John Chantler

A full music experience, John Chantler’s Monoke is like eating dinner at a well-stocked buffet table. All the tunes on Monoke are variations on sustained tones accompanied by drum kits, bass and other non-electronic instruments. Like a good chef, Chantler cooks up his tunes in different ways. Where some of his tunes have beats, other pieces are deliciously ambient; a better approach than a monochromatic style used by some artists, which is like eating leftovers. Some tracks have more flavour and agreeable texture than others, the first and last few tracks being the tastiest. The middle tracks make the table fuller and are palatable, but not a taste sensation. The first couple of tunes, "I Feel Summer About It,” and "Play, Play” are the savoury meat dishes whereas the last, "Test Signal” and "Slow Closure,” are the sumptuously eerie ambient pieces, a sonic cream dessert. Chantler’s ambient works play on the subtler senses and are neither overwhelmingly sweet nor bitter. Made me go for second and third helpings.