Morakoza

Unless I heard it wrong, which has been known to happen, I saw Morakoza's first gig when I saw them at Tattoo Rock Parlour on February 28. Wow. I never played a first gig as polished and powerful as Morakoza's performance. Good stuff!

The singer/guitarist, bassist/keyboardist and drummer hold things together and the lead guitarist demonstrates prodigious use of effects for texture and atmospherics. Overall, it works well.

The band is energetic on stage. I would describe their music as funky post-rock. They play long songs that don't bore and feature great guitars without the typical pyrotechnics. They're refreshing and fun. - One in Ten Words

I've had a lot of music from a lot of Canadian bands over the last year or so - no idea why, I know like 2 Canadians and I've never been to the country of maple syrup and ice hockey - but Morakoza have to be one of the bands that could cross over to the UK scene most successfully. This single, 'Free Pistonhead', is a beautiful mix of Alt-J's off kilter melodies and rhythms, Kasabian's swagger, elements of Madchester and just a snippet of the indie cool of bands like Foals and the Maccabees. The guest hip-hop rhymes from Toronto artist Porter Jae gives the latter part of the song another dimension altogether with a dark edge and a sense of menace. The EP that this single precedes is due out in August and I, for one, can't wait to hear it. - Listen With Monger (UK)

From the ashes of Go Diana comes Morakoza – a project which already feels more focused than the last. Dragan Maricic, Matt Vultaggio, and brothers Phil and Lucas Witmer fuse electronics, indie rock, and hip-hop on their heady new track “Free Pistonhead”. Seemingly named after the Swedish craft lager than has recently been popping up in Canada (they have a headquarters in Toronto, apparently), the song is set to make an appearance on a yet-to-be titled EP later this year. Each track on the upcoming project is due to feature different guest vocalists, musicians, and producers – an ambitious idea indeed. You can stream “Free Pistonhead” after the jump below (no free Swedish lager though, sorry). - Music Notes by Calum