(Omelette/Creative Vibes)
This is the most fun CD I have heard in a long while. Built upon a rich tapestry of uniquely Australian samples, Spoonbill has created a modern Australian masterpiece. One of the standout tracks, 2 Spoons, incorporates all manner of Australian colloquialisms weaved into a catchy swing sax melody over a bouncy rhythm. What more could a Koala Bear? (Sorry, but I could not resist!)
Other tracks range from jazz infused sonic explorations (Sneaker) with its bluesy double bass and Rhodes, to full on sample-edelica, such as Gum Tree and Gnocchiwok, the latter reminiscent of Frontier Psychiatry by the Avalanches in its completely sampled based structure. The Red Queen Effect, which I think is a song about a turtle, but please don’t hold me to that, incorporates Eastern tonalities and a gentle rap, while Celticruise has a languid swing interspersed by many other interesting elements.
Spoonbill is the alter ego of Jim Moynihan. Getting into sample based music after a previous life playing drums and percussion in a Ska band, he has brought a musically balanced sensibility to his music. The tracks provided here avoid an over-reliance on complex percussion to the neglect of other musical elements that sometimes is apparent in contemporary electronic production. The is complex percussion programming, but much more than that.
And he does not take his work too seriously, keeping a strong humorous element in most tracks. And he is exploring Australian samples, not samples from the US or UK, sources that dominate sample-based music. For example, Gumtree samples the old Australian bush song, Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gumtree and incorporates an enormous symphony of other Australian samples: broad accents, AM radio, musical snippets. It is quintessentially Australian and it is a lot of fun.
Interestingly, Spoonbill performs live, with synchronisation between the sound and music. This is wonderfully and humorously illustrated by a video on the CD of Gumtree, one of the highly sample-based tracks on the album. The video matches the style of the music perfectly with its sampling of visual images of Australian culture – Vegemite, Cinetone news reels, Holden cars, and all manner of funny essential Australian icons. Throughout all of the heavy Australiana, it never gets cloying or clichéd, but uses clichéd sounds and images to move beyond that and just have fun!
The CD finishes with samples of beautiful bird song. Ah yes, if you want Australian musical fun, check out Spoonbill! And check out the CD cover art work – its wonderful fun too!