Munk - Kick out the chairs

[Admin]

Anyone know anything about this or heard it?
Caught it on mtv2 a couple of times on 120 minutes, have to have a radio edit if it's going to get any airplay at all;)
Good though and nice video, just wondered if it had been and gone or still yet to be released?

[ManicKangaroo]

Munk is the musical brainchild of Italian-born Mathias Modica and native German Jonas Imbery, the label heads behind Munich’s Gomma imprint (and responsible for the highly successful no wave / punk-funk compilations ‘Anti NY’ and ‘Teutonik Disaster’, as well as recent releases from Mocky and Headman). And if their hands weren’t already full enough, both Modica and Imbery somehow also manage to publish a graphic / poster magazine (AMORE), as well as also designing t-shirts from time-to-time – proof that being unbelievably hip and slackerdom do not necessarily in hand go. Munk was originally born out of Modica and Imbery’s desire to combine their sampler and deck ‘club-based’ musical skills with their ability to play live acoustic / amplified instruments, resulting in an eclectic and unpredictable band hybrid that sits somewhere between New Wave rock, electroclash, punkfunk and disco house. After previously releasing three 12"s under the Munk moniker as well as an album produced under the alias Leroy Hanghofer, ‘Aperitivo’ is the duo’s debut full-length album as Munk, and features a stellar list of collaborators including LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Wang, Electronicat’s Disko B, Princess Superstar and Chicago eccentric Bobby Conn.

Opening track ‘In The Creamfields’ chimes in with gently strummed acoustic guitar strings and Bobby Conn’s lazily-sung vocal trailing its way over droning soft-focus synths, before the whole track locks down into a live bass and drums groove that sits somewhere between The Rapture and Liquid Liquid, dubbed-out washes of effects sweeping back and forth around a twangy guitar figure that injects a slight sense of country-blues slide, Conn’s "when the cream is on the rise" falsetto refrain setting off the sunny guitars nicely. ‘Kick Out The Chairs’ features LCD Soundsystem / DFA mainman James Murphy spitting his best Mark E Smith bark alongside Nancy Wang’s punky back-up vocals over a thunderous bassline that sounds like the spawn of Joy Division and classic Fall, bleeping synths and clicks riding alongside the cut-up and rearranged snares, while ‘Disco Clown’ fuses a buzzing rock guitar riff with Blue Monday-esque synth drums and weirdly tuned disco-house synths, while Midnight Mike’s vocoded voice slides through the beats – there’s even a nice ‘random German girl lost in the club’ moment to be had halfway through.

‘Portofino Mosh’ merges swinging handclaps and funky electric guitar twangs with huge swelling bass synths while the rather fantastically-named Palermo King and The Limonaden Hasen drop some Euro-inflected rhymes about grabbing your motorini and heading down to Sorrento over a poppy New Wave synth groove that carries the vaguest hint of ragga skank in its guitar, before ‘I Feel So No!’ introduces Electronicat’s Disko B on wailing falsetto vocals over a robotic backing of clicking beats and buzzing synths that breaks down into curiously sunny Krautrock meets psychedelic pop chorus hook, monotonous beats sliding against bright-sounding keyboards. ‘Androgyn’ meanwhile comes across more like a fusion of Yello and Mr Scruff-style broken-beat house, with a deep-voiced vocal sample looping back and forth over lithe disco beats, rolling Brazilian percussion and an undulating bassline, before ‘B.F.’ ventures towards ominously building dark distorted synths and overdriven rock guitars closer to the likes of Nine Inch Nails or the darker moments of Avril’s recent ‘Members Only’ album, spooky guitar riffs ricocheting off a relentless wall of drums and eerie keyboards as the whole track descends towards the heart of darkness.

‘Ce Kul’ picks up this darkly-tinged energy and runs with it, DJ Chloe’s mocking-sounding Gallic vocals rolling over a moody backing of flanging synths and spidery looped drums that descends into a smooth nu-jazz tinged breakdown, whilst rock guitars chug away beneath Chloe’s "I’m fed up with all these fu*king cool things" vocal rant, leading into ‘Mein Schatzi’, which features Princess Superstar and MC 7 trading rhymes in a cadence similar to Tiga’s ‘Hot In Herre’ cover over jangling guitars, punching hiphop beats and a thick funk bass riff. Finally, ‘Seeker (The Odessa-Nervi Blow)’ brings this album to an epic cinematic close, with rolling strings and psychedelic Moogs painting their way across a rolling backdrop of downtempo drums and thick double-bass runs.

‘Aperitivo’ is a fantastic debut album from Munk that shows the Munich-based duo’s smooth fusion of electronics and live ‘band’ oriented instruments colliding with a worthy roster of studio collaborators sourced from right around the globe, yielding a diverse collection of tunes that sometimes feels more like a compilation than a debut album, such is the diversity of sounds inside. Both Modica and Imbery clearly draw upon a broad pallet of influences (reflected by their label’s eclectic roster) – one that takes in classic disco, Chicago house, NYC punkfunk and New Wave to new but a few reference points, and fans of the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Cut Copy and Avril will be thrilled by what’s in store for them on ‘Aperitivo.’ Highly recommended.

[Admin]

Wow, cheers!

[jargon]

heard Kick Out The Chairs (on 120 minutes also) it was fun!

[Admin]

You think it could be a hit here or in europe?

[Panda]

Apparently it's been released as a 12" single but it would be interesting to see how it could do if released properly.

Good track. Nancy Wang seems to be everywhere at the moment...