Deceptively normal, the early story of Chungking is
a perfect expression of their music. A bedroom musician,
Sean Hennesey, trying to make sense of his computer,
his then girlfriend, Jessie Banks, and an enthusiast
friend, James Stephenson all going on with their lives
until fate finally brought the two men together to write
music. After looking for a vocalist for a while, Hennesey
realised that Jessie could actually sing, and rather
well too. So Chungking was born. The turning point in
the band’s story was when a friend who was travelling
to Japan took a CDR of early demos with him, handed
it to a local DJ, forgot all about it until a box containing
a handful of white labels landed on Hennesey’s
doorstep, with a Japanese label on it saying ‘beautiful
Chungking music’. Head of Tummy Touch Tim ‘Love’
Lee got his hands on one of the vinyls, hunted the band
down and signed them. Followed a first EP, Now It’s
Safe To Turn Off Your Computer, and a couple more
singles. With Hennesey’s and Banks’s relationship
on the blink, the band went through patchy times, but
eventually got back together properly, and now, only
a few weeks after the release of the beautiful World
Of A Thousand Suns single, they introduce We
Travel Fast, their first album.
Full of references to the last five decades of music,
from the striking arrangements of Gill Evans or the
luscious melodies of Burt Bacharach to the murky soul
of Portishead and the perverse pop of Goldfrapp,
We Travel Fast reflects on human interactions
and emotions. The stunning opening track, Making
Music, defines this album almost entirely. After
a restrained intro and verse, the song suddenly turns
into a far more impressive and soulful chorus, with
Banks’s vocal performance evoking a young Dusty
Springfield. The majority of this album is built up
around similar ambiences as the trio elaborate poignant
melodies and impressive arrangements, complete with
guitars, strings and horns. Come With Me, Angel
Eyes or Cold Outside all demonstrate the
eclectic touch applied by all three members all the
way through. If the coffee table music tag is likely
to stick to Chungking in some ways, the band also show
a more abrupt and angular side to their composition
on the funky Let The Love In and Suite,
approaching these two songs from a totally different
angle. Voluntarily scratching the polished production
and vocals to give Let The Love In a rougher
edge, Chungking reveal a more spontaneous side to their
music as they for a moment leave behind the serious
atmosphere of this album. Suite is equally
as torrid, yet, once again the trio decide to twist
their round production by introducing a happier mood
to give their sound a new definition.
We Travel Fast reflects the troubled times
faced by the band in its early days. But, instead of
falling into miserabilism, Chungking work on the raw
emotions, providing this album with more depth than
most chill out records. We Travel Fast is a
beautiful and rather mature piece of recording.
3.8/5 |
