Mofaya!

photos Filip Filipović

the communication between the musicians went flawlessly, as if they had been playing together all their lives. … don’t think that this is some kind of free-punk destruction, because, although its sound is intense, at the same time it is very honest, deep and personal, without a shred of pretentiousness.

Jazzin.rs

Mofaya
John Dikeman – saxophone
Aleksandar Škorić – drums

!Mofaya!
Jaimie Branch – trumpet
Luke Stewart – bass
John Dikeman – saxophone
Aleksandar Škorić – drums

!Mof!Aya!
Luke Stewart – bass
John Dikeman – saxophone
Aleksandar Škorić – drums

Mofaya! is built around the kinetic duo of Dikeman and Škorić. Transcendence, ritual, abandon, heart love!
The quartet !Mofaya! features Jaimie Branch and Luke Stewart. Their debut album Like One Long Dream was released June of 2021 on Trost records. A European tour will take place in August featuring the !Mofaya! quartet, as well as !Mof!Aya!, the trio version with Luke Stewart, as well as the original duo, Mofaya!.
The duo also works in various groupings with guests including Farida Amadou, Marina Džukljev, Marta Warelis, Shay Hazan, Bart Maris, Jasper Stadhouders, Cactus Truck, Seb el Zin, Vid Drašler, Marko Karlovčec, Mark Morse, Zane Massey, Peter Ajtai.

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Reviews

“Even after the very beginning of the performance, it was clear that these duo know very well what they are doing and that their joint cooperation is a natural step. After a light, almost ritual introduction, the performance continued violently without a moment’s delay, while the communication between the musicians went flawlessly, as if they had been playing together all their lives. Dickeman plays the “bloody” saxophone with a strong and full of energy charge. Just, don’t think that this is some kind of free-punk destruction, because, although its sound is intense, at the same time it is very honest, deep and personal, without a shred of pretentiousness. Dickeman cultivates a spiritual free still resembling the colossi of African American free jazz from his golden period. Škorić was no less impressive, leaving us all in disbelief with the discovery that we have drummers who play like this. It’s not just about energy and skills,but also a distinctly spiritual approach to music. Except for a very percussive and rhythmic rush on the set of drums, Škorić does not hesitate to sing. He is very reminiscent of Milford Graves in his approach.

After a dynamic and heated concert, the duo performs an encore at the invitation of the audience. Here Škorić (it seems even to the surprise of his colleague) grabs a piano that was standing somewhere in the corner of Rex, playing it in a free impressionist style, occasionally folding the keys with his fist or even his whole elbow, in order to then transfer to the drums with a very rhythmic gait. . In the meantime, touching on Ayler’s “Ghosts”, the duo then said goodbye to the audience, which was lucky enough to attend such a great performance, probably the best at the festival for this reporter.”
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