The new album from ZOOLOOK is a creative narrative and visual experience which is called “STONEFRENGE: Black in Space”. This nine track dub reggae concept work could be best described as a space rock opera that forges cosmic sonnets with bass and beats, floating vocals, levitating effects, and futuristic subject matter. Composed entirely at his independent label ZOOLOOK based in San Francisco, it also serves as both music and storyline for his cartoon.
“Soul Rebel”, the first tune, keeps the reggae rhythm and includes horns and beautiful female vocals to back up the idea. It familiarizes the audience with the concept of STONEFRENGE music catchy rebellion and so on. One of the best examples of this can be seen in the title track, “Stonefrenge” With aggressive upbeat key notes in the tune, and a duration of over five minutes, it provides the listener with a great full experience of all the work that went into the creation of this song.
“Black in Space” is another catchy element – besides the eerie sound of a man’s voice reading the lyrics and the following purposed beat, musically setting the mood of blackness in space. Songs such as “LoFi IRIE Feeling” and “We Come in Peace (And Love)” are different guises in taking the listener into the current era with very lo-fi instrumentals with definite trip-hop overtones. The last track of the album, “Rockers” comes back to basic reggae and dub, while the energy and vocal performance are to give listeners at least something for an uplift.
“STONEFRENGE Black in Space” is far from being just traditional music – people could listen to it, and that would be it – this is an interpersonal event. All the tracks form a single story, so there is no feeling that a song is added to give continuity to the next song. Along with spectacular visuals and the specifics of ZOOLOOK’s identity, this project is proof of an endless potential of the author.
