Mokee Dugway - Twelve (So long to city song)

Hear The Track Here

Second time around for Italian musician Gabriele D'Urbano (aka Mokee Duway) whose Not Enough (December 2008) certainly perked my ears up, despite it being nothing more ornate than a guitar instrumental. Not Enough showed that the man had style, nous AND control over what he was producing, certainly the right kind of introduction anyway. Gabriele first wrote this as an instrumental way back in 2001 but along comes Matt Tyson (who he? Maybe Mokee will tell us) this year and puts himself up for lyrics, vocals and drums - shades of Phil Collins eh? Well, as it happens, the drum sound that's happening here is VERY Phil, huge building-sized toms, extravagant and elaborate patterns and all..

AND its kinda/sorta prog....

Normally I'd be sharpening my knives but his first track showed me that Mokee Dugway is an artist to be taken seriously - regardless of genre - and Twelve cements that impression in stone. It also introduces this reviewer to a lyricist/vocalist (and yay even drummer) I would be more than happy to hear a lot more of. Thankfully, it has none of the normal bombastic look-at-me-being-glorious tat that prog rock artists insist on foisting on our poor jaded ears. Point of fact, Twelve (So long to city song) is a lovely track in every way, a great song, absolutely top class production and faultless performance from everyone involved. Matt's vocals sit so well in the track it's a lesson in proper balance between voice and instruments.

It's five and a quarter minutes of life zip by so fast the first time you hear it, you are still trying to assimilate the intro by the time it ends. In between - given time to settle in - is a whole world of wonderfully realised music, whatever genre you want to apply to it. To be sure, it is definitely prog rock in feel but its underlying melodic strength would win over even the most cynical of reviewers (Oh hi me!). The truth is that I was floored by the quality and beauty of this track from the very first play, and constant exposure to it only increased that a thousandfold. Great song, great performance, great vocals and outstanding production values, this is exactly the kind of track I would be more than proud to point to as an example of just how good unsigned music can be in the right hands.

Awesome piece. MUST HAVE.