THE MOJDEH PROJECT's is morphing and changing! They are working on some top secret projects right now - that will reveal themselves over time! In the meantime you can be sure that they are writing / recording music and that a new single will be released this winter!
MOJDEH: vox | acoustic guitar | percussion | bass
FYODOR SAKHNOVSKI: bass | percussion | el. guitar
CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR NEW DRUMMER!!!
photo (C) SM Stoakley
Photo (C) SM Stoakley
Photo (c) SM Stoakley
original artwork by, Laura Pawson. CD Layout design by Mojdeh Stoakley & Lauren Herrmann
Original artwork by, Sarah Lensink, CD Layout & Design by Mojdeh Stoakley & Lauren Herrmann
photo (c) SM Stoakley
at NIGHT OF SIGHT & SOUND with SAUL WILLIAMS on March 27, 2010
at NIGHT OF SIGHT & SOUND, April 20, 2008, Photo by Chante
at NIGHT OF SIGHT & SOUND, April 20, 2008, Photo By Chante
at NIGHT OF SIGHT & SOUND, March 1, 2008 - Photo by, Lauren Herrmann
at Beast Women Production Series, April 10, 2010
booking:
themojdehproject_gmail.com
contact label:
lethal.poetry_gmail.com
SNAIL MAIL:
The Mojdeh Project
c/o Lethal Poetry Records
1255 N Artesian Ave FL1
Chicago, IL 60622
UPCOMING SHOWS
March 27, 2010 | 6pm | $25 | 21+
opening for SAUL WILLIAMS
Night of Sight & Sound _ Kinetic Playground
1113 W Lawrence Ave | Chicago, IL
April 17, 2010 | 12pm | FREE | all ages
WBEZ's Global Activism Festival _ UIC Forum
Halsted & Roosevelt | Chicago, IL
June 9, 2010 | Diplomatic Performance | Distinguished guests only!
Regal Theater
1645 E. 79th St. | Chicago, IL
June 12, 2010 | 12pm | FREE | all ages
Humboldt Park Art Festival 2010
1440 N. Sacramento Ave. | Chicago, IL
Also performing: Rabble Rabble, Blah Blah Blah (SXSW)
July 31, 2010 | 7:30pm | $10 | +21 plus
Night of Sight & Sound _ Beat Kitchen
2100 W. Belmont | Chicago, IL
Also Performing: DJ Jay iLLa & Ivy League (MTV), Roger Bonair Agard (HBO), Precise, Scarlet Monk, DJ Mega Mike, and many others.
JOURNEYS THROUGH JUNKYARDS:
1. Just Because
2. Downward Spiral
3. Crumbling
4. PacMan +
5. Am I
6. Rain That Once Was
7. Regress
8. Life Is
9. What Grows
10. No Room
All words written by Mojdeh, except "PacMan"
originally written by Bitch & Animal (c) 2003
All music written & arranged by The Mojdeh Project
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0
United States License 2009
Publishing Rights Reserved, Lethal Poetry Records 2009
Sponsored by Backcracker Productions / Gauthier Healthcare
Live recordings compiled from performances in 2007 - 2008.
LYRICS & WORDS for JOURNEYS THROUGH JUNKYARDS
JUST BECAUSE © TMP
Right Now Ill step up to the microphone
Ill brush the dust off my shoulders and shake the nerves out of my bones
Push the hair behind my ears and wipe the powder off my nose I dont need it
Ill stand here, pumping myself up! Thinkin, Im here to perform, not to be loved!
And Im not groovin here because I wanna be the next Britney Spears
If I never acquire that brand of fame, I wont shed a single tear, I wont be ashamed.
I dont need to exploit my body, compromise my mind
She can have the pedistal shes standin on, she can have that pedistal, I dont want it
I dont want to be fake, I wanna be real
I wanna climb to the top of the Sears Tower
Scream at the top of my lungs and finally feel
With the wind blowin through my hair, caressin my skin
This is where I shall finally begin
This is where I will stay, this time
Not because I can, but because I want to!
It shouldnt matter what anybody else thinks
THIS is what I wanna do
So if it bothers you that Im bold then just walk away
And if it doesnt, Im glad you could stay
Because if you stop, think for a moment, and listen
You might finally hear, whats real
DOWNWARD SPIRAL © TMP
Im on this bus to the wrong desination
And I stand up as I cry
Can you see the glimmer in my tearful eyes
As I, oh I am on this road away from the better feelings
And I, oh I spin on this downward spiral again
Its like this, I cant breathe
Circumstance has made me meek
I want to withdraw from this
Go back to the manic memories
And all of the energetic things my hearts not reaching for yet
I was told, through experience I could not fail
But over time I realized that was just a fairy tale
I imagine an old man rockin in his rockin chair
Proclaiming all of his wisdom, but nobodys there
Sometimes its hard to see
Blinding in difficulty
I have no idea where I fit
He says one thing, I say another
Guess thats a talley, I shouldnt bother
Because OF COURSE HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER
Yeah, go ahead, take a number
Ive heard that one before
Ill admit you had me surprised and my jaw dropped to the floor
But its about time, you take your bold judgments
And you can just go, you can just go!
Youve made your contribution!
CRUMBLING © TMP
Wheres the beauty, wheres the pain
Wheres this feeling, I
Wheres the future I once dreamt of in my childhood eye
Nothings the same anymore
Heres a man dedicated to his faith
But leaves his children hungry
Heres a man who brings me down
Heres a man who makes me crumble
Wheres the love, Wheres the pain
Wheres the future I once dreamt of in my childhood eye?
Nothings the same anymore; nothings the same anymore
My names society! Are you watching me crumble?
My names society! Are you watching me bleed?
Watch this man take her hand
Watch this man lead her on
Watch this man steal her innocence
Watch this man
Heres a man who makes me want to scream
Wheres the hope, wheres the innocence
Heres a man who walks beside you
You hold your friendship dear
Heres a man, your companion
Who steals from right beneath you
Heres a man who makes me want to tear
Heres a man who makes me crumble.
Wheres the care, wheres the justice?
PACMAN © TMP
[Original © Bitch And Animal
Re-written by S. Mojdeh Stoakley 2007]
Tonight the citys like a pacman board
I wanna know how many power pellets til I get to your door
All the angled streets, and the blinking lights
How many of my steps to your door
Oh you know who you are
Just look out the window, the ghosts arent that far
Theres smoke on the island and all five boroughs are watching
When the world stops I wanna ride with you
Your footsteps are approaching my moves
Im on a joyful ride
Im movin on to my next three lives
Im a quarter junkie
And Im thirsty for you!
And Imand Im.and Im
Thirsty for you!
AM I? © TMP
This place of brick and wood
No longer my home
No longer the place where my dreams are made up
Couldnt you have done better?
Am I askin too much, Am I askin too much
I cant feel, I cant feel anymore
It seems Im a family of one, livin in a house of five
But on occasion I gain companionship
From the man on the other side
But not for long cuz, weve only got days left
Til our lives are gonna change, yes, for the worst
Couldnt you have done better
I cant breathe, I cant breathe anymore
Maybe Im askin too much
I just need a little security
Maybe Im asking too much
Im waitin for my chance to be free
And I don't know about you
No I don't know about you
Maybe I...Maybe I...Maybe I...
Am askin too much
RAIN THAT ONCE WAS © TMP
Calmly I reside lying face down in my pillow
But shivering
For the cold wood floor burns my skin
Intently I listen to the footsteps in the hallway
But the sound is muffled by a slamming door
Carefully I watch
As hail, which was snow
Which was rain
Hit my window
PATTER, PATTER they say to me
But the window responds with a CRACK!
And then it shatters
And in comes a not-so-gentle breeze
Which teases my senses
So I can almost smell the rain that once was!
REGRESS © TMP
Hidden here, in the middle
Benieth the forsaken, entrapted within the crowd
Drowning in my loniness, which takes hold of me
Drasticly changing direction, no longer standing still
Im running
Running in a backwards direction
Falling into tortures of the beginning
STOP, Regression again
Regress into insanity
My sanity thats left within me
Hey-hey
Im always quiet during the uproar
And awkwardly breaking the silence
With angry eyes watching me
Im always standing strangely next to strangers
Nervously awaiting the next floor for the open door
I am still
Hey-Oh
LIFE IS © TMP
Life is like a stranger that you cant get rid of
And as hard as you try you cant seem to loose him
And you pray sometimes that things will change
And sometimes they do
But mostly its on you
Life is hard when youre human
And you try so hard, but youre not self sufficient
And you push and push on
But sometimes all you need is compassion
All you need is, all you need is compassion
WHAT GROWS © TMP
The suffering, it grows within me like a weed
Seeds strong, growing wildly, like nothing else
Yet something else, weakening, drying out like my tears
And through the years I've roamed never noticed
But noticing the flourishing world around me, flourishing without me
And yes, sometimes it is anger that grows
A kind of resentment for the type of soul that lacks this sort of lacking
Wishing that within them was a sort of nothing that may grow
But I guess that's just it, can Nothing grow?
Can Nothing move on to becoming something else?
Can Nothing be anything but me?
But I guess, the true question is this?
Can nothing be?
NO ROOM © TMP
She hates herself today, cant think
As her tears are falling down the sink
Into the drain, into the darkness that she feels
She says, Is there no room for me now,
No room to breathe now? No room to save me?
Is there no room left for guidance?
Left for guidance
She hates her reflection
That look in her eyes
Cause nobody quite knows
Nobody quite cares
Scattered in-between the dark and the fair
She realizes, its the tint of her skin
Thats where all the hurt begins
Yeah, no worries girl
Theres somebody out there
That will love you for your skin
And everything within
And in-between your body and the world
There still resides the soul of a girl
Thats perfect as is, Thats perfect as is
Yeah, Perfect as is , Perfect as is , Perfect as
Review in Music Connection Magazine
"The Mojdeh Project: Boundary-pushing players that appeal to a young crowd weary of the alt-pop scene."
by Rob Putnam
Elbo Room
Chicago, IL
Material: The Mojdeh Projects stock in trade is folkcore, although it sometimes verges on avant-garde and channels small measures of Björk and art rock. In short, lyrics are what drive this band. Standouts include The Gateway, poetically,the bands strongest song, the percussion-fronted Poetry, and Life Is, a song that asserts that life is hard when youre human.
Musicianship: All members of the trio like to push the boundaries and get fairly experimental in their choice of instruments found objects, some of them and how theyre micd. Mojdeh Stoakley shows versatility by playing bass, guitar and improvised instruments such as a propane tank. Drummer Brian Brennan sometimes plays using his hands and at other times employs a djembe, to interesting effect.
Performance: Stoakley joked and engaged in light banter between songs, which was a sharp contrast to The Mojdeh Projects typically serious, more contemplative lyrics. During the song-poetry she battered a propane tank with drumsticks, making her musical points so strongly that she broke one of the sticks. Her vocals were often throaty and somber. Sakhnovski also tapped a thick spring that lent the song a haunting quality. The bands 10-song set flowed smoothly and the song order was well chosen.
Summary: This ensemble represents a different kind of sound. Their genre and lyrics will likely appeal to a younger crowd that is perhaps weary of pop or alternative. Theyre all competent musicians and the band is working hard to get its name out. These artists have done their homework and are headed in their own direction. Fans of folkcore, or anyone just looking for something new, might do well to check them out.
Copyright 2010 The Mojdeh Project All rights reserved.
