One eskimO and Warner Brothers might have a great concept going on with this 10 song animated opera which, for many, will serve as the first experience anyone ever has with them. Lead man and vocalist Kristian Leontiou started the project while collaborating with other musicians and gradually the project grew to include Adam Falkner on drums, Pete Rinaldi on guitar and Jamie Sefton on bass. Since then the One eskimO project has evolved into an autonomous entity producing mellow synth-tunes with a strong guitar and vocal presence. All at once the act sounds something like a cross between Moby’s slower singles and any number of songs by Jack Johnson or John Mayer.
The sound presents itself with the kind of sweet, dazed hum of a lullabye and then takes on a more marketable shift thanks to the synthesizer tones and catchy tunes. It’s a slightly modified familiar sound from a new group but with a very memorable style of animation to accompany it. The more music video savvy amongst us will recognize the animation’s style from those of the Gorillaz, whose videos featured an interesting blend of 2D and 3D in a very eye-catching fashion. The style has been pared down from the sharply angular and elongated style present in the Gorillaz’ videos for a softer more dream-like appearance that makes each 4-minute installment a fun little voyage in a land of clouds.
Some of the episodes are darker than others but for the most part the basic content of each is an eskimo, a monkey, a giraffe and a penguin sitting, walking, dancing around in search of the eskimo’s missing significant other. Watching a tetra-species jam session sounds like a somewhat childish venture, but there’s something genuinely sublime and ethereal to the whole proceeding.
There are those who play classical music in the background of their dinner parties and others who play smooth jazz. Others put in a DVD with a fireplace burning eternally to supply ambiance. I defy you to become the first person your friends know who puts in an animated indie opera that feels like a scoop of rainbow sherbet for the retinas. All those other ambiance tools are old and clichéd, but One eskimO may be the coolest background device of all time.
Or maybe you really want to soak this puppy in. The album comes with surround sound support and can really knock your socks off with how immersive an experience it becomes.
There’s little more to be said for the product because it’s a unique experiment to present your entire album as a cartoon musical epic. It has heroism, villainy and eerily-white-eyed characters running about through smoothly spoken lyrics. It’s a neatly formed package that begs you to at least check out the first song/chapter. From there it snags you with a cliffhanger like “will eskimO be eaten by the shark?” or “what planet will eskimO land on next?” Though, chances are, if you’ve gotten that far (i.e. to the end of even one video) you’ll already be hooked and wanting to see the whole thing.
Buy it now in the iTunes store.
"The Adventures of One eskimO" is on sale August 31, 2009 and is rated NR. Animation, Musical. Directed by Rollo Armstrong. Starring One EskimO.
