Patricia Brennan / MOCH

Patricia Brennan / MOCH
Brooklyn, NY
Grant amount: $8,546

About the Artist

MOCH is a collaborative electroacoustic duo between mallet percussionist Patricia Brennan and drummer/electronic musician Noel Brennan. Vibraphonist, marimbist, improviser and composer Patricia Brennan “has been widely feted as one of the instrument’s newer leaders” observed The New York City Jazz Record. Growing up in Veracruz, Mexico, Patricia’s childhood immersed her in the rich musical culture that developed her artistic voice. Patricia’s search for freedom in her musical expression led her to extending the range and sonic possibilities through the vibraphone and mallet percussion in improvisational music and composition. Patricia’s first album, a solo album “Maquishti,” was #4 in the New York Time’s top 10 jazz albums of 2021. Patricia was also voted by Downbeat as the rising star of vibraphone for the magazine’s 70th Critics Poll for 2022. Her newest album, “More Touch,” released just a couple of months ago is already receiving accolades from critics. Patricia works both as a leader and side person for active artists in and out of NYC, including such Grammy nominated bands as Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Big Band and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and other bands including the Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus, Matt Mitchell’s Phalax Ambassadors, the Webber/Morris Big Band, Mary Halverson’s Amaryllis amongst other groups and collectives. She has performed in venues such as Newport Jazz Festival, SF JAZZ, and Carnegie Hall, as well as international venues in Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. Patricia is a Valley of Search artist, Pyroclastic Records artist, and a BlueHaus Mallets artist. She is currently on the faculty at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the Jazz Studies program at NYU Steinhardt and has given lectures at the Manhattan School of Music and UCLA.

Noel Brennan is an active drummer, percussionist and electronic musician based in NYC. His musical path has maintained a connection with ancient language based drum concepts through years of study of both tabla and sabar. They are a big part of his rhythmic voice. Among his teachers are his guru Anindo Chatterjee and griot of sabar Pape Dioufe. Jeff Levenson of Warner Bros. Records honored Noel and his drumming as a “Promising Artist of the 21st Century” which led to an international tour in 2012. As a sideman Noel has performed and recorded with Patricia Brennan, Dana Lyn, Dave Pietro, Mike McGinnis, Ben Stapp as well as many other improvisors in NYC and abroad. Noel’s passion for drumming and sonic possibilities led to exploring the world of turntablism and electronic music. Also known as Arktureye, Noel has won several turntablism battles including Community Skratch Games Experimental Category hosted by Cut and Paste Records in 2021 and Swiftstyle’s Keep Skratching contest in 2018. Recently Noel has appeared on several recordings including Dana Lyn’s “Point on a Slow Curve” and the collaborative duo effort with Patricia Brennan “Masquishti Prismatic” on Valley of Search. He is currently working on his debut album, a solo combination of electronics, drum set and percussion exploring the sampled vs. live drummer. Manipulating both video and audio with Serato video, Ableton and modular synthesis, the aims of this project are to try old ideas with new sounds and new sounds with old ideas. As an educator, Noel has taught at several institutions in NYC and the tristate area. While pursuing his master’s degree at the Steinhardt School, he also was chosen as an adjunct jazz faculty member teaching tabla. He has taught and was a coordinator at electronic music production/DJ school Spin Academy. Currently, he is on the faculty of Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and has held positions there including jazz program coordinator, group drum ensemble director and beat-making /DJ and drum set instructor. Noel maintains an active private drum studio as well.