monkey-journeytothewest music reviews Virgin Media
Yet another casual, eclectic triumph from modern pop's most talented polymath
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's Chinese opera Monkey: Journey To The West attracted rave reviews at the Manchester International Festival last year, but this does not guarantee that Albarn's soundtrack will be a similar aesthetic success. Can his music possibly prosper divorced from its magnificent original visuals of pirouetting Oriental dancers, fighting flying monks and a simian anti-hero with onanistic tendencies?
It can, and does so splendidly, because Albarn eschews the lazy option of merely releasing the opera's orchestral soundtrack in favour of re-recording it using lo-fi electronica. He has the rare and precious knack of infiltrating his own character into exotic, alien forms of world music without dominating them and there are beautiful moments here, not least the sheer, gossamer-light Mandarin melodies of The Living Sea and the delicious musique concrete of Heavenly Peach Banquet. It's engrossing, frequently enchanting, and works either as a standalone experience or as a fine counterpart to the original audacious theatrical production.
More to try: Ryuichi Sakamoto: The End of Asia John Cage: Prelude For Meditation Brian Eno: Ambient 1: Music For Airports
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