Mono | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
Genres | |
Years active | 1999–present |
Labels | Temporary Residence Limited, Pelagic Records, Conspiracy, Human Highway, Tzadik |
Members | Takaakira "Taka" Goto Hideki "Yoda" Suematsu Dahm Majuri Cipolla Tamaki Kunishi |
Past members | Yasunori Takada |
Website | www |
Mono (stylised as MONO) is a Japanese instrumental band, formed in 1999 in Tokyo. The band consists of Takaakira "Taka" Goto (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Hideki "Yoda" Suematsu (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Dahm Majuri Cipolla (drums), and Tamaki Kunishi (bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, glockenspiel).
Mono have released eleven studio albums. The band spent their early years, from 1999 to 2003, touring Asia, Europe, and America continuously, and released two studio albums, Under the Pipal Tree (2001) and One Step More and You Die (2002) on the Tzadik Records and Music Mine Inc. record labels, respectively. From 2004 to 2007, Mono signed to Temporary Residence Limited, released two more studio albums, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (2004) and You Are There (2006), and toured worldwide in their support. In 2008, the band took a break, returning one year later with a new studio album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind (2009), also on Temporary Residence Limited. During the tour that followed they recorded a live album, Holy Ground: NYC Live With The Wordless Music Orchestra which was released in 2010. In October 2016 the band released their ninth studio album, titled Requiem for Hell. Their most recent effort, Nowhere Now Here was released on January 25, 2019 through Pelagic Records, and was produced by the band's longtime friend Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, Chicago. It also contains Tamaki's first vocals for the band on the track "Breathe".
The band have cited a variety of experimental, avant-rock and classical music artists as inspirations but stated that their aim is to transcend genre, rejecting the post-rock label which has often been applied to them. Mono's sound is characterised by the lead and rhythm guitars of Goto and Yoda respectively, both of whom make extensive use of reverb, distortion and delay effects. The band's live performances are noted for their intensity, both in the playing and in the dynamics.
In January 1999, Tokyo native electric guitarist Takaakira "Taka" Goto began composing music and spent the remainder of the year searching for other musicians with which to form an instrumental rock band; eventually recruiting long-time friend and fellow electric guitarist Hideki "Yoda" Suematsu on rhythm guitar. [1] By December 1999, Tamaki Kunishi and Yasunori Takada had joined Mono on bass guitar and drums, respectively. The band played their first show in late January 2000, at Club 251 in Setagaya, Tokyo. [2] In May 2000, the band entered Rinky Dink Studio in Tokyo and recorded their first extended play with engineers Tetsuya Morioka and Toshiro Kai, which was later self-released in September 2000: a Japan-only release titled Hey, You on their own independent record label, Forty-4. The band spent the bulk of the year composing more music and performing at various houses around Tokyo, in the neighbourhoods of Setagaya, Shimokitazawa, and Shibuya. Mono also travelled to the United States to play a one-off show in November at the Mercury Lounge in New York City; a show which was later described by Paul Wheeler of rockofjapan.com as having a "big beautiful sound that [...] naturally [expanded] through each song." [3]
Following the release of the Hey, You extended play, Mono spent the next year playing shows throughout their native Japan, as well as playing several shows in New York City and Sweden. The band also made an appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Between performing in Japan, Mono recorded their first studio album, Under the Pipal Tree at Studio Take-1 and Forty-4 in Tokyo. The majority of the tracks were recorded live (a trend which the band would adopt for all subsequent studio albums) in one day, the recording session of which was funded by experimental American musician John Zorn, with the band handling production duties. The album featured two previously released tracks (from the Hey, You extended play), as well as six original compositions. The album was released worldwide through New York City record label Tzadik, owned and operated by John Zorn.
After the release of Under the Pipal Tree, the band spent the next year touring Japan and the United States, also visiting Germany and Taiwan in support of the album, as well as composing new material inspired by the tour. In June 2002, between shows in Japan, the band recorded their second studio album, One Step More and You Die at Little Bach and Sound City studios in Tokyo, with Mono again handling production duties. The album was released in Japan in October of that year on Japanese record label Music Mine Inc. The band spent most of 2003 touring in support of the album, returning to Japan, the United States, Sweden, and visiting Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom for the first time.
Mono's next release was a collaboration with Japanese musician Aki Onda; whom the band met while touring New York in 2002. The band, Onda, and several notable members of the New York experimental music scene (including DJ Olive, Jackie-O Motherfucker, and Loren Connors) remixed One Step More and You Die. The album, titled New York Soundtracks , was released in February 2004 on Human Highway, Mono's own record label, and a successor to Forty-4.
In January 2004, the band began a long partnership with Chicagoan recording engineer Steve Albini, recording their third studio album at Electrical Audio Engineering in Chicago, Illinois. The album, titled Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined was released in April 2004 on Human Highway in Japan, and on Rykodisk in Europe and Temporary Residence Limited in the United States later in the year. After the album's release, the band embarked upon a year-long tour of America, Asia, and Europe.
The band also spent 2005 touring Asia, America, and Europe composing music, and eventually returning to Electrical Audio Engineering in February and September to record their fourth studio album with Steve Albini. The album, titled You Are There was released in Japan in March 2006 on Human Highway, and on Temporary Residence Limited in the United States and Europe. Mono also collaborated with Japanese musician World's End Girlfriend in 2005, releasing a collaboration studio album in December of that year, on Human Highway, and with American band Pelican, releasing a split album with the band through Temporary Residence Limited in October 2005. In February 2007, American webzine Somewhere Cold voted their split with World's End Girlfriend Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain No. 7 on their 2006 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame. [4]
Mono spent 2006 and 2007 touring Asia, America and Europe in support of You Are There. In October 2006, the band returned to Electrical Audio Engineering and recorded a four-track extended play, which was released in April 2007 as part of Temporary Residence Limited's Travels in Constants series, titled The Phoenix Tree. In November 2006, the band released a two-track extended play titled Memorie dal Futuro through Vinyl Films, and also contributed a track to a Temporary Residence Limited compilation album, Thankful. In September 2007, the band released their first compilation album, compiling material from all previous extended plays, split albums, and compilations, titled Gone: A Collection of EPs 2000–2007 , as well as the music documentary DVD, The Sky Remains the Same as Ever, documenting the worldwide tours of 2006 and 2007 and the recording of The Phoenix Tree extended play.
In 2008, the band took a year-long break from touring, spending the time composing new music and playing a handful of shows throughout the year, including an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties in Somerset, England, curated by Explosions in the Sky in May. Mono returned to Electrical Audio Engineering in June and November 2008 to record their fifth studio album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind , which was later released in March 2009, and followed by a year-long tour of America and Eurasia. The band played a ten-year anniversary show at the Society for Ethical Culture Hall in New York, United States on 8 May 2009, accompanied by the 24-piece Wordless Music Orchestra. The performance was recorded and later released as both a live album and a DVD, named Holy Ground: NYC Live With The Wordless Music Orchestra, through Temporary Residence Limited in Europe and America, and Human Highway in Asia. The band then took another year-long break and went into "hibernation mode", returning to Japan to work on songs for a new album.
Mono spent early 2012 recording a new album at Waterfront Studios in Hudson, New York, with recording engineers Henry Hirsch, accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra. [5] The album was mixed by Fred Weaver at his studio, Apocalypse the Apocalypse, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. For My Parents was MONO's first record in eight years not to be recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. For My Parents , was released on 4 September 2012, through Temporary Residence Limited. [6] The band's press release for For My Parents states "We hope that this album serves as a gift from child to parent. While everything else continues to change, this love remains a constant throughout time." [6]
Mono released a double album on 24 October 2014, two contrasting records: The Last Dawn, being a more traditional Mono record; and Rays of Darkness, some of their heaviest material, even more notable for the first use of vocals on The Hand That Holds The Truth. The two were released on Temporary Residence Limited in North American and Pelagic Records elsewhere. [7]
Mono announced the forthcoming release of Requiem For Hell on 19 July 2016, their ninth studio album. It reintroduces strings to their sound. It was also their first full album under the newly formed label Pelagic Records. Prior to the full release of Requiem For Hell they did a split album with The Ocean (Transcendental) to commemorate this event. Later it was known that it was actually a sneak peek of the first two songs of their upcoming album. [8] On December 9, 2017 they announced via their social media pages that Yasunori Takada (drum kit, glockenspiel, synthesizer), who has been a member since the start, will leave the band due to "personal reasons." He was replaced by Dahm Majuri Cipolla beginning with the band's live performance on August 9, 2018. [9]
Starting in August 2018, they worked on their next project with Steve Albini at Electrical once again. On September 25, 2018, the new album was revealed to be called Nowhere Now Here, their first with Cipolla, it was released January 25, 2019. [10]
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of MONO, and the 10th anniversary of Hymn to the Immortal Wind, Temporary Residence Ltd. released Hymn to the Immortal Wind - Anniversary Edition. Featuring remastered versions of the original.
In 2020, the band started touring Asia and Australia with more dates to follow in Europe and North America, but they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band stopped the touring activity and began writing new music.
On Christmas Day 2020, Mono released a 2-track single called "Scarlet Holliday". [11] Firstly released only digitally, it was then released on vinyl on March 4, 2022 with a third extra track. [12]
Meanwhile, the band released their 11th record Pilgrimage of the Soul on September 17, 2021. The album was recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 with the usual assistance of Steve Albini. [13] The single Riptide was released in July 2021 and anticipated the new album.
As the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic kept the band away from the stage, Mono composed their first soundtrack ever. My Story, The Buraku Story was released on vinyl on May 27, 2022. [14]
Finally, the band played live for the first time in over 2 and a half years in June 2022 at Hellfest, and in August the new European tour kicked off the reprise of touring and live shows. [15] The European tour was followed by more dates in Asia, the UK and Australia throughout the year.
In December 2022, the band announced the beginning of a series of Christmas EPs named "Heaven" to be released every year on Christmas day. The goal of the series is to express is the light without anxiety and sadness in life. [16] Heaven Vol. 1 featured three brand new songs and was released digitally on December 25, 2022, to which a vinyl physical released followed in April 2023.
Mono entered the studio in February 2023 [17] to record their 12th album once again at the Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini. The recording was completed on March 4 and the album is expected to be released in 2024. [18] They also announced a new European tour for spring 2023 with more festival dates to follow in the summer. [19]
Although Mono's musical style has developed throughout their career, it has primarily been characterised by dynamic, guitar-based instrumental soundscapes, the majority of which are composed by lead guitarist Takaakira Goto, in an attempt to channel and express the emotions of joy and sorrow. [20] The band's style of music originally featured elements of minimalism and noise, and later developed to integrate more complex, orchestral arrangements and instrumentation. [21] Mono's music has been categorised as both contemporary classical [22] and post-rock, [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] but Goto has stated:
Music is communicating the incommunicable; that means a term like post-rock doesn't mean much to us, as the music needs to transcend genre to be meaningful.
Mono has toured worldwide several times. Their live show tends to feature intense and emotional playing by the band members, as well as using extreme dynamics (in crescendos as well as diminuendos) in their attempt to create an "unforgettable" live performance. [29] When recording their music, the band has always played live in the studio and, from 2004's Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined to 2009's Hymn to the Immortal Wind, worked with Chicagoan recording engineer Steve Albini, whom they feel accurately captured a live band's "raw emotion to [magnetic] tape." [30]
Mono has drawn influence from various musical and non-musical sources throughout their career. When the band first formed, their main influences were American experimental rock band Sonic Youth and Anglo-Irish shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine when making Under the Pipal Tree and One Step More and You Die. [1] As the band broadened their musical tastes, starting with the album, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined, they began to be influenced by music from sources such as German classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven, Italian film score composer Ennio Morricone, and later Polish minimalist composer Henryk Górecki, among others. [20] Lead guitarist Takaakira Goto has also acknowledged Danish film director Lars von Trier (in particular the 1996 film, Breaking the Waves ) as a major influence since the band's formation, in terms of expressing the different depths and heights of emotion. [20]
In terms of instrumentation, Mono is a four-piece instrumental rock band. Goto, the group's lead guitarist, uses a 1966 Fender Jazzmaster through Boss, Danelectro, SiB, and Morley effects pedals, into a Fender Twin, a Marshall JCM 2000 head, and a Marshall cabinet for amplification. [31] Yoda, the rhythm guitarist, uses a 1974 Fender Stratocaster through Boss, Tech 21 and Pro Co effects pedals, into a Fender Twin for amplification. [31] Kunishi, the group's bass guitarist, pianist and occasional guitarist uses a 1966 Gibson EB-3 through Boss, TC Electronic, and Tech 21 effects pedals, into an Ampeg B2-R head and a Sunn bass cabinet, as well as a Fender Rhodes, and a Fender Jazzmaster. [31] Takada, the drummer, uses a four-piece 1970s Ludwig drum kit, with Zildjian, Sabian, and Paiste cymbals, as well as a Korg microKORG synthesizer. [31]
As the band's career has progressed, they have incorporated string sections on record, beginning with Under the Pipal Tree, which featured use of cello, continuing with One Step More and You Die and Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined which both featured string quartets, and You Are There, which featured a string quintet. On Hymn to the Immortal Wind, the band made use of a 28-piece chamber orchestra.
Ride are an English rock band formed in Oxford in 1988. The band consists of vocalists and guitarists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, drummer Laurence "Loz" Colbert and bassist Steve Queralt. They have been recognised as one of the key pioneers of shoegaze, an alternative rock subgenre that emerged to prominence in the United Kingdom during the early 1990s.
Chapterhouse were a British shoegaze band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3. They released two albums: Whirlpool (1991) and Blood Music (1993). The group temporarily reformed in 2008 after being asked to join Ulrich Schnauss onstage to perform his cover version of their song "Love Forever" at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire. The band finished the brief reunion with two gigs in London (2009–2010) and tours in North America and Japan in 2010.
MY DISCO is an Australian music group formed in 2003 by brothers Ben and Liam Andrews. It includes members from Agents of Abhorrence and Clann Zú.
Jesu are a British experimental metal band formed in 2003 by Justin Broadrick following the breakup of his band Godflesh. It shares its name with the last song on Hymns, the final album of Godflesh's initial run. Jesu's sound is heavily layered and textured, incorporating a diverse mix of influences. Broadrick himself has stated that "...it's very loosely speaking pop/rock/metal/electronica ... I'm intentionally writing what I consider to be coherent 'pop' songs".
Envy is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo, in 1992. They are signed to Rock Action Records in Europe and Temporary Residence Limited in North America, though originally they worked with Level Plane Records. Initially influential in the post-hardcore and screamo scenes, Envy soon began to employ elements of post-rock in their work as well.
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with their song "Electric Messiah".
Nowhere is the debut album by British shoegaze band Ride, released 15 October 1990. Rolling Stone called the album "a masterpiece", and online magazine Pitchfork called it "one of shoegazing's enduring moments".
Maserati is a band formed in 2000 in Athens, Georgia. They are currently signed to Temporary Residence Limited.
Pink is the tenth album by Japanese experimental music band Boris. It was originally released in 2005 through Diwphalanx Records in Japan and subsequently reissued in 2006 by American label Southern Lord Records. The album received favorable reviews, particularly for incorporating more melody into the band's abrasive sound.
Mira were an American five-piece dream pop/shoegaze band from Tallahassee, Florida, United States, formed in 1996.
Nina Hynes is an Irish musician and music producer from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. She releases music through her own label Transplant Records on www.ninahynes.bandcamp.com/ and also privately to subscribers.
Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain is a collaborative studio album by Mono and World's End Girlfriend. It was originally released via Human Highway Records on 14 December 2005. In 2006, it was re-released via Temporary Residence Limited.
Hymn to the Immortal Wind is the fifth studio album by Japanese post-rock band Mono, released 24 March 2009 on Temporary Residence Limited.
Constants is an American post-rock / shoegaze band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist, member of several bands, and co-founder of the Root Strata record label based out of San Francisco, California. Cantu-Ledesma got his start in the band Tarentel. He was one of the founding members and is still a primary figure in the band's line-up. Cantu-Ledesma continues to be involved with many musical projects.
Alison Chesley, known also by her stage name Helen Money, is a Chicago-based cellist and composer.
Whirr is a shoegaze band from Modesto, California. The group formed in 2010, originally as Whirl, but had to legally change its name after a woman performing acoustic covers of Black Sabbath songs trademarked the name and threatened a lawsuit. Whirr's shoegaze sound is often compared to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Founding guitarist Nick Bassett also played in the band Deafheaven surrounding and including the release of their 2011 album Roads to Judah.
Citizen is an American rock band from Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio that formed in 2009. The band currently consists of Mat Kerekes (vocals), brothers Nick and Eric Hamm (bass), Mason Mercer, and Ben Russin (drums). They are currently signed to Run for Cover Records, and have released four studio albums to date: Youth (2013), Everybody Is Going to Heaven (2015), As You Please (2017) and Life in Your Glass World (2021). A fifth, Calling the Dogs, is set for release in October 2023. Considered a part of emo's fourth wave, Pitchfork have described Citizen as "a band their fans can grow up with rather than out of."
Heaven Is Earth is a studio album by the American rock band Self Defense Family. It's the band's fifth studio album overall, and second effort after changing its name from End of a Year to Self Defense Family. The album was released on June 30, 2015 through Deathwish Inc.
Japanese Breakfast is an American indie pop band headed by musician Michelle Zauner. Zauner started the band as a side project in 2013, when she was leading the Philadelphia-based emo group Little Big League. She has said that she named the band after seeing a GIF of Japanese breakfast and deciding that the term would be considered "exotic" to Americans; she also thought it would make others wonder what a Japanese breakfast consists of.
{{cite web}}
: External link in |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: External link in |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: External link in |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: External link in |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: External link in |title=
(help)