A few years back, whilst on holiday in England , I busied myself by trotting around villages and towns in the South Coast . It must have been February or March, as the air was densely frigid; the sky gloomy and dull. As I passed through Poole , one of the largest natural harbors around, I resolved to board a cross-channel ferry, just like any ordinary tourist would have done. Once I had found my way to the deck I glanced around the surroundings, and I observed that I was alone. There was no one to be seen; the place was completely still. Were it not for the occasional crashing of wavering waters against the boat’s sides, silence would have reigned.

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Arovane is the project of Germany based electronic artist Uwe Zahn. Zahn has collaborated with a host of renowned artists, with the likes of Phonem, Christian Kleine and Jake Mandell to name a few. His music has been released by various labels – namely Din, Morr and City Centre Offices. The body of Arovane’s repertoire is nowhere as large as that of, say, Autechre’s but throughout the years, his full length albums (Atol Scrap, Tides, Lilies) and other notable releases have enjoyed considerable notice, respect and admiration from critics and music enthusiasts alike.

And it’s well deserved.

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The name alone stirs the minds of film lovers and filmmakers in a variety of ways. One may think about his films. Are they mostly masterpieces, or are they good looking reels of tape devoid of any emotional context whatsoever? Are his films emotionless or are we lacking emotional subtleties which would enable us to appreciate his films in a more complete way? All these questions merely add to his incredible persona, because apart from being one of the biggest, albeit controversial, geniuses in cinema, he was also perhaps the most enigmatic big player working in cinema in the post-war era. He was a filmmaker who was bound by no restraints – be they financial or time restraints – a filmmaker who despite making only a handful of films, always found himself in the eye of the cinematic world with every thought that he dared to mention or insinuate.

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Forget the thirties/forties Hollywood Golden Age rhetoric. Disregard that thought and chuck it out of your head. The golden age of American Cinema (and probably not only American) occurred during the seventies, which technically started with some films released in the late sixties. Of course the ‘Golden’ is relentlessly metaphorical, as in most cases, American cinema was full of dark greys, resolute blues and gritty blacks, rather than the positive golden. This is somewhat strange, when considering that more Americans went to the cinemas in the previous three decades than during the seventies. But then again, when they went, they went in herds and crowds, as evidenced by the dawn of the blockbuster. But more of that later on.

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Scam (skam) n. – a swindle in order to make people buy records.

Indeed.

You don’t have to be an astute observer of popular music to know that after a certain number of years (usually a decade) something phenomenal happens that changes the face and voice of popular music. The 50’s brought us Elvis and rock and roll, the 60’s changing mores brought us the Beatles and psychedelic rock, whilst the economic slumps of the late 70’s and early 80’s brought us punk and new wave.

Peel back time to the early 90’s.

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Every now and then a mysterious act whose previous output promised originality and fun pops out of obscurity and apparent hibernation to steal the limelight once again – such an act would be Spooky Monkey. If their earlier work bent your mind, then their latest effort should blow it.

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