Now online the Official "Cannonball" video!

The Franz (ITA) guitar, vocals

Bunster (CHI) keyboards, visuals

Captain Mario (ESP) drums

 

1. XOC m.
Topada, cop que es donen dos cossos en toparse; cast. choque.
Etim.: onomatopeia de la topada.

 

 

XØC was started in 2008 by bolognese guitarist/producer Franz "Moroboshi" Ardito after moving to Barcelona and remixing "Beamon Jauzia" by basque Fermin Muguruza, and "Cosmopolitan Time" by south-american Che Sudaka.

Right from the start the idea was to mix rock'n'roll demonic/ironic side with raw electronic beats and synths, a hybrid and punchy sound filtered by the lens of irony, rebellion, and provocation. Or, better said, an open and unpredictable trip through nowadays unstoppable reality made of machines, progress, networking, and taxes.
XØC's way to freely enjoy music, reshuffling old patterns and bashing rigid classifications, resulted in a brand new, shiny atomic mezcla of rock-electro-mestizaje Barcelona style, which by the way they happen to call "Dancefloor Punk".

The trio performed their full-blown electric show in many dancehalls of the country, setting them as a high-energy, fun-packed act; the combination of the blasting rocky guitars, dancey acid electronics, and weirdo visuals naturally reprezent Barcelona's nightlife.

Indeed, to mix things up a bit more XØC performs an acoustic/unplugged version of the set, mainly to raid the streets, bars, and smaller clubs, where the show turns into a raw spaghetti-western rave with spanish guitar, accordeon, and cajon: the loudest unplugged trio in BCN galaxy..

Since its inception different musicians from all around the world have crossed path with XØC - south americans, gringos, europeans, all friends who orbited around the capital city of mestizaje or/and shared the view of musical and cultural mix-up, like german world-music icons Dissidenten (which XØC proudly remixed in 2010), MC Spex (former Asian Dub Foundation, hi-octane feat. in "Blastah"), or Kachafaz (Che Sudaka's verse machine, feat. in "It'z Weerd").

Remixes, productions, and an active gig schedule allowed XØC to gather around them a lot of curiosity and in 2010 they signed for Barcelona indie label extraordinaire KASBA MUSIC to release their first, self-titled, full lenght album: 13 tracks of original songs packed of energy and with lyrics in english, catalan, spanish, and italian, describing the band's oblique view on reality and its social and human contradictions - and hipocrisy was not on the list.

To further highlight the interest around the album, the single "Cannonball" was chosen by SONY to be the score of the commercial of their line of headphones.

"I like the direction very much...beats, synth bass, mad distorted guitars.... Great!"
These were the words of legendary producer Peter Walsh when he first heard the demos and whom, courtesy of the Internet, blessed the production of the record with loads of hints and suggestions and for this gaining a guru-like, almost metaphysic, status by the band.
And right to the Internet, humanity's biggest invention ever, the album is dearly dedicated; a small homage to the freedom of knowledge, main weapon in a world that behind its comfortable and self-assuring mask of normality hides abnormal monstruosities.

Only thing abnormal XØC have, however, is the volume of their instruments.