Me&Mobi

WHEN NATURAL CHAOS BECOMES URBAN

Me&Mobi are a trio: Lisa Hoppe on bass, Philipp Schlotte on keys and Fred Bürki on drums. Just last Friday, they released a new record entitled Agglo (short for Agglomeration), on a Swiss imprint called Prolog Records. What they unleashed on the world is something of a sprawling urban-like chaos of sounds. Their music has a very perculiar logic to it, and it definitely takes some time to decode it, but once you do, it really pays off. If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong or New York, or any of these monstrous urban agglomerations, then you know about the humbling effect of a city which almost approaches the natural chaos of Mother Nature. That’s how it feels to make a headphone journey through Agglo. And there’s something here for just about any hardcore music lover: Post Rock, improvisational Jazz, Hip Hop, club music and even a pinch of Ambient.

For those of you who are willing to embark on this journey, the only thing that I would suggest is to listen to the whole thing straight through. The band put a lot of love into creating a flow from track to track, one that reminds me a bit of a 90s concept mixtape or some of the Flying Lotus LPs. I’m not sure that the songs stand-alone will be fully decipherable and/or as enjoyable, as they are in a package. That’s the one thing that I would suggest the band should keep an eye on in the future – if they want to reach a broader audience – and that’s to make the inner structure of each song as complex and dynamic as the flow of the record from song to song. Either way, I’m loving me some Agglo.

 

Here’s a compact q&a with the lady who’s in charge of the low end in this challenging outfit – Miss Lisa Höppe. 

Post Punk or Post Jazz?
Since we define our music as Post Jazz, I guess i would chose that. But honestly, I don’t really know what that exactly means. Ridiculous i know. Anyway, the only „Post-Genre“ i’m really familiar with is Post Rock. Maybe that could work as an answer too.

Brian Eno or David Byrne?
Funny that you ask this question. Both of them are the kind of musicians i heard about for years and was pretty sure that i love what they do. But for some reason i never listened to it carefully. So at the beginning of the year i started to listen to Brian Enos work, and guess what, i love it. So i have to choose him. But David Byrne is next on the list.

Miles or Coltrane?
Miles. For some reason, I just listened more to him than to Coltrane. But who knows, there might be also a Coltrane episode coming up.

Moog or Rhodes?
That’s a hard one and funny, cause none of the two got involved during the making of our record. I would choose the Rhodes though, because it is just the perfect Instrument to start with when you want to create your own sounds by modulating and combining the Rhodes with different effects. It also looks really good and you can put stuff on it… for example a Moog!

CD or cassette?
Cassette. It was the first sound carrier I listened music from and recorded my own mixtapes. Unfortunately i don’t have a cassette player at home anymore. Maybe i should go and by one tomorrow.

Tea or coffee?
Coffee. Espresso to be exact. It became the band’s most favorite drink. I think, during some tough tour days we consume more espresso than water.

Vinyl or books?
Vinyl. To me it is simply the best way of holding music in your hands. Although you’re listening to it later on spotify.

Plane or train?
T
rain. I am still scared of flying, although nothing has ever happened. Travelling by train is just more chilled and you can take more stuff with you. As a musician that is a huge pro. I also experienced, that the coffee is better in trains than in planes. And most of the time, train stations are as buildings more interesting than airports.

Yesterday or tomorrow?
Tomorrow. I really have to buy a cassette player.