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| Artist Statistics |
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Artistopia Rank : 90
Member Since : 1/2004
Last Login : 3/3/2009
Views : 23,822
Songs : 21
Events : 1
Alliances : 16
Releases : 4
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Artistopia URL :
http://www.artistopia.com/munkie |
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| Latest Music By Munkie |
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Progression
Published Date : 01/07/2003
Total Downloads : 541
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News Article |
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MUNKIE MAGIC |
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| Published on 2/7/2004 |
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| By ANDY ROBERTS |
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With the continual diet of rock and indie music on offer in the city's venues day in , day out and a host of guitarmangling, noisy bands putting Leeds on the map, the casual observer would be forgiven for thinking that's all we were good for since the decline of the club scene.
However, as we found with a recent look at the world of The Overseer not so long ago, Leeds does have the odd low-key dance music genius gaining an audience wider than some of the city's rock acts could ever dream of. With a remix credits list as long as your arm, including work for Lo Fidelity Allstars, Fatboy Slim, Beck, Lamb. Fila Brazilia, Capella, Clock and amazingly Liberty X's Just A Little Bit, you wouldn't expect 35-year old Munkie to have only just graduated from Leeds College of Music in the summer. But the unconventional route seems to have paid off for Rothwell-based Jason Clark (to give him his real name - "My wife gave me the idea when she said my arms were long like a monkeys").
So how did he get such a head start on his peers at College?
"I was born in Benfleet, Essex and grew up in Brixham, Devon and I've moved around since leaving school, now settling in Leeds" says Jason.
"I've been involved in the music industry for a number of years creating remixes, producing tracks for local bands and learning the business. Before that I was a DJ in the late 80's in clubs, bars and on an Essex pirate station SiN FM."
From there playing house, hip-hop, R'n'B and funk, Jason got into making his own techno tunes on an Atari ST computer. This resulted in a now forgotten white label release.
"I also played guitar for an indie band in the mid-90's that had a pretty decent following in Reading." Jason confides.
From 1996, it was back to making electronic music again and by 1999 he was offered a place on a music production course at Leeds College of Music,
which he attended until July of last year.
Whilst at college, Munkie came into being and friend of a friend Kate Peters was added as lead vocalist. "The Munkie sound developed over time, through studying music production and learning different experimental music composition techniques and adapting this style to the standard way of composition to create a new style. My studies have been an important part to my development as an artist. It has enabled me to research different music styles and techniques, as well learning new instruments and production."
Jason cites Bowie, Hendrix, The Doors, The Orb, Human League, Grandrnaster Flash, Kraftwerk, Massive Attack and Faithless among his myriad influences, though we'd liken Munkie music to that of Morcheeba, King of Woolworths, Everything But The Girl and David Holmes.
"It's a melting pot of ideas much like making a stew. If you take elements of early 80's hip-hop/electra, add a dash of seventies funk, a bit of 60s psychadelia, throw in a good measure of trip hop and ambient techno with some world and ethnic music for decoration.
"The music industry needs some diversity to get away from the manufactured `Pop Idol' sound that is drowning good music. I find making intellectual music far more interesting than bland pop."
With studies out of the way, Jason soon set about releasing the debut Munkie album Progression through his own label Sunshine Music. Jason hopes to ink a deal with a larger company with the necessary marketing muscle to release it nationally and give it the exposure it deserves. Progression is intelligent, dreamy and deliciously atmospheric. Collision conjures up Caribbean seas with a lilting marimba and a motif not dissimilar to Opus 3's It's a Fine Day.
Arbitrary Love%Hate is about confusion but could double as a track you might hear on The Holiday Programme whilst Craig Doyle gallivants around.
Shadows of Black is harder edged, brings on the beats and builds strongly.
Ghosts In The Machine is all shifting synth drums, moody haunting sounds and a spooky pluck of acoustic guitar
The Munkie sound developed over time, through studying music production and learning different, experimental music corn position techniques and adapting this style to the standard ` way of composition to create a new style before a burst of applause ripples in for no apparent reason. It's urban, industrial and exciting. To single out a final track, Bright Rays of Sun has a gentle reggae strum and a hefty bassline stepping over and over itself inexorably combining to melt away the cold and dark of a miserable January day - just as the title of the song suggests.
Progression has picked up significant airplay and rave reviews so far and Future Music Magazine saw fit to make Munkie a featured artist and give away a track on their cover mounted CD last month. In addition, a section of one of the tracks is being used in an indie docu-drama film entitled Father Figures.
Things are really looking up for Munkie and rightly so, it's a great LP and goes some way to underlining that there's more to West Yorkshire than just our hordes of would-be rock heroes. Though with the success so far Jason's keen not to lose sight of what this all means to him: "I always have fun making music, because if it stops being enjoyable then you lose sight of why you started making music in the first place."
A sound piece of advice we say. No matter how seriously you take yourself, make sure you make time for some monkeying around.
You can buy the LP Progression by Munkie in Crash, Borders and Jumbo Records in Leeds.
www.sunshinemusic.co.uk |
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| Article Credits and References |
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| Published in the Yorkshire Evening Post 09 Jan 2004. |
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