Since its debut in 2019, mòs ensemble has turned into an eight-piece band guided by a collective vision, with a preference for areas where genres overlap or cease to matter, where rich arrangements of voices and other instruments become fully realized. The band members are active with an impressive list of bands and projects – in pop, jazz and remote areas -, and relinquish this broad-mindedness with a self-evident love for adventure and exciting interaction. The result is a collective in continual transformation, maintaining a balancing act between wonder and determination. Their latest album Pets & Therapy is the sound of a band still honing its sound, refusing to settle for a formula. Not because they’re trying to adapt to the whims of the day, but because their inner urges compel them to. It’s spellbinding to witness how this octet has managed to refine its art while keeping that sense of unpredictable discovery intact. If anything, the ongoing tension between apparent contradictions is what makes their third album such a winner. By now, labels like pop, jazz and chamber music hardly matter anymore. mòs ensemble became a band that swiftly switches from light-footed energy to dense drama, from dreamy fragility to punkish power, from melancholia to euphoria, and from the direct to the whimsical. Recorded in the spring and fall of 2022 in Ghent and Milan, Pets & Therapy boasts eleven songs. It is at once more compact and nimble then its predecessors Limbs (2019) and Behind The Marble (2022). As well as more elaborate and ingenious, the separate parts of the bands merging more fluently while keeping their distinctive individual identities intact.

What They Say: “Vocals, reeds, guitar/mandolin, keyboards, bass and drums function as colours in a canvas showing how we never cease to think, feel, watch and interpret. It’s a familiar story, about people trying to make sense of themselves and their place in the world while being connected to others, but you rarely get it presented with this combination of imagination, prowess and a sense of collectively shared vision. Pets & Therapy is also the sound of a band reaching a new artistic peak“.

“Just observe the way Roos Denayer, Astrid Creve and Marta Del Grandi have perfected their vocal arrangements, combining the gently alluring with the boldly experimental. They function as a mini choir, a three-headed siren ensemble with distinct, yet delightfully connected voices.“

Their Mixtape: “For this mixtape we chose songs we like which fit the Pet- and Animal-theme which is present in our album. Each member of the band contributed a song“

Caetano Veloso – Cucurrucucú Paloma 

Written by Alberto Iglesias and performed by Caetano Veloso,This beautiful song was used as a soundtrack for the heartbreaking movie ‘Hable Con Ellia’ by the great Spanish director Pedro Almodódovar

Deerhoof – Panda Panda Panda

One of the greatest rock bands today! Who doesn’t love Pandas?

Lhasa de Sela – A Fish on Land

Don’t we all sometimes feel like that? One of the most beautiful lyrics ever written, in our opinion.

Human Feel – Cat Heaven

Yes, we do have some catlovers in the band. This song is from a New York – All Star – Jazz band with Chris Speed, Andrew D’Angelo, Kurt Rosenwinckel and Jim Black. We all met in the jazzscene of Ghent and digged this band, so it’s also a bit nostalgic.

Devandra Banhart – Your Fine Petting Duck

This song has a very unique weirdness that makes it irresistable. Be it the off-key vocals, or the contrast between the carefree vibe of the music and the dark humor of the lyrics, or the mix of all these.

Catbug – Kingfisher 

Catbug is a Lovely Belgian singer/songwriter and this song is amazing. More Cats!  

  

Panda Bear – Dolphin

This Animal Collective-member (ow yes we stay in theme) makes great music as ‘Panda Bear’ (two points!). Keeping a Dolphin (three times a charm!) as a pet? Perhaps...

The Sweet Enoughs – Dream Puppy

Great band! Very nostalgic and kitsch (in a very good way), like being in a 50’s/60’s French movie, but released in 2020. A good medicine against bad mornings, mostly works.

mòs ensemble are: Astrid Creve (Voice & Mandoline), Marta Del Grandi (Voice), Roos Denayer (Voice & guitar), Ambroos Deschepper (Saxophones & Percussion), Benjamin Hermans (Saxophone, Clarinets & Synths), Artan Buleshkaj (Guitar), Kobe Boon (Double Bass & Bassguitar), Simon Raman(Drums).
Pets & Therapy is out now on the Belgian label W.E.R.F. Records. Look HERE for more information on mòs ensemble.