Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi were a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 group formed in 1996. The trio included Martin Bimrose on guitar, Richard Arnold on drums and Mike Carter on bass. Formed in 1996 when the members were studying fine art

Fine art

Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

 at Cardiff University

Cardiff University

Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...

, the band has released material under various record labels, including Soda, FF Vinyl

FF Vinyl

FF Vinyl Records was an independent record label based in Cardiff, UK that released 36 records between 1997 and 2006.Acts included Amy Wadge, The International Karate Plus , The Martini Henry Rifles and Tom Hingley .The label has since become a management company , dealing with The Automatic....

, and V2.

The band's sound was described by NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

as being "as eclectic as their name is confusing". Likened to Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

 and Pavement

Pavement (band)

Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

, Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi have been reported as being "closer to the Flaming Lips with overtones of Bis

Bis (band)

Bis are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark , John Clark , and Amanda MacKinnon . Formed in 1994, the band broke up in 2003, but reformed briefly in 2007 for a series of concerts.-History:...

 and ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

". Their "punky garage" sound is evident on singles such as Drop Jaw and Playboy, while a melancholic and perhaps more accessible side is demonstrated on Names for Nameless Things.

The band's name is derived from Moho bishopi, the scientific name of the Moloka‘i ‘Ō‘ō, an extinct bird known to have lived in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. Martin Bimrose saw an article about the bird in the Readers Digest whilst waiting at the dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

s. He thought that with some imaginative punctuation, "the name could be as mad as he is".

Following the bands demise (the group has been inactive since 2002), Mike Carter and Richard Arnold went on to form The International Karate Plus

The International Karate Plus

The International Karate Plus, also known as IK+, were an indie rock group from Cardiff, Wales. Formed from the remnants of Mo-Ho-Bish-O-Pi by Rich Arnold and Mike Carter after an acrimonious split with V2 Records, the three piece was completed by drummer Chris Sklavounos...

 but they have since also ceased to exist. Richard Arnold now plays in King Alexander and Mike Carter is now in Heck with former members of legendary Cardiff band Sammo Hung

Sammo Hung

Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...

.

Singles and EPs

• Two Tier Water Skier (1999) http://www.seriouslygroovy.com/prod15.htm
• Vitamin E(P) (31 January 2000)
• Drop Jaw (18 September 2000)
• Playboy (12 March 2001)
• Names for Nameless Things (21 May 2001)
• Hear the Air (3 September 2001)

Appearances on compilations

• Kate is Cool appears on Otter Than July Double 7" Vinyl EP / Compilation CD EP from Fierce Panda

(also contains tracks by Scribble, Fraff, Pop Threat, Hofman and Rosita

Rosita (band)

Rosita was a band formed by Marie Du Santiago and Emmy-Kate Montrose, formerly one-half of the much-championed Kenickie in the immediate aftermath of Kenickie's split in October 1998...

)

External links

• MySpace page - presumably unofficial
• Drowned in Sound
• [ AllMusic]