music
Mocky
Mocky began playing music at age 7, when he would watch music videos of the eighties and then go and imitate what he saw on his older brother’s drumset during the commercial breaks.
He later attended Boston's Berklee Music College on a scholarship, before moving on to University of Toronto, where he distinguished himself as an acoustic bass player (studying with Oscar Peterson’s bassist) and took unofficial studies in electro-acoustic composition as well as pursuing his own interests in psychology and primate musical abilities.
During university Mocky hosted a weekly live hip-hop jam that brought together musicians and rappers. It was also during this fertile time (1994-1998) that he, together with Peaches, Gonzales and Sticky, founded “The Shit”, a Dadaist punk band that would influence all of these musicians in their solo careers.
During this time Mocky released a short series of self-produced cassettes and 45s that to this day continue to inspire his musical collaborators, showcasing his unusual harmonic and rhythmic sense as well as a gift for evocative songwriting.
Feeling the need for change, and inspired by a dream where he was a revolutionary leader in the form of a stuffed animal called “Mocky”, he adopted the moniker and left Canada to move to London with plans to release his first album. There he briefly played bass with tabla player and Mercury Prize winner Talvin Singh, and worked at groundbreaking internet radio station “Gaialive”.
Otherwise London was a hard learning experience (the inspiration for his future song “Sweet Music (Whatcha Doin’ For Me?)”). After a disastrous year, which included doing an exhibition at an East End gallery as an excuse to live there and for a short time sleeping in his keyboard case, he relocated to Amsterdam.
His first album "In Mesopotamia" (a reference to a book by his grandfather) was hailed as a success by critics, and heralded for its unique lo-fi funk and strangely touching rap lyrics, which often deal with complex issues such as identity, and continued his obsession with apes and human behaviour.
The album was licensed to trendsetting German label Gomma and critical acclaim followed. The surprise success of his song "Sweet Music" proved that the attention of mainstream radio could be held while working with a sampler in your bedroom. It was used in catwalk fashion shows and licensed to numerous compilations worldwide.