The Gorillaz is now Monkey. But forget the catchy electronic pop of their last two albums, Damon Albarn (Blur) and visual artist James Hewlett (Tank Girl) have something different in mind. Chinese Opera. This is the soundtrack composed by Albarn – part orchestral, part synthesizer, based on the legendary texts of Monkey (The Journey to the West), best known here from the Monkey Magic TV show. It’s a remarkably strange experience, a series of very diverse and odd sonic cues, semi orchestral, semi electronic, with gorgeous torch songs sung in Mandarin, freakish stomps, and mischievous unexpected electronic tangents. It’s Chinese folklore through a Western pop prism that’s come out all twisted wrong and beautiful. The tunes are much more interesting than the Gorillaz fare, where you get the sense that Albarn used the opportunity to really experiment. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the tunes are harsh as there’s some really beautiful melodic work, where cast vocals mesh with traditional sounding instrumentation and more often than not some kind of synthesized sound. Often he builds these intricate sound pieces that are still quite pleasant to listen to without necessarily being considered music. Albarn of course is no stranger to soundtracks having composed Ravenous with avant classical legend Michael Nyman, Monkey however really raises the bar. It’s commanding mischievous, ridiculous and genius all wrapped up in one exotic little package.
Bob Baker Fish
