Cork's Dankenstoned's Bongster: A 'Human Megazord' of music!

As much as your writer (and certainly so many others) is now fully desirous of moving past discussing our local music scene in the ‘post-pandemic’ context, there’s still no understating how music was able to act as a tether for the lives of so many, especially during a period of time that rational explanation still doesn’t fully encapsulate.

As it turns out, rational explanation doesn’t quite cover the experience of Corkonian stoner-rock outfit Dankenstoned’s Bongster; an eight-legged, biblically accurate creature of unfettered mischief and riff-peddling fuckery. Though the name dates back to the early 2010s among the band’s circle of friends, including similarly anarchic projects like Land Crabs and Vegans in Furs, the band’s post-pandemic emergence betrays the bones of long-standing friendships and a point of focus in uncertain times.

single ‘Human Megazord’ points back to that period, says bassist Dan O’Leary. “I think it was the second or third full song we wrote, and it was, like, really, really early on. It was just the three of us [the band’s initial line-up], just hanging out during lockdown. It was our only form of socialising, which is why I think the music’s so... bizarre, as well [laughs], it was just formed out of a period of intense anxiety.

“I think it was just, like, we had that one riff, I think it started with just the little bass riff,” continues O’Leary on the song’s writing.

“And I’d say we jammed on it for probably three hours, and then we ended up recording it and making up the theme and the lyrics on the spot. I think the original recording was around 15 minutes, and then we trimmed out all the… just, genuine nonsense, the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’.”

When asked about the process of putting the single down for release, the band is as relaxed about recording as they are about writing, says guitarist Artie Pawsey. “The same thing, just point microphones at it. We did it all live, we didn’t do any standing around, waiting for overdubs and stuff too much, because that’s just boring as well, yeah. You just lay it down. Like we lay down, all the time [chuckles].”

“It’s important, as well, to capture that energy of a band, rather than doing things to a click,” says guitarist Michael Prendeville. “Yeah, you don’t want to do it stinky,” says Pawsey by way of answer, “you want to do it stanky.”

Getting that same spirit of playful and creativity in a formal studio setting, then, would be no easy task, but thankfully, Cathal MacGabhann of The Altered Hours is no difficult taskmaster, taking on the challenge of distilling the Bongsters’ pong for the record in a secret location outside the city centre.

“Cathal’s amazing to record with, it was exactly the right kind of buzz, I guess,” muses Pawsey. “He’s very, just, like, ‘I will do this, and just have, y’know a break there’, and it’s just kind of pretty similar to the way we would do it.”

Adds O’Leary, “I think he just cottoned onto what the vibes of the sessions were going to be, straight away. Like, ‘okay’, and it [became a matter of] hanging out and having fun with us, as well.”

The release of ‘Human Megazord’ at the end of this month also brings with it a unique multimedia accompaniment — alongside the inevitable music video, of course.

While local musicians have ventured into the realms of gaming to provide an immersive experience in the past — Saint Yorda and Arthur Valentine come to mind — it would take Dankenstoned’s Bongster to bless audiences with what is surely the very first shooting game set in an alternate-universe Cork, where of the band are the only ones capable of relieving the city of a vampire infestation, via conveniently-available stake-guns.

‘Dankenstoned’s Bongster’s Gram-Smoker’s Stankula’ resonates with early-nineties computer-gaming vibes, taking influence from the likes of Doom, Quake and other shoot-’em-ups now known as ‘boomer shooters’ — a decision taken by developer Finn Johannson, a New Zealand-based friend of the band, who got involved after taking a shine to Cork city during an Irish tour.

“He loves it here,” remarks Pawsey. “I think originally it was because we were drinking at the Corner House [on Coburg Street], and he was like, oh yeah, it’d be cool to have a computer game, or even a level or something of a computer game set in the Corner House.”

“I think it was originally going to be sort-of a zombie thing, and then he realised that zombies have been overdone and vampires are in,” says O’Leary. “He wanted to tie in the whole thing of having, like, a special, unique weapon for the game.

“It was really Finn that sort-of pushed the whole idea of setting a game in the city, too. He also wanted to make a little love letter to Cork. Even then, I don’t know if it’s a love letter… because it’s like ‘everyone here is vampires, and you need to kill them all’.”

Dankenstoned’s Bongster’s new single, ‘Human Megazord’ releases across Bandcamp and digital streaming platforms on Friday, January 31.

Its accompanying videogame, ‘Dankenstoned’s Bongster’s Gram-Smoker’s Stankula’ releases on the same day, for PC and compatible devices, via the Steam online store.

The band launches the single and game with a gig at Dali, upstairs in Nudes’ Bar on Lavitts’ Quay, playing alongside Dublin punks Onion Boys, and sharing a DJ set with of Dublin alt-rockers Girlfriend.

For more info, follow @dankenstonedsbongster on Instagram.