Mokoondi (Vinyl) [Import]

Mice Parade. The brain child of Adam Pierce. I have a bunch of Mice Parade albums, and I can say that I am happy with all of them. Each time I play 'Mokoondi", lame as it may sound, I am put into a trance-like state. 'Into the freedom world' incorporates intense, rhythmic drumming, with a mild and soothing repetitive guitar riff. (I say repetitive in a good way.) Definately one of my favourites. Pierce's re-occuring use of the "Cheng", a chinese harp-like instrument shows off his wide array of musical abilities. I could go on for hours praising his different masterpieces in what he calls Mice Parade, but it is probablly better to listen to them yourself and get your own perspective on his works. I made the mistake of purchasing 'All Roads Lead to Salzburg', at the same time I bought Mokoondi, which has a bunch of covers from it, so get one or the other, because there is absouletely no sense in purchasing basically the same c.d with a few alterations to the songs. I will note, however, that there are songs that do not appear on any other Mice Parade albums that appear on 'All Roads Lead to Salzburg,' so I suppose it really is up to you. Buy this c.d and get a new perspective on what can be done to music in general if created by a talented artist such as Adam Pierce. You won't regret it.

Life is not without surprises, and surely enough Mice Parade's "Mokoondi" is one. A colleague brought their album in the eve of their concert in town (Orlando, FL) and, to my amazement, this NY band has it all. A fresh sound unlike any other, blending in a solid rhythm backbone (drums and bassline actually seem to be at the heart of all songs) with standard instruments hovering around it in a planetary system fashion, and an eclectic array of instruments, ranging from chinese harp (cheng) and dulcimer, to violin and sax.

There are certain elements from fusion (like in the title track), old ambient (Harold Budd and Brian Eno) and samples of world music, to be found in this album, bound to please a wide audience. This is Hugo Largo meets Brand X meets a Real World Records sampler, however you can imagine all that in a blend of music. All in all, it's good stuff, worth checking out.

This album is a rhythmic piece of essential listening. Between the drum breaks and brilliant orchestrations of guitar, keyboard , vibes and chinese harp you are unwittingly transported to a realm of pure imagination. The first two pieces alone are an e.p. in themselves. Anyone with an interest in dub, jazz, or creativity must check this album out.