From the opening keys of the piano-led intro and first full track ‘Let The Music Play,’ there’s a beautiful and slightly melancholic thread throughout Penner & Muder's Same Monkeys Different Zoo. This is a house album, however, and groove does not suffer as the stripped back drum&vox of ‘All About You’ aptly proves. Whether it be the dubby feel of ‘Sunset Blvd’ or the future soul of ‘Time Has Come,’ the album is bristling with emotion and even in tracks like the decidedly austere ‘Solitary Movement’ (with Muder’s long term friend/label partner Chopstick) there’s a real sense of feeling. This impassioned theme culminates in the stunning ‘Are You Lost,’ a future classic in the making if ever there was one. Balancing melody with groove, melancholy with uplift and dancefloor sensibilities with a home listening vibe is a rare feat, but Penner & Muder have pulled it off and have done so with a heavily song based LP – a true testament to the talent here.
Nils Penner took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for us at Handsomeclub:
When and where were you both born?
John was born in Hamburg, Germany 1979. Nils in Bremen, Germany 1977. Bremen is situated 100 km south of Hamburg.
How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
