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The
Organ Grinder’s Monkey is a musical collaboration between man and
machine, an unholy alliance whose aim is to combine indie-rocking
guitars with glitchy lo-fi electro beats and a dash of retro 8-bit
synth.  The
duo consists of Benjamin Sane: a human who sings and plays guitar, and
Bill Murray: the laptop computer who provides the rhythmical backdrop
for his organic counterpart. “Man Against Machine” is the title
of their debut EP, released towards the end of 2009, and the first of a
planned trio of self-released EPs (part II is scheduled for release in
April, with part III following later this year). Early gigs in
their adopted hometown of Brighton have been well-received, with the
duo looking to build a local following before taking their live shows
further afield.Bill and Ben met at school in Cornwall in the early 90’s, where Sane was a promising young maths student, and Murray a lowly BBC micro, capable of running only the most basic software. The idea of forming a band didn’t occur until over a decade later, however, when Sane’s previous indie-rock outfit imploded and he was abandoned by all of his human friends – left to sink into a downward spiral of depression and self-loathing, which to this day shows no sign of abating.  Having
failed in his attempts to secure regular work as a sound engineer – and
forsaking a glittering career in retail – Sane was approached by Murray
with the idea of working on new material together. Initially in favour
of writing simple melodic indie-pop songs, Sane was soon convinced that
creating a “live band” sound inside a computer was pointless, and was
instead encouraged to adopt a more carefree experimental approach –
learning to abuse the drum machines, samplers and FX that Murray was
now equipped to handle. By late 2009, the sound of The Organ Grinder’s Monkey had come together – a sound that the duo themselves describe as being “ideally somewhere between Super Furry Animals and Aphex Twin, with a healthy dose of chiptune thrown in”, but described by Sane’s few remaining acquaintances as “more like Noel Gallagher throwing up on a laptop.” Sane’s guitars and vocals bounce along on Murray’s broken beats, all the while being looped and twisted through banks of FX to create new shapes and unpredictable forms, but never sacrificing the underlying pop sensibilities. The last word on The Organ Grinder’s Monkey must surely go to Sane’s long suffering girlfriend Sarah, the group’s staunchest supporter and sometime backing vocalist: “Sometimes I just wish he’d leave that fucking computer alone and come to bed. It’s like he’s married to the damn thing or in love with it or something. Freak.” |