Review: Munk - Chanson 3000
- Nov 11, 2014
- 2 min read
By Felix Schmidt, Contributor
[Gomma; 2014]
Rating: 8/10
Key Tracks: "Southern Moon," "Analogue Attitude," "Desire to Believe"
Germany's favorite Munich based disco-house label Gomma Records has blessed us with another longplayer. Responsible for it is none other than label boss Mathias Modica AKA Munk. The NME calls him the German James Murphy. Modica crafted his third album Chanson 3000 with just a little help from producers like Ray Mang and Mark Ralph. Over the last two years he created a coherent disco house album that is just plain fun. It was recorded in Europe's techno capital Berlin.
Most songs follow the same pattern--a simple synth melody that repeats itself in the typical house manner every 16 beats, but also shows some excellent sound design. This is accompanied by a house beat and the playful, seductive vocals of either 23-year-old American singer Lizzie Paige or British Mona Lazette, who has worked with Bloc Party's Kele Okereke in the past.
The lyrics don't reveal world changing wisdom, but let's be honest--who expects that from disco house? The songs talk about the usual: love, one night stands (“Intimate Stranger”) and how sick those beats are (“The Beat”), decorated with the occasional “Bam, bam, bam” (“Misterio”) that is familiar from past hit singles like “La Musica.” You couldn't get that out of your head; the same goes for Chanson 3000.
“Misterio” showcases the only male vocals on the album (except for some samples), which answer the female singers in a comical way. But it is also a good example for the Italo Disco references that greatly coin the album's sound, such as the more or less Italian lyrics, the somewhat slowed down beat and the cheesy plastic synthesizer lines.
But Chanson 3000 still manages not to sound artificial. Modica knows how to play keyboard, drums and bass. Together with the unique sound design, this gives the album an organic feel that isn't common to most electronic music. It just makes you want to skip across a bloomy meadow and drink some “Happiness Juice” (or maybe not, because that sounds kind of gross).
The happy mood throughout the record is only interrupted once by the melancholic track “Deceiver.” A slowly down-sloping melody and Paige's almost sobbing vocals create this atmosphere.
Another somewhat serious song is “Transient Lover” which starts out with a cheesy, slightly repulsive, synthesizer melody. Luckily it is saved later by the second synth line, only to trail off again into an irrelevant melody.
Other than that the LP stays upbeat and playful, like the catchiest and strongest song “Southern Moon.”
In the end some variety is created by two sound collages (“Analogue Attitude,” “Grande Finale”) that transport you back to an imaginary, jazzy time vacuum somewhere between the 1920s and 50s. “Grande Finale” concludes the album with a drowsy soundscape, but the good kind of drowsy. It lulls you to sleep after you danced through the night at the discotheque.
Chanson 3000 doesn't experiment. There is no avantgarde electronic artsy-fartsyness[AD8] . But who needs that every day? If you are looking for a fun, obliging piece of music and some catchy songs to dance to, this record is perfect for you.
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