I saw The Books play in Wellington on Tuesday night, as part of a double billing with Glaswegian heart breakers Camera Obscura. The Books are Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong; and they make what they describe as “collage music” – a pastiche of found sounds and original folk melodies.
Samples are sourced from thrift store cassettes, home videos, and things like “the voice recorder from Home Alone 2″. They don’t use a drum kit for their percussion, preferring children’s toys and filing cabinets, which are sampled and looped.
“And the library keeps swelling, especially when Zammuto and de Jong are on the road. Trolling Salvation Army and Goodwill stores in the towns they encounter on tour, they’re particular about what they’ll buy; they’re partial to old instructional videos for products that don’t exist anymore.” [The Boston Globe]
I really enjoyed the gig, and while some may see the mash-up and looping approach as juvenile and too accessible, I found it quite fresh; especially when accompanied by the most glorious instrument of them all – the cello. Here are a few of The Book’s entwined songs and videos:
Be Good To Them Always:
An Owl With Knees:
Take Time:
