Ask Moka

(Not a q but I still wanted her to see it)

Moka, where is your bars?

What's yr favorite stuff in Hawaii?

what's the best cocktail you serve at your bar?

what is the origin of the word "cocktail"? (i know i could look this up but what i'd prefer is if you made something up that i would then tell to people i meet in bars)

are these bars really in hawaii cuz i'm in hawaii and i go to bars

Yes I visit hawaii on the semi-reg where are these bars

also where is the drinknaming thread

What was your favorite concert over the last year?

What was the last song or album that helped you think about music in a new or unfamiliar way?

Lol a charity thread! I was joking in the other thread I don't actually like sharing personal info on the internets and I'm out of home at the moment but I'll do my best to answer some of these if you're really interested when I get back!

pretty sure its not Hawaii.

thread for just straight up asking for an ask thread

you want one so bad?

lol nah just idly sniping

wouldn't mind a ban thread tho

ban wins (the pritzker prize)

vg!

Ok, let's do this then:

Moka, what's the best selling music named drink in your bars?
― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine)

That would be the one called Keith Moon... it has a dash of grenadine, cranberry and pineapple juice, a dash of moonshine and absinth and looks like this: http://i.imgur.com/mfobKw9.jpg

Moka, what is your favorite album this year?
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic)

It's been a great year for music, can we all agree on that one? I'm not sure which one I'd pick just yet, it takes me months, sometimes years to really pick out a winner which is why I don't like ranking albums but I'd say it's a fight between these 5 unless I find something else that makes me change my mind:

Caribou - Our Love
Anne Guthrie - Codiaeum Variegatum
Giant Claw - Dark Web
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Todd Terje - It's Album Time

There's also Valerio Tricoli, The Gloaming, Sun Kill Moon, Mirel Wagner, MO, Glass Animals and yeah, FKA Twigs to consider.

Moka, when are you in NYC next?
― a stupid red mute juggalo (forksclovetofu)

No immediate plans for visiting NYC or anywhere in the US for the following months, sorry.

Moka I was checking out Polish postpunk like Maanam recently and was thinking abt ur idea to open a Soviet-themed bar, to the point that I almost started a thread about it
― aenaon genesis aevangelist (Drugs A. Money)

Hahaha, I had forgotten I told you guys about the Soviet-themed bar idea. It's still in the freezer and I think it'll remain that way for a while... the only way I see it happening is if I ever find a location that looks suitable. I hadn't even thought about the sort of music that would be appropriate for it. Post-punk could very well be the right direction but I haven't put much thought to it. Is Maanam a recent band? They sound like they come from the 70's but their records on spotify appear to be from the 90's onwards. Reissues or great imitators?

Moka, where is your bars?
― m0stlyClean

Aguascalientes, Mexico.

What's yr favorite stuff in Hawaii?
― Free Me's Electric Trumpet (Moodles)

I've never been to Hawaii. Oddly enough I was watching the movie 'The Descendants' earlier this week and I thought Hawaii looks beautiful. I think it depicts Hawaii in a more sincere, ordinary and subtle form than in other movies I've seen. Of course I don't know how's real life in Hawaii so I've no idea what I'm saying.

what's the best cocktail you serve at your bar?

what is the origin of the word "cocktail"? (i know i could look this up but what i'd prefer is if you made something up that i would then tell to people i meet in bars)

― Treeship

My favorite one is the Bourbon Shake. Basically a chocolate milkshake with nutella (or hazelnut spread, so I don't sound like a corporate shill) and bourbon. Tastes delicious but I try to stay away from them. Calories, you know.

I actually don't know the origin or meaning of the word cocktail. I've asked some people in the past and they all give me different versions.

What was your favorite concert over the last year?

What was the last song or album that helped you think about music in a new or unfamiliar way?

― one way street, Sunday, December 7, 2014 6:58 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Haim. Bassface was adorable and really knows how to work the crowd, she even sang a Selena song with us after explaining she never gets the chance to sing in Spanish in the US.
St. Vincent was also a nice surprise, she's way more intense live than you would expect by listening to her records. She channeled the 90's grunge/fucked/heroin addict attitude throughout.

Boring answer but I just listened to 'On the Corner' by Miles Davis for the first time this month and I can say I was really missing out there. It's a really atypical record, very expansive... you can actually hear how it influenced (or predicted) across countless forms of modern music. I usually like my music with way less polyrhythms and tidier sound settings... I'd normally be annoyed at the production choices of this record but it's so good it actually made me forget about all the unfamiliar territory and I switched off whatever part of my brain deals with my predefined aural aesthetics.

I'll definitely try the Keith Moon if I ever get to visit your bar!

Is absinthe legally available in Mexico?

I'll definitely try the Keith Moon if I ever get to visit your bar!

Is absinthe legally available in Mexico?

― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine)

Yes it is, but they have much lower alcohol grade than those in Europe. I once got shitfaced with a single shot in Spain and was physically impaired to get to work the next day... I think they go up to 95% over there. The brands over here are below 65% - and I think that's the lowest grade allowed in Mexico, which is why we don't have Bacardi 151 legally over here - and it is the lowest grade for Absinthe which oscillates between 65% and 85% in Europe.

The two bottles that I see the most over here are 'Rustic' and 'Green Fairy' we sell the latter. It seems that the Rustic one is at 70% so that one is either illegal or I might have lied on the maximum grade allowed, none of the providers in my city sell it so they are buying it elsewhere. It's the best one I've tasted, I need to know where they are ordering from.

http://i.imgur.com/vxwSIXQ.png
http://i.imgur.com/m6WyCoV.jpg

Stuff on Spotify that I heard from Maanam was from a compilation. Their first album came out in '81. There's actually a few more bands from Poland that fit into this scene as well, but I haven't dug too deeply yet. Maybe I will start that thread after all...

how do you feel of the title and content of the thread Moka: feisty, Spanish, girl

wtf even is the cogh board?

how do you feel of the title and content of the thread Moka: feisty, Spanish, girl

― نكبة (nakhchivan), martes 9 de diciembre de 2014 0:34 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The commas in the title are unnecessary and I'm not Spanish.

It's kind of a funny thread, actually. Only question that was unanswered and I was curious about is what did velko 'figured out'. It might have been important so it's probably fortunate he remained silent.

Stuff on Spotify that I heard from Maanam was from a compilation. Their first album came out in '81. There's actually a few more bands from Poland that fit into this scene as well, but I haven't dug too deeply yet. Maybe I will start that thread after all...

There's a film called Beats Of Freedom which I have never gotten around to seeing that would be relevant to your interests. It's on YouTube with English subs. Never got too heavily into Maanam but Republika (esp Nowe Sytuacje) and Brygada Kryzys are good.

Moka, are there any Mexican records (of any genre) from 2014 that you would particularly recommend)?

Musically speaking, there's a term in Mexico for people like me: "Malinchista". In times of the Spanish conquest, Cortez had a native lover and translator that went by the name of "la malinche", she told Cortez everything he needed to know to defeat and subdue the natives. The term is used to refer to a person who loves foreign culture better than his own. It's not really all mexican music, I find Esquivel and Perez Prado to be brilliant and are among my favorite artists. The traditional bolero and trio music is beautiful as well. It's the modern music I have a problem with. I can't say I've tried that hard but every time I do it all sounds so derivative and conformist I end up looking elsewhere.

Take this per example: Disco Ruido. One of the 'hip' bands that have released an album recently.

http://youtu.be/xtpigZS1gA4

Not bad, cool video, decent song but nothing that you haven't heard before in better forms over the past decade. Derivative and conformist as most of the mexican music that gets thrown my way.

I'll make an effort and ask some of my friends and I'll report back if I find anything that sounds interesting.

Thanks Moka!

I do listen to stuff like Los Tigres del Norte and Gerardo Ortiz but haven't made much of an effort with hipster stuff since the days of María Daniela y su Sonido Lasser, etc. The Disco Ruido song sounds pretty good.

moka i enjoy you spotify playlists often. keep it up kid

Thank you carne asada!

I don't know where else to put this for all of you to see as I'm not sure how many of you check out the latin house thread... there's the rock cocktails thread you guys helped me with 3 years ago but I figure I might as well use this thread as this is something different:

I'll be opening a bar/club at Feria de San Marcos in my city this year. This is an image of Feria de San Marcos 2014. It looks like this every night and it lasts 25 days.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Feria_Nacional_de_San_Marcos_2012_4.jpg

... yeah. That's why I've been kind of inactive over here for the past weeks.

The bar/club I'll be opening is going to be latin/tropical inspired and the two main djs that'll be there have a massively cool latin/tropical house collection as far as I've heard. I'll be doing the evening latin 'chill' playlists for 1pm to 6pm.

Anyhow, asking for your help. If you have any songs that sound 'tropical' or you think would be a good companion for drinking caipirinhas at a crowded terrace while the sun goes down please send them my way. I already have over 48 hours of different music to play but the more the merrier.

wish me luck! see you in a month or so.

jeez. that looks nuts.

Good luck!

jeez. that looks nuts.

― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu)

Lol yeah that's not the worse part! You're only looking at about 20% of it in that picture it's like that times 5 and I'm not exaggerating I'm actually lowering the number. On the main weekend we have over 1 million people in the streets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feria_Nacional_de_San_Marcos

according to wikipedia there's an estimate of 7 million visits and I'm sure that's a humble estimate. I don't know what I'm going to do I've been living here for 20+ years and I can tell you it gets so crowded at weekend it feels like hell at times. When it's fun it's the best though.

I don't have a picture of the actual bar as we're doing some modifications to it at the moment but here's a mockup using the previous bar structure:

http://i.imgur.com/aKL1KxB.jpg

It's two floors and I can't fit that much people (around 500+) but it's really beautiful inside and there's two actual 8 meters (26 feet) palm trees inside the place as it used to be a corridor and the previous owner spent some big money on it. If you happen to be in Mexico in the following month you need to visit Aguascalientes.

Would get drunk there!

Hi, guys. We're on our third week now. Thank god it's almost over it's been crowded and people love our 1lt mojitos. Here's some photos I took of the place and some drinks yesterday before opening:

http://i.imgur.com/vR1mHco.png
http://i.imgur.com/35Usb9Z.png
http://i.imgur.com/pCdWWYa.png
http://i.imgur.com/LfdsfUN.png
http://i.imgur.com/GYLhds6.png
http://i.imgur.com/WVQbxiP.png

And around 9pm, these were taken from my phone so quality is shit:

http://i.imgur.com/ieM2PDx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uEseOkQ.jpg

I got some great music to share with you guys, I'll share it after it's over.

beautiful!!

very pastel

nice! congrats on the new place.

naming a hip bar favela is pretty stupid and insulting as fuck imo but anyways, have fun selling drinks

don't be a cock, chirea

Gtfo with your politics and chill down, nobody cares and noone feels offended. There is even a trendy bar called Favela in Janeiro and it's been there for years. I could have called it Tepito which is a famous slum in Mexico City and noone would find it offensive or give a fuck... Well, maybe you would.

You jelly

I just looked on Facebook for places called Favela and there are many many many bars and restaurants with the name, so Moka is hardly operating in a gray area.

There's also this clothing boutique in Portugal, which is way more gross a concept.

http://i.imgur.com/sHFlj20.jpg

Hey cock, we've sold 600 mojitos today so far and it's not even midnight! I am having fun! Thanks for asking.

Allow me to brag mr. chirea: Over 1000 mojitos on a Monday, they sell at $7. Am I having fun?

You betcha.

so 1001 mojitos then?

sorry. CBB is contagious.

perhaps this guy was at your bar on Monday
http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news/NEhy2omoox40jo_1_1.jpg

Hahaha

Currently playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFckoohSzVc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcMi4YCLWQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLTKVxFrSOU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBG-maDVIL4

Moka, are you in the path of the hurricane? Take care of yourself this weekend!

I do not like the idea of a definite consensus but a little bit is helpful specially for outsiders. There's two reasons I can't get into metal: 1) It doesn't quite match the aesthetics I want in music but I'm sure there is at least a dozen metal albums I'd love but 2) there's seriously no consensus, the few metal fans I know all recommend me very different subgenres and when they do agree on a subgenre none of the albums match. This is somewhat exciting for me but at the same time I don't want to spend my time listening to 20,000 records of a genre which is difficult for me to see which one sticks and expand from there... consensus records help in this regard.

― Moka, Thursday, December 15, 2016 11:29 AM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Moka, if you wanna tell me and the ILX nerd crew what you like in non-metal music, I'm sure we'd be glad to recommend some stuff that you'd enjoy

Thank you! I'm not at home but I'll do a list of the few metal albums I've listened and loved and explain the best I can which qualities each one had that I liked. Don't judge my poor criticism though! Remember I suck at metal and english.

Tell me what you listen for in non-metal instead! I think that would be easier!

Well, let's see:

Lyrics are not that important to me as english is not my first language. This means instrumental music is ok.

I love dancing or head-bobbing when listening to music so I definitely appreciate some "groove". Drums and bass over guitars and vocals. I like listening to hip hop per example even though I don't really get like 70% of the lyrics which is one of the main strenghts and arguably the purpose of hip hop, I know, but if the beat is doing something weird or grooving I don't mind. I'm more a fan about the production of hip hop and sampling culture, then.

Production is important depending on the context... so in that aspect anything goes as long as it enhances the sound. If a lo-fi, demo sound fits the sound of the band I don't care but if you have a great musician in the band and the production keeps sending him to the background then I just get frustrated.

I don't mind 30 second or 30 minute songs.

Textures are nice too, I very rarely do drugs but I love weird, slightly psychedelic details in a song.

Does that help?

try the new oranssi pazuzu

https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/ ?
Lol xp!

Thirded!

Maybe also Nachtmystium's Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I, if you don't know it? One of my favourite metal albums.

Hahaha ok scratch what I said about metal fans not reaching consensus. thank you, will listen when I get home.

Also if you're into groove, I would say Sepultura's Roots has some of the best swingin' non-mook grooves

cant help but think that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transilvanian_Hunger

is a really good place to start if you want lofi that actually works and enhances the sound.

the oranssi pazuzu is defo the album id recommend from 2016 that could appeal to a non-metalhead who doesnt just want a pop metal album.

I also think you might like Mesarthim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTH96p56Fsg

Thank you! Also if it helps here's the few metal albums I own (some of them on vinyl yes!)

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Sunn O)) - black one
Black Sabbath - Vol. 4
Burzum - hvis lyset tar oss
Om - Conference of the birds
Evoken - Quietus
Shape of Despair - angels of distress

A very sad and brief collection I know... there's probably others which I'm forgetting...I also have wolfheart by moonspell although that one was a gift, I like it but it's not my favorite, I do like the deep voice of the vocalist tho. Almost bought Baroness ok vinyl because the artwork was beautiful but I don't really know their music or if they're good.

records everyone should own so a good collection (though id not buy burzum as i wont gove him money so i pirate that stuff)

Baroness are great

The Burzum one was given to me by a friend as a joke gift for secret santa... he expected me to hate it but I actually enjoyed it!

Why wouldn't you give him money? I do not know anything about burzum.

Oh wait I just read the wikipedia article, damn that's fucked up.

Some groove, bass and drums over guitars, vocals 100% indecipherable. Lots of psychedelic details, occasional samples, 30 minute songs, not nazis: Ufomammut does things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLHR8BrU5B0

Thank you! Keep em coming I will listen to every recommendation.

what did you think of that Mesarthim track?

I still haven't listened! Want to get home and listen on headphones... I'm on my cellphone now and it's a huge disservice to listen to any album on iphone speakers.

Everyone should listen to Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

Ohhhh and my very favourite recent (ish) metal album is Akhlys - The Dreaming I

I don't know if it's something to do with the cover but...
http://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Akhys-The-Dreaming-I-01-300x300.jpg

Something about it makes me think of a short section in The Picture of Dorian Grey where (if I recall correctly) he wonders about a bunch of seedy opium dens.

Ok finished listening to your recommendations! Quick opinions

Nachtmystium's Assassins - Black Meddle, Part I

I really like what's going on musically on this one... Meddle is my favorite Pink Floyd album so the reference piqued my interest.. it even opens with a Pink Floyd 'cover' so you know from the start this will be a mix of hard + psychedelic+ metal. Ghosts of Grace was my favorite one in here on first listen. I'm not a fan of the prominent black metal vocals tbh but I can see myself going back to this one.

Sepultura - Roots
Yeah I'm familiar with this one.. I was the bass player in a sort of post-punk band back in highschool and the drummer was a big fan of Sepultura. I can see why a drummer would love this, the drumming sounds really good. Impressive this comes from Brazil and in 1996... it sounds like 'nu metal' but you know, good (it was probably a big influence on many nu-metal bands?).

Oranssi Pazuzu - Varahtelija
Whoa! Saturaatio is a banger... I really like this mix of space rock + black metal. Also the vocals are only there for like 3 minutes out of 12. There's tribal beats and a vibraphone on the next track! Oh I really like this one... it sounds like some of the best songs out of Grails - Black Tar Prophecies. There's vocals in the middle but then they continue doing that sort of hypnotic dark jam session. Title track has a nice bass. Hypnotisoitu sounds like Krautrock at its maddest... it's the most epic track so far... ok , yes I really like this thank you for the recommendation!

Mesarthim - Orbiting
This has some hints of 80's guitar riffs and even some synthpop melody... it kind of reminds me of Policy of Truth by Depeche Mode? but, you know mixed with hard rock guitars and death metal vocals in space.... I don't know what to make of it because it's very alien to me hahaha yet but it is very interesting! I kind of like it, still undecided. Need to take time to digest this one.

Ufomammut
Ah yes! What do you call this kind of metal? Is it Sludge metal? Stoner metal? Doom? Heavy Psych? Whatever it is this is right up my alley, Dopethrone is one of my favorite albums of the 00's and this sounds close to it so I love it. Heard the top songs on spotify: Lacrimosa, Stigma and Somnium. All three are excellent. I specially liked Stigma, there's some weird vibrato sound in the closing minute and the whole song sounds like a Black Sabbath tape slowed down. I don't know what metal fans think about it but this is awesome to me.

Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
I'm sorry I do not like this. It kind of has some medieval + 80's style in the riffing and some flutes and violins and fantasy themes and I don't really like that sort of metal, maybe toned down but this one is definitely not toned down hahaha it sounds dorky to me and not in the cool way. Terribly sorry :s... I have a friend who will love this though, tho I'm sure he knows them already.

Akhlys - The Dreaming I
This sounds very well produced! It's very busy obviously with all the metal going on so it's hard to tell but there's some many textures and ideas going on. Also wow, that drummer is insane! It sounds like a chopper from time to time, is that a double pedal or a synth or what? I'm not a fan of music this 'extreme' but the production really helps making this stand out from most metal I've heard in this style. I really like this one too.

Overall nice recommendations everyone! Really enjoyed listening to those.

I'm partial to Ufomammut's Eve for it's Catholic iconography made audible. All their albums are very good - at some point each one has a huge, simple gut-punching riff where minutes of tension resolve. I'd rank Snailking and Oro: Opus Alter right up there. Those weird vibrato sounds are generally recordings of synth oscillators, which they play along to live, kinda like Who's Next.

nice write-ups Moka

the medieval+80s description of Emperor is spot-on I guess. it is a fairly old album (early-90s) and they were barely out of their teens when they made it. it's probably aged a little since then. Glad you liked Akhlys though- yeah its the textures I like best. long ambient parts and followed by impressively extreme outbursts

I liked the UFOMammut album I heard, but also it made me think I was listening to an extended version of 'Battle' by Blur

Also if you're into groove, I would say Sepultura's Roots has some of the best swingin' non-mook grooves

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 15 December 2016 17:24 (four weeks ago) Permalink

yooo not my thread but i've been jamming since reading this post. thx

http://rs136.pbsrc.com/albums/q165/zhorn11/Headbang-1.gif~c200

hey Moka, do you feel safe living/working in Mexico? some say it's rather violent but maybe that's mostly (certain areas in) the capital?

I live by the belly of the country in a city called Aguascalientes. 1M population and it’s pretty safe, most common crime is robbery I suppose, we don’t really have narco problems in this city. There are many parts of Mexico which are pretty much narcostates though. Of the big cities Mexico City and Monterrey are safe in that regard, Guadalajara is a fucking mess right now as it has been pretty much hijacked by the cartel nueva generacion and has had escalating violence for 5+ years but it’s still somewhat safe. Cartels operate in non-touristic spots (or at least they stopped being touristic due to the cartels’ short-sighted stupidity like Colima or Acapulco)

It’s a big country, as long as you steer clear from certain hot areas you’ll be fine. Are you planning a visit? which places are you planning to visit?

no plans, was just thinking about it

thanks for yr kind answer :)

do you know this song Mrs. Moka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWIVntoOPFk

I didn’t! I bought Pure Guava and Chocolate and Cheese back in the 90’s and I love them but my version of the album did not have any outtakes. Cool song from a cool band.

moka what was yer first record

First casette bought by my parents was La Onda Vaselina. A popular kid’s band in Mexico that made covers of 50’s and 60’s rocknroll, doo wop, r&b hits in Spanish

https://www.discogs.com/es/La-Onda-Vaselina-La-Onda-Vaselina/master/731981

First time seeing the music video for this one before, I’m speechless: https://youtu.be/yvXmsKzKFlE

First cassette I bought for myself with my allowance was the Lion King soundtrack. I must’ve played it until my parents ears were numb.

First cd I bought was Mezzanine by Massive Attack. It makes me sound cooler than what I was. I watched the singing phoetus video of Teardrop on MTV and both the video and the song were mindblowing for me... I was around 12 or 13 I think. Bought the cd, played “teardrop” for the better part of a year but didn’t really care about the rest lf the album until I heard it a couple of years later. Felt like an idiot for dismissing the album earlier.

First mp3 I downloaded was Bolero Falaz by Aterciopelados. I didn’t know the song before downloading I just liked the name of the band and the title of the song after reading about them in a magazine (translates as The Velvets - Bolero of Lies) and said why not? This was before the youtube days, in the obscure internet days when you could spend 5 hours downloading a song in Napster and sometimes get trolled with another song.

https://youtu.be/GEe-G4w0ifc

First song I streamed... I’ve no idea.

The video for Aterciopelados is actually kind of cool.

Hey everyone. As I’ve mentioned before April/ May in Aguascalientes is the national fair and I usually run a latin club and a bar in there. This time I’ll be running three places, one of them will be on an old, really big colonnial house fits around 1,800 people and we’ll be having djs all month.

Claptone, Guy Gerber, Popof, Nic Fanciulli, Archie Hamilton, Bufi, Nobu, Zombies in Miami + several national djs and a couple of more international ones to be confirmed (crossing fingers for Kolsch). I’ll be associated with bar americas which have been working hard on promoting the electronic scene in mx for almost two decades.

More info here:

https://m.facebook.com/baramericas/

Anyhoo if you have plans to visit Mexico around this month, send me a line.

?

Question for Mexicans: if there was to be a music festival in Mexico at a resort featuring your favourite bands, would you consider going? Do you know any good places? This is an innocent question btw.😉

— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) August 25, 2019

Yup, this is why I’m asking. The point of doing a thing in Mexico would be to do it for Mexicans.. or in Brazil for Brazilians. There’s no point otherwise. 👍🏽 https://t.co/fhKQhLWjlt

— stuart murdoch (@nee_massey) August 25, 2019

The only resorts that can hold a festival are all in beach areas. I’d consider Melody Maker hotel in Cancun (actually specializes in doing massive music events inside the resort) or Vidanta in Nuevo Vallarta (huge area, thousands of rooms and great production value, they’re even making a Cirque du Soleil amusement park inside the hotel grounds)

Feel free to forward the answer to stuart as I don’t have a twitter account :)