Faux Mo are FNQs latest 90s hip hop synth pop duo.
Combining the talents of performance poet MoZach and laptop jockey Trish Mo in a new & eclectic alternative art music, Faux Mo perform what has been described as ‘poetry & motion’ and ‘inappropriate children’s entertainment’. And also as ‘really good’.
MoZach brings enthusiastically pessimistic musings on modern existential dilemmas, with hip hop, poetry slam and circus inspired raps. Trish Mo backs up with beats and pieces, bass lines & breaks, samples & hooks, melodies & mellifluous vocals. Together they make something so familiar, yet slightly unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
Faux Mo put poetry to music and beats. They are inspired by the human condition, by circus friends and maths, by their obsession with the written and the spoken word, by fat gold chains and matching suits, by cross dressing, by all things hip hop and art pop.
They have performed at Kuranda Roots, Underhouse, Arthouse, and the Environmental Defender’s Office AGM.
The name Faux Mo derives from the obscure acronym fomo meaning ‘fear of missing out’.
What they lack in the traditional assets of youth and street cred, Faux Mo more than make up for with clever rhymes, fat beats, and pseudo intellectual philosophy.
I caught up with MoZach for a quick Q/A ahead of their show tonight at the Under Where? gig in Kuranda..
TM:- How Long have Faux Mo been at it?
MoZach:- As partners we have been going at it hammer & tongs for nearly 15 years now. Artistically, we always collaborated on stuff, like with the Kurandacoots Circus Troupe & Trish Mo’s first album In The Wild Wood – Mo Zach drew the cover & insert art. But Faux Mo first formed in 2013.
TM:- I see the word Circus come up a few times in your presser, do you have a background in the circus?
MoZach:- When we arrived in FNQ in 2010 (from Broome) we were part of the start of a funny circus collective called The Kurandacoots. We produced circus theatre shows in Cairns and the Tablelands – The Red Ball, The Beast and Freakestra. Trish Mo wrote and performed all the music for those shows, and MoZach was on stage as a performance poet, clown, juggler and acrobat.
TM:- What usually comes first with you guys, the poetry or the music?
MoZach:- With Faux Mo, the poetry usually comes first – often from dreams or the hypnogogic state. The music is almost always a response to the words – maybe MoZach has some idea for the beats or bass line, and Trish Mo expands from there. Sometimes the result is something completely different.
TM:- Do you have any recording’s out? If not are any planned?
MoZach:-Trish Mo has recorded an EP In The Wild Wood – buy it from Kickarts in Cairns or online through BandCamp http://trishmo.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-wild-wood . Faux Mo make a guest appearance in Super Glue on Bosko & Honey’s latest album The Universe Will Provide. And yes, we’d love to record a little Faux Mo – we hope to work on an EP some time later this year, so watch out for that.
TM:- What’s the best reaction you have had from an audience member at one of your shows?
MoZach:- We love it when the audience dance & smile & laugh – making people happy makes us happy.
But probably our best reaction comes from kids. The lyrical content isn’t really aimed at under 33 year olds. Our songs are about things like Injecting Ink & I Feel Sick, and kids really seem to dig it. Their parents have a good time too.
TM:- What’s the ultimate direction for Faux Mo in the future?
MoZach:- Future plans are to recruit our kids into the band – our son plays wicked drums, and our daughter’s a natural on the keys. Then it’s basically world domination.
Todd Macalpine
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