...click the banner above for streaming discography.
Brendon Massei is a talent developer, record producer, and songwriter who performs internationally as Viking Moses. Massei is also known for bringing musicians including Scout Niblett, Deer Tick’s John McCauley, Jana Hunter of Lower Dens, and Nat Baldwin of Dirty Projectors on their first tours.
The lore of Massei's outsider lifestyle has won him interest and recognition. 2013 saw the release of Werewolves Across America, a documentary by UK Production Company Pulse Films about Massei's life and lifestyle as a touring musician. Massei's music also features on 2014's BAFTA-winning feature film Kelly + Victor, and documentary film The Legend Of Masty Huba (2011).
Until this year, Massei had been directing The Epihysis Foundation's label operations out of a backpack while touring the world with his band Viking Moses, using a mobile phone, a laptop, and two condenser microphones. Nearly 40 releases later, Massei decides to make a home in Baltimore to sustain and manage the steady growth of The Epiphysis Foundation.
In April 2014, Massei was invited to China for a series of public appearances via a cultural grant organized by the Consulate General of the United States, Guangzhou.
Massei is a candidate for a Masters of Professional Studies (MPS) concentrating in the Business of Art and Design at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
MTV wrote:
“If the DIY house show circuit has a pied piper, his name is Brendon Massei. Massei, who plays music under the name Viking Moses, has been recording and touring independently as a full-time job since he was 14, and he’s spent more than half of his life paving trails for other musicians to follow. Artists that Massei took on their first tours include: Deer Tick, Scout Niblett and Nat Baldwyn of the Dirty Projectors.”
Alan McGee wrote in The Guardian UK:
“Viking Moses is ‘The Most Uniquely talented musician since Kurt Cobain… an absolute genius, and one of the best musicians I have ever released.”
From Tony Wilson’s blog:
“Viking Moses is one of those people you can’t help but liking, because he’s so DIY and down to earth even though he’s got a tremendous talent. He is one of the few people in the world to have silenced Tony Wilson when he played, and as a result many of Tony’s colleagues now carry their own Viking Moses doll with them, just in case.”
The sterling songwriting of lo-fi country-psych outfit Warmer Milks gets a chance to shine again on this reissue of their 2003 album. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 31, 2021
Spare bedroom folk songs from this North Carolina musician that evoke a host of emotions with lovely, tender melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 1, 2021
Soulful guitar interplay form the heart of this lovely Americana collaboration from Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2018
The latest album by the Los Angeles rock outfit showcases their varied musical influences such as zydeco, folk, R&B, and cumbia. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 30, 2021
This compilation of songs from cult legend Jay Bolotin has the same stark beauty as prime Leonard Cohen and Jackson C. Frank. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 1, 2018