Bombay Monkey ’130 Astronaughts’
November 18th, 2008 by sparky
Summer was an up and down experience with the weather, but one consolation was Bombay Monkey releasing “130 Astronauts”, the third installment in their trilogy of EPs.
To recap, Bombay Monkey specialise in down-tempo music with head nodding hip hop beats, quirky vocal snippets and charity shop vinyl samples. Their aesthetic has is influenced by 60’s retro-futuristic styles, with a nod to John Barry and Gerry Anderson, to create cocktail that is both atmospheric and wryly amusing. Comparisons with Mr Scruff and Lemon Jelly have been made, but in reality they have been forging their own take on the genre.
Their previous 2 EPs were big hits among my friends and family and have been reviewed on this website. “Vanish” was a fun mix of hip hop, dub and acoustic guitars. “Time Travelers” was a more moody affair, sounding like a lost 60′s Cold War spy movie soundtrack with beats.
“130 Astronauts” marks an interesting progression in their sound by making greater use of vocalists. This seems to have had an invigorating effect has resulted in some happy sing-a-long moments. After the more contemplative “Time Travelers”, this feels like Bombay Monkey have cut loose and had a party in the studio.
“Istanbul Dub” is a dance floor bomb. A cheeky mash-up of the swing song “Istanbul (not Constantinople)” with a drum n’ bass beat, fat bassline & scratching courtesy of Mr Thing. One of my favourite tracks I’ve heard all year.
“Love makes the world go round” is also based around a vocal sample and Jet Li samples extolling the virtues of love over money. The final vocal refrain of “Everybody needs love” provides a “Hey Jude” style sing-a-long moment.
“Soldiers of the Sun” features the 60’s style girl-boy vocals of Origami Dinosaur over a squelchy bass line. The songs almost childlike optimism captures the spirit of summer (well the few precious sunny days we did get this year!).
There are a couple of more traditional style Bombay Monkey style instrumental tracks made from spoken vocal samples. “Open Your Mind” is a treat with 80’s Flash Gordon vocal snippets, meets a honky tonk style piano.
As the EP draws to a close, the music changes down a gear with a couple of reflective acoustic songs from Roscoe John, and has the effect of bringing the album gently down.
130 Astronauts is a fun, retro-cool collection of songs that deserve to be blasted from festival sound systems. This has been a fitting end to a trilogy of EPs that are as essential as Jemonjelly’s or the Beta Band’s first efforts. So check out their website and do some digging.
Review by Andrew Smith
