Monkey3

Hailing from Lausanne, Schweiz we have the swiss band ”Monkey3” that has just released their new album “Sphere” on Napalm Records. We sent over some questions to the band to see what 2019 holds for them.

                                      Courtesy: Monkey3.

Great to have you back with a new album. Could you tell us a bit on where and how you recorded the new album?

Boris (Guitar): For the first time we decided to record in our area. There's a nice recording studio in the vineyards (Blend Studio, Lutry), the vibe is quite nice there and it's a cool space to work into, very relaxing place. The album was recorded by our buddy Raphael Bovey and it all came down pretty fast and easy, a very nice experience.

You have been delivering instrumental music since 2001. Could you give us an insight of the very first humble beginnings of the band?

Boris: We started as a jam-band community, those kind of “late at night even if it's early in the morning” sessions. A lot of different local musicians coming in and out...at some point, a few of us decided to focus on writing music and later became Monkey3, it's probably why we kept that jam spirit in our writing process.

You have been touring a lot and have also released a live recording named “Live At Freak Valley”. Could you tell us a bit about this live recording?

Boris: We played Freak Valley Festival in 2015 and I have to say that it's an awesome festival with a special vibe, we had great memories about that day. Our show was recorded and we were so happy about it that we decided to release it and now that concert can live forever!

When comparing studio recordings vs. playing live, what´s the biggest difference in your opinion?

Boris: Recording is kind of the starting point, than bringing that stuff to a stage makes it alive. You have the energy of the audience, like a communion, and the visual show (lights, video projections) which makes it intense and unique every night. 

You come from Switzerland. How´s the music climate in terms of touring and playing live?

Boris: The scene in switzerland is pretty alive and strong, a lot of very good bands in all kind of genre and quite a few nice venues to play into. On the other hand, specialized medias are not very developed and it's tough to have a good promotion for the underground scene although some are putting a lot of passion and energy to change things.

Was it a conscious decision to not have vocals on your songs and if so, have you ever had any vocals on any songs so far? The new song “Mass” has something that sounds like “sampled vocals” and some choir?

Boris: Being an instrumental outfit was a conscious decision, back in the days we thought that it would be worth a try to work our way without vocals and lyrics. In 2009 we released a cover EP “Undercover” and had guest vocals on some tracks: John Garcia (Kyuss) on a Kiss cover and Tony Jelencovich (Transport League) on a Led Zeppelin cover.

Going back a couple of years in time and to the song “Icarus”, which is perhaps one of your most well known songs. How did this song come about?

Boris: It took a lot of time and work to put that track together. The main theme came from a late night jam-session and then we started to built the fuul track around it, section by section. We were looking for something epic with a lot of dynamic where every single instrument could express itself.

You also use some electronics and synthlayers in your songs. Do you think this makes your soundscape to sound “bigger”?

Boris: The use of keyboards helps to have a bigger and wider sound. Synthlayers also add a lot of different textures and it's interesting how it can create a variety of atmospheres that set the mood of each track. That's something that we work on a lot in order to achieve our wall of sound and spacey vibes.

Except for touring in 2019 and the release of the new album, do you have any other plans for this year?

Boris: In 2019 we'll focus only on touring and bring the best possible Monkey3 experience to our fans that attempt to the shows. No other plans at the moment.

You have toured a lot in mid-Europe, in countries like Germany, Switzerland, Austria and such. Can we expect a northern European tour in the future?

Boris: I don't know yet, but for sure we'd like to come in northern Europe to meet and please our fans there. If everything goes the right way, it might happen in the future.

Do you have any last reflections for the readers?

Boris: Thank you for the love and support, cheers !

Many thanks for answering the questions for us!

Info:

monkey-3.bandcamp.com/ 

Live Album:

monkey-3.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-freak-valley