Mamaku - Twigs Of Gold (Monkey Records)
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| Mamaku - Twigs Of Gold |
When I started listening to this
album I had the Winter Olympics on the TV (muted, of course) and discovered
very early on that this music does not provide a suitable soundtrack to Ice
Hockey. I switched to some of the Snowboarding, however, and when they do the
slow-mo replays of the tricks then the music of Mamaku fits perfectly. Now,
after that scientific sojourn, let's talk about the music itself. Mamaku is a
duo made up of French-Kiwis Tui Mamaki (vocals) and the enigmatically named
Monsieur E (everything else) and they make cool, chilled out, swaggering
electro-organic music in the vein of Zero 7, Morcheeba and Portishead. Tracks
like 'Berlin' and 'Blank Canvas' has a dark, sultry feel to them that draw you
in against your better judgement - much like a fortune teller with inexplicably
entrancing eyes. 'Pharaoh's Milkyway' has a north Afrian vibe to the music
while 'Angel In Gumboots' has the keyboard sound of a French detective movie
from the early 70s, such is the eclectic and multinational feel of this pair. 'Rain',
'Twigs Of Gold' and 'Mon Ami' are all very different tracks instrumentally
speaking but they are all tied together by Mamaki's dusky, sultry and smoother
than buttered silk vocal skills which are simply sublime.
This is definitely electronic
music for those who want to chill and, on occasion, it borders on trip-hop or
more world music inspired genres that Giles Peterson would get very excited
about. 'Taonga' is the perfect example with its tabla rhythms fused with
carnival horn melodies taking you to place somewhere between downtown Delhi and
Mardi Gras - an experience that is good for your soul, trust me. 'Much Too
Much' has the rhythm of a ska tune mixed with the noises from Super Mario
Brothers and vocals that you might expect to float out of a Notting Hill bar on
a sunny Saturday afternoon as you stroll around looking with a fruit based
cocktail in your hand. Finishing up with 'Oya', Mamaku yet again show off their
multi-influenced, multi-instrumental and multi-lingual skills with a smoky Jazz
bar song that wraps itself around you before stealing your heart along with
your wallet. Now to try watching the Figure Skating with this on in my
headphones....
More information: http://mamakuproject.com/
Live Dates:
14th February - Colville Road, Coromandel
22nd February - Gardens Arts Festival, Hamilton
28th February - Kings Arms, Auckland