Bringing together a multinational assemblage of musicians whose primary work has been influenced by traditional Irish folk, country, and blues, France-based Moriarty also took a page from punk rock, in that all members use the surname "Moriarty" as a performance name (à la the Ramones, for example). Members Charles Carmignac (guitars, percussion), Arthur Gillette (guitar, piano), Thomas Puéchavy (harmonica), Rosemary Standley (vocals, various instruments), and Stephan Zimmerli (bass, guitar) hail from a number of countries, including France, the United States, Switzerland, and Vietnam. Their debut, Gee Whiz But This Is a Lonesome Town, was released in 2007 by Naïve Records. The following year the band began an extensive European tour, where they appeared in venues throughout much of the continent -- which included festival appearances at France’s Eurockéennes and the popular Spanish outing Benicàssim. Their simple, stripped-down version of Depeche Mode's “Enjoy the Silence” was featured on Irish producer Ronan Hardiman's 2008 La Musique de Paris Dernière compilation series and shortly after received radio airplay. By 2009, they had amassed over 170 live shows and in January that year they set off on a World tour that visited the U.S., Canada, and Japan before ending in India 12 months later. The time they spent on the road allowed them to write, perform, and tweak new songs as they traveled, an approach which lent itself perfectly to their blend of nomadic, folk-inspired music. The outfit’s second record, The Missing Room, appeared in 2011 through their own Air Rytmo label. ~ Chris True & Scott Kerr, Rovi
