EXQUISITE BREAKS IN DARK PLACES!
July 2004
Spooky Monkey – Scaremongering Project
Despite any preconceptions that the words spooky and scare may conjure,
this project actually has nothing to do with horror flicks of any sort.
Instead it is inspired by a series of short stories by Maltese writer
Anton Bonnici. That said, this project is also quite different to the
jovial, upbeat and funky grooves that Spooky Monkey is renowned for, as
anyone who has seen them perform live can attest. Taking its cue from
Bonnici’s surreal-meets-black humor literary twist, Scaremongering
Project is probably best described as a soundtrack of sorts, more so
because it provided the aural landscape at the Scaremongering
Exhibition #2: Merely a Stain, which was held at Bar Karoo in Valletta.
The album opens with an interlude that is essentially a spin-off from
Bonnici’s opening story, slipping into an upbeat infectious tune (Jolly
Good Day) which, despite sounding odd vis-à-vis the story’s
introduction, captures the ambience of where the storyline starts and
will eventually end. If this sounds confusing, it’s probably because it
is – think of it as a story within a story with many spin-offs along the
way, yet all leading back to the main theme. In similar fashion, Spooky
Monkey’s sonic translation evolves through various genres, including
triphop, breakbeat and dub, applying recycled musical elements and
samples to maintain a common thread throughout the nine tracks on offer.
Fans of leftfield electronica should find plenty to rave about here, not
only because of the several hybrid genres invoked, but also because of
the project’s tangential diversity, which stretches as far as a stripped
down interpretation of the main theme (Once Upon A Theme); a three-part
composition that fuses ambient with ethnic inflections and a breakbeat
groove (Tri Capita); a captivating tune featuring Marie Claire that is
simply to die for (Distant), and last but not least, a lingering yet
vital end track (A.E.I.O.U.) that relies on layers of guitar harmonics
and a pulsating rhythm to accentuate the ‘full circle’ concept of the
album, as it edges ever closer to the mood of the opening number.
Recommended weblink:
www.spookymonkey.com
