Song Premiere: “Shangri La” by Moonchy & Tobias

VanGerrett Records, helmed by dream-pop troubadour Kramies, is proud to be releasing the new single by the psychedelic rock duo Moonchy & Tobias. At just over two minutes, “Shangri La” offers a brief, tantalizing glimpse of a mesmerizing, dream-like utopia. Tribal drums and Pat Moonchy’s distinctive wordless coos soon erupt into a fanfare of ecstatic horns, only for the song to dissolve mysteriously into the ether from whence it came. It’s the perfect taster for Moonchy & Tobias’s forthcoming album Wild Eye, due for release on December 9th, 2022 via Tiny Room Records and Hidden Shoal.

Prolific producer and multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias is perhaps most known for his collaborations with Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard. As well as co-producing four GBV albums and many Pollard solo records, Tobias is also a member of the freak-rock trio Circus Devils, along with Pollard and brother Tim Tobias. Italian-born vocalist and sound experimentalist Pat Moonchy is best known for her band Sothiac. As a fan of Circus Devils, she contacted Tobias and the two began collaborating remotely, with Tobias creating the music and Moonchy weaving in her distinctive vocals. Since 2018, Moonchy & Tobias have released five acclaimed albums; Wild Eye will be their sixth.

Quote from Todd Tobias exclusive for The Big Takeover:
“Shangri La is the wordless adventure of a traveler who’s lost in the woods. Let’s call her Debbie. She turns a corner and POW! She sees the shining valley of enlightenment and eternal peace. But the inhabitants of Shangri La don’t want to be discovered. They allow Debbie to have her rapturous vision. Then they erase her memory and send her on her way. It’s all done in about two minutes. Debbie will return to Shangri La, but only in her dreams. It’s like in the book Wind in the Willows when the little animals hear the music from the piper at the gates of dawn. They are completely mesmerized by the music, but then the piper makes them forget it because he doesn’t want the animals to abandon their lives on earth after having their minds blown. I guess that’s what’s happening in the song. The witness who stumbles across Shangri La has this amazing vision, and then it’s all forgotten, and she’s back, lost in the woods.”