Mosquito Cabaret
Norfolk, Virginia, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2017 | SELF
Music
Press
Despite forming in 2017, this Norfolk, VA sextet's blend of of Jewish klezmer, Balkan folk, Finnish humppa, and Greek rembetika, enhanced by singer Julian Ku's hearty bellow and jocular lyrics, sounds intoxicating and convincing on this debut LP. With Ku's nimble mandolin, Miles Hoyle's spry accordion, Daniel Deskins' sax and clarinet, Joe Peterfeso's trombone and trumpet, and Micah Kaplan and Michael Morgan's spirited rhythms leading the charge, energetic songs like, "Wedding Steps," "Out There in the World," and "Home For Good" will make you want to form an impromptu circle and dance the Hora. Elsewhere, the more mid-tempo "Rats of the Revolution" and "Village Square" evoke carnival fun houses and funeral procession oompah bands, and "Stari Most" (about the historic 427 year-old bridge in Mostar, Bosnia-Hertzegovia, destroyed by war in 1993) has a foot stomping, Spanish flamenco feel. - Under the Radar Magazine
Discography
The Modern Life Of Insects
Photos
Bio
Mosquito Cabaret is a folk & world-music sextet hailing from the waters of Norfolk, Virginia. Inspired by groups such as Gogol Bordello, Tom Waits, Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha, Golem, Beirut, & Shantel-- accordionist Miles Hoyle set out to recruit members for a group whose music would know no borders!
Forming in the summer of 2017 with a melting pot of sonic qualities; Mosquito Cabaret consists of equal parts folk, punk, klezmer, & humppa, while combining characteristics of other European traditions into the mix.
The group’s line-up features the versatile brass & woodwind work of Daniel Deskins & Joe Peterfeso; with sizzling saxophone solos by Deskins, who also pulls double-duty on clarinet— and the bouncy trombone of Peterfeso, who performs on trumpet as well. Underneath the blazing horns, lies the backbone of the band with the hard-hitting pulse of percussionist/drummer Michael Morgan and the bass grooves of Dan Avant. Miles Hoyle’s lively accordion swims and dances in the river of punk & pop poetry of Julian Ku’s vocals and skanking stage antics with the occasional mandolin and keyboard layered into this cabaret’s signature sound.
Within their first year they released the, “River King” single, enabling them to shake up audiences in Hampton Roads and building the momentum for what followed with their most recent & debut full-length release, “The Modern Life Of Insects”.
Following the release of their album, Mosquito Cabaret’s songs have been featured on countless podcasts (My Life In Virginia, FolkCast, & Freakouternational— to name a few) and have been casted on the airwaves of radio stations across the globe ranging from local stations such as WHRO’s Out of the Box Program w/Paul Shugrue on 89.5 WHRV FM/90.3 WHRO FM in Norfolk & 96X FM 96.1 in Virginia Beach— to stations around the county such as KALX 90.7 FM Berkley, California to WPKN 89.5 FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut— and even internationally with AccordionNoir 100.5 FM in Vancouver, Canada to RootsWorld on RadioFolk.dk in Copenhagen, Denmark, Rcfm.es in Mérida, Spain, & Radio Pacoul in France.
With performances ranging from headlining at the Norva, to annually storming the stages of the nor-FOLK Fest, to invading the shores of Virginia Beach at Elevation27, and countless pop-ups at breweries— the lament of these lonely bloodsuckers proved to make a bold statement during their live performances.
The ensemble’s high energy and melodic folky flare even led to opening for national acts; sharing the stage with groups such as the Atom Age, Maid of Ace, Agents of Good Roots, the Toasters, Agent Orange, & Bella's Bartok.
Never skipping a beat, the swarm is growing as Mosquito Cabaret continues to buzz around at regional venues and festivals! Currently, the group is now in the writing stage of their upcoming sophomore album!
Band Members
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