Memotone & Soosh – “Memoosh” (album stream) (Premiere)

Memotone & Soosh, comprised of William Yates (Memotone) and Soroosh Khavari (Soosh), is definitely one of the most fascinating collaborations of 2014. The duo’s reflective and melancholy sound is informed in large part by its diverse range of instruments. Memoosh, the duo’s new album, was made using “a mixture of live instrumentation (guitars, piano, cello, zither, drums, clarinet, synths and numerous others) coupled with effect boxes, samplers, vocals and field recordings, influenced by everything from random static and buzz, to a beautiful early morning rain or the bass thud of a closing door.”

Memoosh is one of those LPs where trying to stick any genre to it ultimately amounts to a futile exercise. You could call “The Roofwalker” and “Pale Fire” something like “electro-jazz”. “September Snore” could be called Radiohead-esque. The use of organ throughout the album suggests Memotone & Soosh are familiar with the work of Tim Hecker. Above all of this, however, is the fact that Memoosh is an intriguing and beguiling experience on its own terms, regardless of the sonic comparisons one could draw in relation to it.

Khavari (aka Soosh) describes Memoosh to PopMatters: “To me the record is a sum of eight or so weekends spent with Will (Memotone) over a year where we just jammed without any plans. What resulted was mixture of electronic and organic sounds, and both of our tastes coming through the tracks. No genres, no boundaries, just enjoying the moment and making a really good friend in the process. It’s as simple as that!”

Memoosh will be out on October 7th through Project Mooncircle.