We can call it art in its purest state. It’s experimental. It’s electronic and, at the very end, it’s electrifying.
It is impossible to talk about Martin and not talk about Depeche Mode: both are interconnected, and The Third Chimpanzee tells us just that: if the future is today, then we can glimpse it in this EP. We have rhythm, synthesized instruments, and a lot, a lot of imagination. There are voices, re-synthesized using a Panharmonium, that make many instruments jealous.
But before we unfold the five themes that make up this EP, let’s start with its cover: scratches, and more scratches and… more scratches. All of them together make one. A true painting, to make the greatest art creatives in the world jealous. Who designed it? Pockets Warhol, a capuchin monkey, living in Ontario, Canada. What do you know, huh? The first of three monkeys that make it to the EP name has already been unveiled. And the painting, pardon, LP cover is a must of art for those who like it.
Reviewing the five themes, we have Howler, Mandrill, Capuchin, Vervet, and Howler’s End. Each one different, each one connected. Howler, the album’s first song, sounds like a monkey howler, referred Martin Gore to Variety magazine. Still, in the same article, Gore talks about the song Mandrill, where he relates the voices generated by the synthesizer sounds somewhat to a primate. Adding to this, he talks about the book “The Third Chimpanzee”, by Jared Diamond, where the evolution between animals and humans is explored. And with this, we unveil the remaining elements of the monkey trio.
We still make a curious connection to one of the games of the moment, CyberPunk 2077. Why is that? Because in this video game we find ourselves in the year 2077, a good few decades ahead of which we are currently. And it’s up to this level that Martin Gore puts us: we’re once again ahead of our time. As a pun, The Third Chimpanzee should be added to the soundtrack. I believe it would solve some more bugs in the video game.
To listen. And to repeat. Because the future is today, and Martin Gore made a point on opening the doors to us.