Embodying the ephemeral nature of certain insects, Moira Scar is similar to nothing that has come before. Immediate and organic, it would be lazy to call it “avant garde”, the words indicating that it could be labeled at all. There is no other current band/entity I’ve heard that defies labels to the degree of Moira Scar.

The back story: In 2001, Roxana Fausti Arañia and LuLu Gamma Ray became musical partners, finding one another scraping along the debris of post-90’s San Francisco, at a time when the Mission was quickly changing from what it was then to what it is now (it’s not the same….trust me, I’m looking out the window at it now). At the time, the two were still in the incarnation of previous lifetimes, Roxana being known as Roxy Monoxide, while LuLu was still called LuLu LaCorpse. This joining together, cosmically assigned, set the collaborative wheels in motion with various noise projects before solidifying the two into San Francisco’s beloved “Floating Corpses”.

As the Floating Corpses, they played around with various formulas, working their Magick to find the perfect spot for new and different projects, until the cosmos stepped in: In 2008, Fausti Arañia and Gamma Ray were simultaneously blown open by messages from a cosmic entity, a voice from the primordial deep, urging, if not forcing them, to create their most current project, “Moira Scar”. As the entity, Moira utilizes the flesh and bones of her humans, possessing them and allowing them to speak the unspoken. Akin to glossolalia, the band’s human voices are used to share the voices of the hidden monsters they channel, Moira acting as both creator and creation, allowing the band members to concentrate all efforts on the charge laid before them. As two beings becoming an octopus of instruments, Moira Scar have recorded two records, touring both nationally and regionally. “Slink to Intensity,” a collection of transmissions recorded as a duo in 2010, is one of my favorite releases of the past few years. A shot of adrenaline in this postmodern landscape, it brings together aspects of dada-ism, complex flux-ism, voodoo, conjure and madness, presenting its catharsis beneath layers of glittered soundscapes. New yet somehow ancient, Moira Scar’s Slink to Intensity was like finding lost audio of an unknown tribe of urban shamans. The record in its entirety revealed a wall of complexities assembled with micro surgical precision; nothing coincidental, and this was not noise. Tracks like “Blood Moon” peek into the midnight dreams of a musical shape-shifter, pulling us without notice from dark jazz filth to manic klezmer romp; “Gnu Groove” promises to be the intergalactic dance hit for the New Aeon, with vocal tracks slicing through a sonic backdrop like ripping silk, clean lines from high to low. All the way through to “Maggot Dance,” Slink to Intensity is a mutant feast for starving minds, a supernatural buffet of sound for hungry ears.

The record, like the live performance, doesn’t simply happen but instead takes place in time, demanding the audience to analyze the here and now, to acknowledge it and draw it forth into the dark invisible. This intergalactic unity of sense and spirit produces a record that can resemble exorcism, frenzied benediction, or cathartic possession- all depending on how you look at it. As “Slink to Intensity” was released and gaining momentum, Roxana and LuLu allowed a new addition to be taken in by the entity, and a Beast of most Bonus came into the Moira Scar story. Ryan "Bonus Beast" King, formerly of Nashville’s “Big Nurse”, jumped on board the Scar/Ship, forming a triad, the new perfection found in triplicity multiplying the force of the transmissions. Ryan fits well into the possession, and Moira Scar are soon to release their first full-length record as a trio.

Using guitars, drums, horns, synth and vox to alchemical effect, Fausti- Arañia, Gamma Ray and King evoke the innocence of demon-children singing lullabies, their presence blurring the line between art and life, between performance and existence. Eradicating any preconceived constructs that attempt to restrict transmission, Moira Scar is an open channel, a cosmic mystery box that you would trade in all your raffle tickets for. "Scarred For Life" (Resipiscent Records), will issue 11 songs that are epic on the scale of Hunky Dory, where tales of deep meaning are spun with authenticity, only mixed with the urgency of Punk and the underpinnings of noisecore. A new tour is upcoming, and you’d be crazy to miss it when they descend upon your town.

Last month I was honored to do a reading at SF’s Adobe Books in the Mission, where Roxana Fausti Arañia returned to unleash her newest book upon the world. “Friskey Oblivion and Friendz” (Scar Press 2012), is a mesmerizing work of what can loosely be labeled as science fiction and magical realism, if you need to label it at all. With a wild array of characters, (The Blood Clots, Eunice Unicorn and the title character, among many), “Friskey” gives us a further look into the prehistoric/futuristic ooze from which Moira Scar erupted. A Magickal history lesson, if I may. Also on Scar Press, the band’s new publishing imprint, Lulu Gamma Ray has released a comic/’zine entitled “Moira Scar Saves The World (NOT FOR HUMANS),” a true look at the dedicated and obsessed fantasy-reality that comes from being chosen as translators for the most obscure of monsters. All of this energy, this constant work being put out, makes me wonder if the humans of Moira Scar are truly human. Between recording, touring, creating and surviving, I wish I had half of the drive and clarity that Moira Scar puts forth. Whatever their condition, I’m hoping that it’s infectious because- either way- I can’t stop listening.

While they set up the tour and gear up for the release of the record, follow all things Moira here:
http://moirascar.blogspot.com get a listen here: http://soundcloud.com/moirascar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZkMBdRyeMI&feature=player_embedded