by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Quagga is the solo project of Philadelphia’s Josh Mackie, a musician and artist best known as a member of Gunk, Dark Mtns, and Sun Organ, among a cavalcade of other increasingly experimental projects. In the past six years, Mackie has released over fourteen releases via his own Dub Sum Tapes, and he’s got a new album, 77.7FM "The Spirit”, due out November 18th via Strange Mono (Nyxy Nyx, Webb Chapel, Luna Honey). With all the proceeds from the album being donated to Prevention Point Philadelphia, aiding their mission to promote health, empowerment, and safety for communities affected by drug use and poverty, Quagga continues to prove a project without bounds, where anything is possible, except valid genre descriptions.
Through deep dives into fuzzy lo-fi punk, harsh industrial, and experimental electronics, Mackie brings Quagga hurtling toward the unknown, with an ethos to follow every whim. Nothing is sacred and every piece is a part of the 77.7FM puzzle. “Suffering,” the album’s opening cut, is built on an immersive fuzz, permeating the mix of programmed drums and the warped layers of Mackie’s vocals. It’s a dense wall of sound, pulling together shoegaze and bedroom pop with a cohesive vision. Lyrically the song deals with sobriety struggles as Mackie suggests, “you can be clean and still be miserable”.