Mocky aka Dominic Salole began playing music at age 7, when he would watch music videos of the eighties and then go and imitate what he saw on his older brother’s drumset during the commercial breaks. He later attended Boston’s Berklee Music College on a scholarship, before moving on to University of Toronto, where he distinguished himself as an acoustic bass player (studying with Oscar Peterson’s bassist) and took unofficial studies in electro-acoustic composition as well as pursuing his own interests in psychology and primate musical abilities. During university Mocky hosted a weekly live hip-hop jam that brought together musicians and rappers. It was also during this fertile time (1994-1998) that he, together with Peaches, Gonzales and Sticky, founded “The Shit”, a Dadaist punk band that would influence all of these musicians in their solo careers. During this time Mocky released a short series of self-produced cassettes and 45s that to this day continue to inspire his musical collaborators, showcasing his unusual harmonic and rhythmic sense as well as a gift for evocative songwriting.
Feeling the need for change, and inspired by a dream where he was a revolutionary leader in the form of a stuffed animal called Mocky, he adopted the moniker and left Canada to move to London with plans to release his first album. There he briefly played bass with tabla player and Mercury Prize winner Talvin Singh, and worked at groundbreaking internet radio station “Gaialive”. Otherwise London was a hard learning experience (the inspiration for his future song “Sweet Music (Whatcha Doin’ For Me?)”). After a disastrous year, which included doing an exhibition at an East End gallery as an excuse to live there and for a short time sleeping in his keyboard case, he relocated to Amsterdam.
Mocky: Head in The Clouds
Mocky: Head in The Clouds Lyrics:
I’m tired of waiting for the breeze
To come shake the leaves down off these trees
And bring this summer to an end
So everything can finally start over again
I know we don’t say what we mean
And everything ain’t what it seems
So for now…
I got my head in the clouds
Cause I know they’ll always be around
Head in the clouds
Cause I know they never gonna let me down
Head in the clouds ooh ooh ooh
Head in the clouds ooh ooh
I’m pulling my head out of the sand
In an attempt to comprehend
Just how the birds stay in the sky
Nothing to learn, you just need a good reason to fly
I know we don’t say what we mean
And everything ain’t what it seems
So for now…
I got my head in the clouds
Cause I know they’ll always be around
Head in the clouds
Cause I know they never gonna let me down
Head in the clouds ooh ooh ooh
Head in the clouds ooh ooh
Those raindrops must be lying
Cause nobody’s gonna catch me crying
Head in the clouds
Cause I know they’ll always be around
Head in the clouds
Cause I know they never gonna let me down
Head in the clouds ooh ooh ooh
Head in the clouds ooh ooh.