It is rumored that family music icon Recess Monkey recorded its tenth studio CD, Desert Island Disc, while shipwrecked on the beach of a distant island. The band's spokesmonkey has refused to either confirm or deny these tales but has indicated that legions of fans will soon be able to judge for themselves.
Winding down from the high energy of its June 2013 release, Deep Sea Diver, Recess Monkey longed for a calmer second act. Fortunately, tranquility was soon to be had, following a bit of drama when the "Tambourine Submarine" from
Deep Sea Diver crashed onto the rocks of a deserted island. To while away the hours while stranded in their newfound tropical paradise, Recess Monkey created Desert Island Disc, which features acoustic instruments conveying the relaxed, sun-drenched pace of good friends exploring a strange new land together. Graced with elegant and colorful orchestrations by Jherek Bischoff, Desert Island Disc is like the calm exhale following a rampaging storm of summer excitement.
Notes Recess Monkey's Jack Forman, "After the electrified excitement of Deep Sea Diver, we wanted to explore the calmer side of our songs, and what better place than on a remote beach? Desert Island Discended up being played with instruments only available on an island: strange, pieced together drums, acoustic textures, and waves genty lapping on the shore."
Desert Island Disc picks up on our inveterate explorers with their discovery of the "Coconut Radio" as it tunes in on the nostalgia of bygone times, with the warmth of its string orchestrations setting the mood and holding the entire album together. Using this "radio," Recess Monkey is able, one song at a time, to dial into a variety of enchanting and mysterious activities that populate the island.
Guest artists on Desert Island Disc include Justin Lansing of the GRAMMY winning Okee Dokee Brothers (banjo),
Dean Jones of Dog on Fleas (vocals), and Johnny Bregar (B3 organ). The album was actually recorded on an island -- Bainbridge Island, Washington -- in Johnny Bregar's Brickyard Studios.
Nine Recess Monkey songs have reached #1 on the Sirius/XM Kids Place Live chart. Sirius/XM's Kids Place Live Program Director Mindy Thomas declared, "These guys are able to tap into elementary school so well that it's like they never left. In this never-ending nationwide talent show of kid and family music, they are most definitely at the top." Time Magazine celebrated Recess Monkey's "tight, smart, acclaimed original songs ... and seriously grooving funk." Enthused The Washington Post, "These guys put the 'fun' in funky. (Just try to keep your feet from moving!)" Explained kids' music authority Stefan Shepherd (Zooglobble.com), "Recess Monkey just keeps turning out album after album with pop nuggets, as if we'd just discovered that The Beatles had recorded a ton of kids' music 40+ years ago."
RECESS MONKEY IN PERFORMANCE:
Highlights - August 2013 - January 2014
August 10 & 11 The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
August 12 Kenley Centennial Amphitheatre, Layton, UT
Sept. 21 & 22 Life is Good Festival, Canton, MA
Oct. - Dec. Teatro Zinzanni, Seattle, WA (13 performances)
Jan. 18
Symphony Space, New York, NY
Jan. 19 Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA
Check out the Recess Monkey website at http://recessmonkey.com.
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