Ape Sounds

Nigo

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 19, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mo' Wax
• ASIN: B00004UFTK
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,248 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ape Sounds is the debut LP from Japan's Nigo, best known for his clothing label Bathing Ape--a cult product dripping with Planet of the Apes motifs and celebrated status as a hyper-cool brand. Not a regular musician, Nigo performs an art director's role (although he also plays drums) on the album--guiding a creative team of Lavelle, DJ Kudo, Money Mark, Ben Lee, Cornelius, and Takagi Ken (Major Force). The result is (at times) a self-consciously cool mix of punk, trip-hop and knowing adult pop. Some of it's fun--"Kung Fu Fighting" combines laconic Japanese rap with a neatly orchestrated remake of a Bruce Lee soundtrack. Ben Lee's contribution, "Free Diving," is breathlessly fantastic--a wry and urbane vocal walking smoothly over an explosive, pop-rock thrashout. Also good is "The Very Urgent Dub," in which Money Mark brings sass to a Pablo and Maurizio-referencing stoner anthem. Some cuts feel vague but whatever Nigo lacks in expression he more than compensates for with style. --Tony Marcus

Product Description

Beats & Breaks. An Album of Eclectic Sounds featuring Artists Such as K.U.D.O. (Major Force/Unkle Contributor), Money Mark, Shawn Lee, Ben Lee, James Lavelle to Name but a Few.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Bathing Ape really has no clothes, September 23, 2000

By	"tristanfrank" (iowa city, iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This is the debut album by Nigo, the Japanese hip-hop producer who brought us UNKLE's "Ape Shall Never Kill Ape".He holds the title of "the Bathing Ape" and is responsible for the super-trendy Bathing Ape clothing designs. These are mostly t-shirts with the face of Cornelious or Dr. Zaius packaged in faux-graffiti style spray-pain can containers. the Bathing Ape fashions fly off the shelfs in specialty stores around the world. These shirts and the cans they come in are designed with input by legendary graffiti artists like Futura 2000 and Stash. Ape Sounds is packaged in a fold-out mini-LP case with familiar bathing ape art by Nigo and Futura 2000.

This album sounds like it was made by a musician who wants you to notice his outfit. Most of the songs here are low quality rock and roll with lame lyrics sung in either bad english or with endless repetition. "A Simple Song" has Money Mark singing the title over and over. Other tracks have Kan Takagi or Ben Lee on vocals with the same results. The standout track is "March of the General" which has James Lavelle(UNKLE) and the Scratch Perverts creating mayhem over some awesome hip-hop beats and plenty of Planet of the Apes samples.

This album's strong points are its great packaging and "March of the General". However, the lack of another good song makes it a two-star album.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cool over Content, November 9, 2000

By	Sainty "stevesss" (England) - See all my reviews

The first review has hit the nail on the head. By using the same style, imagery and packaging, this looks like the next installment in the UNKLE project. Unfortunately for Shadow/Lavelle fans only 'March of the General' stands out (and it stands out a mile with a great use of Planet of the Apes samples). This is by no means a poor album - I would describe it as 'interesting'. It has added something to my record collection, but i need a few more listens to figure out what.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, diverse, and completely worthy., February 12, 2001

By A Customer

I might be biased since I received this for a gift, but I found this CD pretty damn cool. Unusual Ben Lee track and Julia Ferreira who I hadn't heard before. It's definitely a CD for people who like to be kept guessing "what's next?"

I'm not sure I'd pay full price for it, but worth a listen. Creative packaging [hey, I'm a designer].