Artist Spotlight: Nigo
Ian is a guest writer on Amie Street and runs his own blog, A Commonplace Book.
When you first listen to Ape Sounds, Nigo's genre-mashing release on British downtempo superlabel Mo'Wax, it's hard not to make some mental connections to A Bathing Ape, Nigo's similarly genre-mashing line of streetwear.
Just as he does with his clothing line, Nigo pulls musical influences from everywhere and throws them together with risky disregard for any sort of smooth segues. Fortunately for you, his risk pays off.
You probably wouldn't expect Japanese punk to show up on an
album shoehorned into the electronic genre, but there it is in
Jet Set
, the second to last song on the album. But
even before you get there you'll have heard a medley that includes
a Japanese hip-hop track featuring a shamisen (
Kung Fu Fightin'
) and a downtempo torch song driven by a house music
diva (
Too Much
).
For a special treat, any fans of UNKLE will instantly recognize
which track was co-written by James Lavelle. (Hint: It's
March Of The General
.)
If you're only going to download a single song, choose from one of the above and go with the style that most fits your interest. Be warned, however, that this is one of those albums where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Pick and choose at your own discretion...
Additional Tracks:
Monster
The Very Urgent Dub

