• Mofo 2017 dates announced: Wednesday 18 – Sunday 22 January 2017
• Mofo at Mona: Friday 20 – Sunday 22 January 2017 inclusive
• Two highlights announced: tētēma & Puscifer
• Full program announced Wed 12 October
• Tickets on sale Mon 17 October
• www.mofo.net.au
Hobart’s experimental music and art festival, Mona Foma, returns to the Museum of Old and New Art in the New Year, occupying the subterranean gallery spaces and sunny agoras of Mona as well as offering bespoke events at venues around Hobart from 18–22 January 2017.
While the full Mofo 2017 program will be revealed next month, festival curator Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes, The Break) has made an early announcement of two unique acts for the Mona Main Stage as part of the festival’s ‘Weekend at Walshy’s’ on site at the museum grounds (Friday 20-Sunday 22 January).
Mofo 2017 will feature the exclusive live world premiere of tētēma (USA/AU), the latest project from Faith No More frontman Mike Patton in his only Australian show, formed with renowned Australian experimental composer and pianist Anthony Pateras (the two are pictured above).
tētēma’s 2014 release ‘Geocidal’ features a white-hot fusing of Pateras’ unique electro-acoustic orchestrations with Patton’s astounding vocal range, thematically exploring in their words, “the murder of place through plethora instrumental combinations, driving percussive rhythms, skewed exotica and musique concrète”.
For this world premiere performance on Mona’s Main Stage on Saturday 21 January, the duo will be writing new, previously unheard material for the band’s live quartet formation that includes their dream personnel of Australian percussionist Will Guthrie and Australian violinist Erkki Veltheim.
Another early announcement is Puscifer (USA), the elaborate musical and storytelling project from Tool and A Perfect Circle vocalist Maynard James Keenan.
What began as a comedy act in 1995 developed into experimental theatrical rock music performances, often featuring recurring characters and convoluted storylines performed in boxing rings on stage by costumed characters projecting complex harmonies layered over industrial rhythms.
Puscifer’s third full-length album ‘Money Shot’ was released last year, featuring singer/songwriter Carina Round adding harmonic vocals alongside Keenan, with multi-instrumentalist Mat Mitchell, keyboard player Juliette Commagere, cello player and Keenard’s son Devo Keenan, with various drummers, including Tim Alexander (Primus), Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age), and Jeff Friedl (A Perfect Circle).
Keenan describes Puscifer as a culmination of his influences, combining digital programming with acoustic harmonies, finding a pulse within the digital landscape and bringing it to life. Puscifer perform on Mona’s Main Stage on Friday 20 January.
Mofo curator Brian Ritchie said “Mofo is thrilled to be able to present some of rock’s most notable luminaries out on musical joy rides. Mike Patton and Maynard James Keenan are both visionaries and serial musical adventurers. They are just the tip of the iceberg of avant-garde musicians crashing into Tasmania in January.”
Mofo 2017: 18–22 January in venues around Hobart, and 20–22 January on-site at Mona.
Full Mofo 2017 lineup announcement on Wednesday 12 October 2016 AEST.
Tickets on sale Monday 17 October from www.mofo.net.au
Social:
Twitter: @monamuseum / @MONAFOMA / @puscifer
Instagram: @monamuseum / @monafoma / @puscifer
Facebook: @monamuseum / @MONAFOMA / @puscifer
Youtube: @monamuseum / @monafoma / @pusciferdotcom
Rebecca Fitzgibbon
