''Mahjongg'' was a band based in Columbia, Missouri and

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Formed by multi-instrumentalist Hunter Husar and guitarist Jeff Carrillo in 2001, their sound combined guitar, synthesizer and computer manipulations with dense rhythmic textures derived from

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

, funk, and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

. Mahjongg released three full-length albums: ''Raydoncong'' (2005), ''Kontpab'' (2008) and ''The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger'' (2010). They performed at the

Pitchfork Music Festival The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The fe ...

and the

Off Festival OFF Festival is an alternative music festival series held annually since 2006. Until 2009 it was held at Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland in August and lasts four days. OFF Festival from 2010 takes place in Katowice in Dolina Trzech Stawow. Th ...

in Mysłowice, Poland. In December 2010 they played the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival curated by

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also locate ...

History

Mahjongg was formed in Columbia, Missouri in 2001 by

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

students Hunter Husar and Jeff Carrillo. Drummer Josh Johannpeter and violinist/multi-instrumentalist Caryl Kientz joined the band later that year, and bassist Gabe Vijles was recruited just prior to a 2002 tour. In 2004 Mahjongg released the EP ''Machinegong'' on Cold Crush Records, a label co-run by

Pretty Girls Make Graves Pretty Girls Make Graves was a post-punk band formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths' song of the same name (which itself was named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's ''The Dharma Bums''). Andrea Zollo and Derek Fudesco had played t ...

bassist Derek Fudesco. Fudesco had been so impressed by Mahjongg's demo that he signed the band without having seen them perform. That same year Mahjongg relocated to Chicago, Illinois, becoming part of the "Columbia Diaspora" which included bands such as

Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

, Warhammer 48K, Londo Mondo and Waterbabies. Their first full-length album, ''Raydoncong'', was released on Cold Crush in 2005. Both ''Machinegong'' and ''Raydoncong'' received positive reviews, and in 2008 Mahjongg released their second album ''Kontpab'' on

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...

. The title is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsKarlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

's "

Kontra-Punkte ''Kontra-Punkte'' (Counter-Points, or Against-Points) is a composition for ten instruments by Karlheinz Stockhausen which resolves contrasts among six instrumental timbres, as well as extremes of note values and dynamic levels, into a homogeneo ...

" and the breakfast cereal

Pablum Pablum is a processed cereal for infants originally marketed and co-created by the Mead Johnson Company in 1931. The product was developed at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, to combat infant malnutrition. The trademar ...

. Vijles and Kientz left the band upon the release of ''Kontpab'', to be replaced by Mikale De Graff and Dan Quinlivan. Carrillo moved to Nashville in 2008 and quit the band in 2009. In 2008 Mahjongg released the single "Free Grooverider", which the band characterized as a protest song. Grooverider is a prominent drum 'n' bass DJ and producer who in 2008 was sentenced to four years imprisonment in Dubai for possessing marijuana. From its inception, Mahjongg sought to break from

conventions, incorporating

rhythms, samples, dissonance and

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

into its sound. Everyone in the band sang, and Husar, De Graff and Quinlivin shared duties on synthesizer, computer manipulation, guitar and ancillary percussion. With the departure of principal guitarist Carrillo, the band moved towards a more dance-oriented sound. Their 2010 album ''Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger'' featured less guitar work and was more reliant on electronics and elements of

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

and

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

. Mahjongg has collaborated with recording engineer Benjamin Balcom since 2003. Together they built a studio called Minbal which opened in February 2009. Mahjongg played their last show with members De Graff, Quinlivan, and former guitarist Carrillo as part of the BitchPork festival on July 16, 2011. Founding members Hunter Husar and Josh Johannpeter formed a new two piece band in 2015 called "HUJO".

Other musical contributions

Mahjongg has played and recorded as

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

's band the Hive Dwellers. Josh Johannpeter and Mikale De Graff are members of the band

Lazer Crystal Lazer may refer to: * An incorrect spelling of laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation * An antiquated term for a person with leprosy. * Lazer, Hautes-Alpes, a commune in southeastern France * Panther Lazer, a ...

Discography

Albums

*''Raydoncong'' (Cold Crush Records, March 2005) - CD/LP *''Kontpab'' (

, January 2008) - CD/LP *''The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger'' (

, July 2010) - CD/LP

EPs and singles

*''Machinegong'' (Cold Crush Records, January 2004) – EP *"Free Groove Rider" - (

, November 2008) – Single

References

External links

krecs.com Mahjongg
Label artist profile
Mahjongg
on Myspace {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2001 American experimental musical groups