NMM SoundBytes: Kong Gets Squanky on “Know End Insight”
The uniquely named Squanky Kong is the brainchild of musician and composer James Michael House. The project is a collective of great musicians that play a hybrid of metal, rock, and alternative music that would feel at home sharing a stage with mainstream modern hard rock acts, 90s alt-rock bands, and 80s hair metal bands alike. With influences clearly ranging from modern rock to classic rock to prog to grunge and beyond, the band’s unique sound is infectious, melodic, and showcases the great musicianship of House and company.
The lead single from the new album, Dawn of the Cataclysm, is “Know End Insight” is a perfect introduction to the album’s sound and concept.
Despite what some might think, the album title originated in 2019, before the pandemic started. Topics such as climate change, plastic pollution, war, corruption, and artificial intelligence were inspirations for the album concept as a whole.
With a powerful lead vocal and soaring guitar work, the single is not only catchy, but also a showcase of real rock and roll chops. But, the recording process was anything but commonplace.
This album was produced similar to the way a movie is made. There were various performances recorded for each part, sometimes with more than one musician. Then each song is meticulously edited together with special attention placed on creating an organic feel to the music.
The editing process, while likely quite intensive from what House notes above, clearly achieved its goal – as the song (and the album) display a coherent and cohesive sound that feels far more “organic” than other projects recorded in this way often do. Check out “Know End Insight” below and then head to Spotify to hear the rest of the fantastic album.
