Wanna Buy a Monkey?

I'll Take Two Please
by: bill aicher

As a man heavily involved such innovative musical ventures as Delton 3030, Handsome Boy Modeling School, and the animated phenomena's, Gorillaz, it only makes sense for Dan the Automator to release a mix album as eclectic as his original work.

Featuring a collection of tracks The Automator was directly involved with, as well as several "underground" gems, Wanna Buy a Monkey? wholly succeeds as a mix album in the truest sense of the word. The eclecticism is obvious through the tracklist alone; Black Rob mixes to Delton 3030 mixes to Air's "Le Soleil est Pres De Moi" – and before you know it you're grooving to Bobby Digital's "La Rhumba" which flows amazingly into the original version of Gorillaz "Latin Simone."

it's as varied a mix as you'll ever see on an album, but where the disc truly shines is in the execution. Mixes are executed flawlessly; remixes are done on the fly.

Yet perhaps the most notable aspect of the disc is the doorways of music it opens. Wanna Buy a Monkey? exemplifies the fact that a mix album is no longer restricted within a genre – it's not a Lyricist Lounge hip-hop mix or an Oakenfold trance mix. Instead Monkey is a mix of some truly great music, and great music just flows together – the DJ is there to make sure it happens. 11-Apr-2002 1:20PM