Once again, instrumental psych rock maestros MONKEY3, envelop listeners in their unique, cosmic auditory haze with the release of their much-awaited new album entitled Welcome To The Machine, via Napalm Records.
RockOverdose.gr had the chance to listen the album - read full review HERE- and learn more about it from guitarist Boris who answered our questions, on the band’s overall sound and musical approach.
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RockOverdose: Greetings guys and congratulations on your new -soon to be- release! How are you these days?
MONKEY3: We are quite excited about this new release and can’t wait to go out on tour to play it live and share it with our fans. We actually will start the Euro Tour in may.
RockOverdose: Does the 3 on your name stand for the number of bass player changes? How is Jalil fitting the group so far and how did that change affect things for the band?
MONKEY3: We are very pleased with our new bass player Jalil. As a musician he fits quite well the vibe of our music, his tone and technical abilities are a valuable contribution to the band’s overall sound and musical approach. And he is a very nice and peaceful dude that is cool to hang out with.
RockOverdose: As a sci-fi fan myself I truly enjoyed the theme of the album. Recently I finished the Foundation trilogy from Asimov and now I’m in the last book of Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin. What about you? Which sci-fi pieces of media inspired you for this?
MONKEY3: When we started to work on this new album, we favored spontaneity and leaving the mind free from concepts and musical directions to take. When we had enough material, we started to see the vibes and atmospheres that these new pieces suggested. At this point we worked on developing the overall concept of the record and actually, from there, we were inspired by certain films that touch on these themes, such as The Matrix or 2001 A Space Odyssey and books such as 1983 and Brave New World.
RockOverdose: One can’t help but wonder with the rapid growth of AI and how quickly companies tend to implement it to the workforce. You would think that we would use it to lift the heavy work from workers but we see it being used for “writing” poetry, code and drawing. What are your thoughts on that?
MONKEY3: At this point it is difficult for me to fully understand what these new technologies represent and how they can evolve. I would say that in itself, the development of various technologies does not represent, basically, any danger but rather, what questions me most is the use that certain people could make out of these technologies.
Monkey3 - photo credits: Giuseppe Aufiero
RockOverdose: Let’s talk about instrumental music. Does it lack in comparison to pieces with lyrics or does it offer an incomparable freedom?
MONKEY3: It is more obvious and immediate to tell a story and develop a concept with words. Human voice is a wonderful instrument and usually goes straight to the heart of the listeners. However, you can also tell stories and create various atmospheres through notes, rhythm and sound textures. This is the context in which we feel that we are able to express ourselves best. Often, for the listener, music without lyrics allows the mind to travel even further and create its own unique story.
RockOverdose: The intro of Collapse (last track on the album), sounds to me like a tribute to Pink Floyd. Am I wrong? Who are your instrumental music heroes?
MONKEY3: Exactly. Pink Floyd is a band that inspired us a lot and made us grow as musicians. They have developed something absolutely unique. They are masters at creating incredible landscapes, making you travel, and even think, through music. An infinite creative source. And I cannot deny my admiration for David Gilmour, who, as far as I'm concerned, is the Caravaggio of the guitar, pure genius.
RockOverdose: On your next concert you could bring any musician -alive or not- to play with you. Who are they?
MONKEY3: John Bonham, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Bruce, Paul Rodgers.
RockOverdose: The majority of your compositions are birthed through jamming. Naive question maybe but how do you remember what to play?
MONKEY3: By practicing a lot.
RockOverdose: How do you generally approach song-writing?
MONKEY3: We have various ways of approaching compositions. Sometimes it all starts by jamming together and building the tracks step by step. Sometimes we bring already developed ideas to work on. It's always a collective work. The most important thing when we write music is that we can feel the story that we want to tell and picture ourselves in some sort of a landscape made of sounds and textures.
RockOverdose: I sure hope Greece is one of your stops on your Welcome To The Machine tour. Best of luck! The last word goes to you.
MONKEY3: Thank you for your support, see you on the road, cheers !
Interview Questions: Nick Chinaris
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