Since 2003, Mr. Moccasin has been the primary songwriting vehicle of multi-instrumentalist Jared T. Fischer and bilingual singer Hanna Badalova, a native of Baku, Azerbaijan. Over the years, they have enlisted several friends to enhance the textures of their music and redefine the band.

MM's 2007 debut Deer Eyes Bunny Eyes, produced by Greg Hatem, is a collection of lucid little dream songs about animals, fruits, vegetables and foreign places. Curiously, that same year Badalova and Fischer contributed voices and original music to the animated CBS television series Creature Comforts, produced by Aardman Animations, creators of the popular Wallace & Gromit. They starred as the horse and mule couple in all seven episodes.

Percussionist Christiana Usenza joined the band in 2008 and through her knowledge of various ethnic and cultural drum styles has helped MM earn its reputation as “world music punk.” Shortly thereafter, Chris Martinelli came onboard, adding rhythmic, melodic layers of guitar noise to the band’s evolving sound.

The group's second album You Will Take a Trip to the Sea, produced by Rob Girardi, was culled from the aquatic depths by an eclectic crew of Baltimore musicians: Christiana Usenza, drums and vocals; Chrissy Howland, bass and organ; Chris Martinelli, 12-string guitar; Rob Girardi, organ and sea chimes; Sine Jensen, violin; Jared Fischer, guitar, mandolin and vocals; Hanna Badalova, vocals and lyrics.

Like the strange, half-translated guidance of a fortune cookie, You Will Take a Trip lures you out to sea and quickly rocks the boat on waves of tumultuous hearts. This bilingual album churns unpredictably with Russian and English poetry, giving a raw account of love’s craziness, desperation, disappointments, and the ebb and flow of breaking up.