Bishop Morocco
In the Fall of 2008, 2 old friends from Toronto, Canada met in the greyness & never-ending drizzle of Groningen, a town in the northern Netherlands. Jake Fairley (aka Fairmont) had spent the past 6 years based in Berlin, riding a wave of European techno hits released on labels such as Border Community and Kompakt. Jim Sayce had been in Toronto, pursuing graduate studies while playing in such bands as Tangiers (French Kiss) & earlier, the Deadly Snakes (In The Red).
Their long-standing friendship had not manifested itself into a musical project since their early teens, & they decided to re-ignite a creative conversation that had been put on hold over 10 years earlier. Though their musical paths had taken divergent, almost opposing courses, they used the geographical disconnection from everyone they knew to focus on creating a new kind of pop music.
Their sound references Americana as much as Brit-pop. Their influences range from Roy Orbison & Angelo Badalamenti to the Smiths & New Order. The result is somewhere between the soundtrack to Twin Peaks & the Madchester sound. Dark but full of hope, Bishop Morocco’s music is a reflection of their shared youth within the west-central neighborhoods of Toronto, juxtaposed against the history & cultural wasteland of small-town Europe. The product of their time in the Netherlands is their self-titled debut album to be released earlier this year via Hand Drawn Dracula.
The album’s lead single, “Last Year’s Disco Guitars”, is a that track features a minimalist, regimented beat coupled with otherworldly synths, woven together by production inspired by Martin Hannett (Joy Division, The Stone Roses). Grab it below + a twist by Holy Fuck’s Graham Walsh. Don’t forget to watch the nostalgia-inducing, subtly psychedelic video above directed by Eva Michon.
“Last Year’s Disco Guitars” | download
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“Last Year’s Disco Guitars (Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck remix)” | download
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Bonus: The duo also remixed “Stay Lit,” the lead track off Holy Fuck’s Latin, released earlier this year. Both Holy Fuck & Bishop Morocco will be touring together later this year, dates to be announced shortly!
“Stay Lit (Bishop Morocco Remix)” | download
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