moja; Haruhiko (bass&voice) Masumi (drum) A band from TOKYO, JAPAN Haruhiko Higuchi and Masumi Sakurai AKA Moja have been making sonic indentations on fans worldwide with their original sound. The band has perfected the art of producing maximum decibel output from the vertex of two turbulent rock musicians. This output can at least be partially attributed to the unique relationship of founding members Higuchi (bass/vocals) and Sakurai(drums) who originally met in as members of a 4 piece band, Gorilla. In 2006, both were taken aback when both the singer and lead guitarist suddenly left. Undeterred, Higuchi and Sakurai vowed to continue on as a duo and laid the foundation out for what would be Moja's signature sound today, first on the streets and in budget studios and then in Tokyo livehouses. The band quickly gained a following both from their music and a quirky tendency to set up and play in the middle of the audience. Their first international event was the M.E.A.N.Y. FEST 2007 in New York's Knitting Factory and bigger things would be soon to come. Though they played internationally before, their real introduction on the global stage came in December of 2007 when Moja finished 3rd in the G.B.O.B. (Global Battle of the Bands) final in London. Suddenly the world was aware of this duo from Tokyo and doors opened everywhere. They performed in Japan’s Summer Sonic, Canada’s Envol Et Macadam & NXNE, Italy’s Italia Wave, as well as locations in New York, Toronto, Liverpool, and Hong Kong. With 2008 came the release of their debut CD “Moja” The band is currently working on their second album and preparing to take stage in 2011’s SXSW. Fans everywhere should be waiting in eager anticipation.
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MS10891
