Mahjongg (band)
Encyclopedia
将麻 is a two-piece band based in Chicago, Illinois formerly known as "Mahjongg," consisting of multi-instrumentalist Hunter Husar and drummer Josh Johannpeter. Formed by Husar and former guitarist Jeff Carrillo in 2001, their sound combined guitar, synthesizer and computer manipulations with dense rhythmic textures derived from Afrobeat
, funk
, and post-punk
.
Mahjongg released three full length albums: Raydoncong (2005), Kontpab (2008) and The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (2010). They performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival
and the Off Festival
in Mysłowice, Poland. In December 2010 they played the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival
curated by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
.
in 2001 by University of Missouri
students Hunter Husar and Jeff Carrillo. Drummer Josh Johannpeter and violinist/multi-instrumentalist Caryl Kientz joined the band later that year, and bassist Gabe Vijles was recruited just prior to a 2002 tour.
In 2004 Mahjongg released the EP Machinegong on Cold Crush Records, a label co-run by Pretty Girls Make Graves
bassist Derek Fudesco. Fudesco had been so impressed by Mahjongg's demo that he signed the band without having seen them perform. That same year Mahjongg relocated to Chicago, Illinois, becoming part of the "Columbia Diaspora" which included bands such as Cave
, Warhammer 48K, Londo Mondo and Waterbabies. Their first full length album, Raydoncong, was released on Cold Crush in 2005.
Both Machinegong and Raydoncong received positive reviews, and in 2008 Mahjongg released their second album Kontpab on K Records
. The title is a "mash-up" of avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen
's "Kontra-Punkte" and the breakfast cereal Pablum
. Vijles and Kientz left the band before the release of Kontpab, to be replaced by Mikale De Graff and Dan Quinlivan. Carrillo moved to Nashville in 2007 and quit the band in 2009.
In 2008 Mahjongg released the single "Free Grooverider", which the band characterized as a protest song. Grooverider
is a prominent drum 'n' bass DJ and producer who in 2008 was sentenced to four years imprisonment in Dubai for possessing marijuana.
From its inception, Mahjongg sought to break from post-punk
conventions, incorporating Afrobeat
rhythms, samples, dissonance and glitch
into its sound. Everyone in the band sang, and Husar, De Graff and Quinlivin shared duties on synthesizer, computer manipulation, guitar and ancillary percussion. With the departure of principal guitarist Carrillo, the band moved towards a more dance-oriented sound. Their 2010 album Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger featured less guitar work and was more reliant on electronics and elements of techno
and house music
.
Mahjongg has collaborated with recording engineer Benjamin Balcom since 2003. Together they built a studio called Minbal which opened in February 2009.
Mahjongg played their last show with members De Graff, Quinlivan, and former guitarist Carrillo as part of the BitchPork festival on July 16, 2011. They officially changed their name to "将麻," the Chinese spelling for the game Mah-jong, and remain a two piece consisting of original members John Johannpeter and Hunter Husar.
As of late, Mahjongg has been recording with MNDR.
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
.
Mahjongg released three full length albums: Raydoncong (2005), Kontpab (2008) and The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (2010). They performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...
and the Off Festival
Off Festival
OFF Festival is alternative music festival held annually since 2006, sponsored by mBank and Lech, and promoted by one of Poland's national radio stations, Program 3 Polskiego Radia. Until 2009 it was held at Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland in August and lasts four days...
in Mysłowice, Poland. In December 2010 they played the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
curated by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
.
History
Mahjongg was formed in Columbia, MissouriColumbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
in 2001 by University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
students Hunter Husar and Jeff Carrillo. Drummer Josh Johannpeter and violinist/multi-instrumentalist Caryl Kientz joined the band later that year, and bassist Gabe Vijles was recruited just prior to a 2002 tour.
In 2004 Mahjongg released the EP Machinegong on Cold Crush Records, a label co-run by Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was an art punk band, formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths song of the same name...
bassist Derek Fudesco. Fudesco had been so impressed by Mahjongg's demo that he signed the band without having seen them perform. That same year Mahjongg relocated to Chicago, Illinois, becoming part of the "Columbia Diaspora" which included bands such as Cave
Cave (band)
Cave is a psychedelic drone band based in Chicago, Illinois consisting of keyboardist Rotten Milk, guitarist/organist Cooper Crain, bassist Dan Browning and drummer Rex McMurry. The band was formed in Columbia, Missouri in 2006, and has released two full-length albums, Psychic Psummer and Hunt...
, Warhammer 48K, Londo Mondo and Waterbabies. Their first full length album, Raydoncong, was released on Cold Crush in 2005.
Both Machinegong and Raydoncong received positive reviews, and in 2008 Mahjongg released their second album Kontpab on K Records
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
. The title is a "mash-up" of avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
's "Kontra-Punkte" and the breakfast cereal Pablum
Pablum
Pablum is a processed cereal for infants originally marketed by the Mead Johnson Company in 1931. The trademarked name is a contracted form of the Latin word pabulum, meaning "foodstuff", which had long been used in botany and medicine to refer to nutrition, or substances of which the nutritive...
. Vijles and Kientz left the band before the release of Kontpab, to be replaced by Mikale De Graff and Dan Quinlivan. Carrillo moved to Nashville in 2007 and quit the band in 2009.
In 2008 Mahjongg released the single "Free Grooverider", which the band characterized as a protest song. Grooverider
Grooverider
Grooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
is a prominent drum 'n' bass DJ and producer who in 2008 was sentenced to four years imprisonment in Dubai for possessing marijuana.
From its inception, Mahjongg sought to break from post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
conventions, incorporating Afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
rhythms, samples, dissonance and glitch
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. It is often used to describe a transient fault that corrects itself, and is therefore difficult to troubleshoot...
into its sound. Everyone in the band sang, and Husar, De Graff and Quinlivin shared duties on synthesizer, computer manipulation, guitar and ancillary percussion. With the departure of principal guitarist Carrillo, the band moved towards a more dance-oriented sound. Their 2010 album Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger featured less guitar work and was more reliant on electronics and elements of techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
.
Mahjongg has collaborated with recording engineer Benjamin Balcom since 2003. Together they built a studio called Minbal which opened in February 2009.
Mahjongg played their last show with members De Graff, Quinlivan, and former guitarist Carrillo as part of the BitchPork festival on July 16, 2011. They officially changed their name to "将麻," the Chinese spelling for the game Mah-jong, and remain a two piece consisting of original members John Johannpeter and Hunter Husar.
Other musical contributions
Mahjongg has played and recorded as Calvin Johnson's back up band the Hive Dwellers. Josh Johannpeter and Mikale De Graff are members of the band Lazer Crystal.As of late, Mahjongg has been recording with MNDR.
Albums
- Raydoncong (Cold Crush Records, March 2005) - CD/LP
- Kontpab (K RecordsK RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
, January 2008) - CD/LP - The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (K RecordsK RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
, July 2010) - CD/LP
EPs and singles
- Machinegong (Cold Crush Records, January 2004) – EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
- "Free Groove Rider" - (K RecordsK RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
, November 2008) – Single
External links
- krecs.com Mahjongg Label artist profile