Monkey in the mix

>> Dan “the Automator” Nakamura is unpredictable, but not as much as a certain primate named Snappy

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Rogue producer Dan “the Automator” Nakamura has worked with Del tha Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala and nutbar Kool Keith, and with Prince Paul of the Handsome Boy Modelling School project (which spun off to the Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By album). Blur’s Damon Albarn dropped him behind the board for the Gorillaz cartoon-band affair, he also oversaw the Bollywood funkfest Bombay the Hard Way, and lately Nakamura delivered his wicked mixtape CD, Wanna Buy a Monkey?. Jesus, what hasn’t this guy done?

Well, play Montreal in a while, for starters. Not to fear, he’s the first guest of honour at Sona’s new Jaxe Sundays. The laidback, hip-hop-and-beyond soirées are hosted by the lovely and talented Shades of Culture guys, and anticipate visits from Money Mark, Jazzanova, Blackalicious and DJ Shadow. But first things first—the Mirror got the Automator on the line from Cali to gab about his projects, the brilliance of Chris Elliott and a misogynist monkey named Snappy.

Mirror: First thing is, what’s the status of the Good, the Bad & the Ugly project, which is yourself, Prince Paul and Mike Simpson from the Dust Brothers?
Dan Nakamura: We’re on hiatus. We’ll be doing it, though. It’s one of those things where we’d done most of the tracks, and were getting on a label. It just took an inordinately long time to do the deal—11 or 12 months. Thing is, you can do all the tracks you want, but when it comes time to hire people to sing on it, you have to have a deal in place so they know what they’re getting into. The short answer is, we’re all really busy—we kinda lost momentum.

M: Quick question about the Lovage album. Is it “luvidge,” “luh-vash” or “low-va-gee”?
DN: I think it’s “luvidge.” It’s an herb, and also an alcoholic cordial. People I know have called it “luvidge,” so I think that’s right.

M: Here in Quebec, ’cuz we’re theoretically French, we’ll call it “luh-vash.” Got a nice, romantic swing to it.
DN: Perfect!

M: Next thing is Gorillaz. I hear there’s talk of a feature film.
DN: I can’t tell you anything that you don’t already know, other than that we intend for the next album to be a soundtrack and score to the movie. The movie doesn’t exist right now, and as I last heard—this isn’t really my area—a couple of people had offered enough funding to make it happen. But I don’t believe anything’s been inked up.

M: Any chance of a DVD of the videos?
DN: Oh yeah, there will definitely be one.

Crappy little Snappy
M: About your mix-tape CD Wanna Buy a Monkey?, the first thing is, did you specifically request a capuchin monkey for the cover?
DN: Actually, that was someone else’s idea. He was like, “You should use a real monkey on there. We’ll get one for you.” I gotta tell you, monkeys are terrifying.

M: Everyone I’ve talked to about working with monkeys with has said they’re extremely difficult animals.
DN: Yes, yes! In fact, this monkey—his name was, uh, Snappy, Snappy the monkey. The funny thing about Snappy was, he had two handlers, and basically Snappy was the biggest prima donna. You cannot look at Snappy! Do not make any sudden moves around Snappy! Snappy doesn’t like women! It was this whole big thing. All things considered, it was fascinating in a really twisted way. But these monkeys have humongous fangs, and they’re slightly restless, so you don’t really want to get too involved with the monkeys. They’re not friendly creatures.

M: Now, the title of Wanna Buy a Monkey?, like the name Handsome Boy Modelling School, is taken from the oeuvre of comedian Chris Elliott. I could write a book on his genius, but could you tell me, in your words, why you so appreciate his work.
DN: I don’t mean to be vague, but I think that, as an artist, he knows how to touch certain people. I couldn’t say specifically what it is, ’cuz there’s obviously the madcap side of things, but there’s this subtle blend of absurdity that works really well for me. It’s like this—people who like Chris Elliott really like him. People who don’t, don’t get it at all. I happen to be one who really likes it. Prince Paul, too—he’s a big fan. That’s how that all came together. When we first started hanging out, that was one of the elements of our bonding. That’s where our common ground is, humour-wise. :

With DJ Storm, Revolution, D-Shade at Sona bar on Sunday, June 30, 11pm, $20