MOCKY
BIOGRAPHY
Mocky (real name Dominic Giancarlo Salole) is a Canadian–born musician with a
reputation for eclectic songs, humour and blending musical depth with a pop sensibility.
Although he is mostly known for his pop and electronic albums and wildly entertaining
live shows he is also a multi-instrumentalist, drummer, producer and
songwriter.
He is
widely renowned for his collaborations with Gonzales, Jamie Lidell, Peaches,
Feist, Taylor Savvy, Kevin Blechdom and Puppetmastaz.
EARLY YEARS
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 drum set 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 electroacoustic 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.
ZOO
CONCERTS
It was in Amsterdam
that Mocky was finally able to release his first album. Looking for a way to
promote himself, he did matinee concerts everywhere he played… in zoos. He did
duets with apes and serenaded pygmy hippos across Europe,
intriguing journalists to the extent that he secured much-needed press
attention without the help of a label. It also allowed him to realize his long
desire to play music with other members of the ape species…
FIRST ALBUM
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.
BERLIN YEARS
In 2002 Mocky relocated to Berlin.
It was then that he met Jamie Lidell and the two began working together as
production partners on each others music, as well as playing live together whenever
possible. He signed with the German Label Four Music and with V2 in France, and was
finally able to have a budget for videos and radio promo. The release of his
next two albums, “Are + Be“ and “Navy Brown Blues“, established Mocky on the
European pop music scene. With Radio hits like “How Will I Know You” and
humorous videos for “Catch a Moment in Time” and “Mickey Mouse Muthaf**kas”,
along with the hauntingly melancholy “Fighting Away the Tears” featuring Feist, Mocky was finally firmly on the European
musical map.
LIVE SHOWS
Mocky's live show mixes humour, deep musical mastery and extreme audience
interaction - often incorporating elaborate stage visuals, costumes and
puppetry. He counts his early experiences playing at the zoo as the training
ground for his shows for humans, He has led ensembles ranging from a four drum
set orchestra to an 8- piece band and "wowed" audiences and critics
alike in some legendary club performances, as well as at some of Europe's best estivals
including Sonar and Glastonbury. Having been a constant fixture on the touring
scene in Europe since 2003, Mocky is currently rehearsing with his new band in
a converted horse stable in Berlin,
in preparation to play music from his upcoming album “Saskamodie” in a live setting.
PRODUCER
& SONGWRITER
As a songwriter, instrumentalist and co-producer Mocky has proven himself to be
a true musical triple threat. Mocky was Jamie Lidell's coproducer and co-writer
on the albums " Multiply" (2005) and "Jim" (2008). Another
notable achievement was the co-write of "So Sorry" on "The
Reminder", Feist's four-time Grammy-nominated 2007 album, on which he also
coproduced four tracks and played several instruments. Mocky also brought his instinctive approach to the rhythm section on recent albums by Jane Birkin,
Soffy O, and Teki Latex. He is also the co-producer of the upcoming Kevin Blechdom
album “Gentlemania”, and co-writer of “Without Love” on the most recent Nikka
Costa album “Pebble to a Pearl”
(Stax).
RECENT
Having won a lawsuit against a Austrian supermarket that used his song without
permission (they set it to a talking pig selling bio products) Mocky took a
risk and spent the winnings on block-booking Ferber Studios (a classic Parisian
recording space previously used by Nina Simone and Serge Gainsbourg among
others) for two weeks, in order to record a totally acoustic album. Unlike
anything he has ever released before, the resulting album Saskamodie” – his
first since igning to Crammed Discs - sees
Mocky moving away from the electronic music scene and returning to his jazz and
acoustic roots.
