Music I Liked – Zatokrev, Masterboot, Mongol, Kikagaku Moyo

Okay, the truth is that I kept on listening to Vök last week. But I also dug into the blogs a bit, and did find some music I liked: Zatokrev, Masterboot, Mongol, and Kikagaku Moyo, to be specific.

Zatokrev

I don’t think I had heard Zatokrev before I saw them at Eistnaflug in 2014. But I loved this Swiss band’s set. I don’t usually listen to splits. They mess up my catalogues. But I’ll make an exception for Migod.

I’ve already forgotten how I heard about it, but I won’t soon forget the way the music manages to blend majestic beauty and coziness simultaneously.

Masterboot Record

This one came from a bandcamp daily post. Despite a name designed to make middle schoolers giggle and a chip tune sound palette, this album manages to be both intense and emotional. Virus.DOS feels more like heavy metal or Bach than dance music.

Mongol

When I was younger, “cross-cultural” was a virtue word. Now people are more likely to sling accusations of cultural appropriation. I tend to think most such accusations are misplaced – usually “rude” and “insensitive” are more accurate than “appropriative.” But a bunch of white Canadians selling music filled with “Eastern” sounds raised a red flag. Even so, Mongol hooked me. The stuff that sounds like erhu might actually be banjo (or synths), but regardless, it sounds really good. And the concept of Warrior Spirit (if I’ve got it right) is about Genghis Khan rising from the dead and riding at the fore of a zombie horde… so I’m going to say it’s not really stealing anyone’s history. But it is offering everyone some really good music.

Kikagaku Moyo

I was so bummed to miss Kikagaku Moyo at Pickathon this summer. One of their sets was late at night, and the other was overflowing by the time we got to the venue. But their music is as delightfully clunky as their name, and it’s much easier to enjoy Masana Temples than it is to get into one of their shows.