ambient, flourishes come to the fore, which calls to mind some of the more abstract and forward-thinking jazzbos on the Rune Grammofon label. So like Supersilent, for instance, MOFODiSHU doesn’t really fit comfortably into any genre-specific box. This here’s a solid introduction, though, to a group making some fascinating NEW sounds.
Nacht Records