Monofone

Despite their Star Wars references and AK 47's, this band is not as intimidating as they appear on first glance. In fact they are one big family eager to tease their crowd as they please. They describe themselves as different flavoured ice cream blended into one, the perfect accompaniment to a fine Singaporean summer's night at Baybeats...

Hey peeps, introductions please... who are you guys and what do you play?
1) Hym- Singer and Guitarist
2) Kay- Drummer
3) Jules-Keyboards/ Piano
4) Luke,-Bassist

How did this quartet form then?
In a Galaxy Far, far away…..haha..

With a bunch of jedis and light sabers? haha....No seriously..?
The story begins with our band coming in 1st runner-up at Power 98’s band competition, Powerjam 2005.  Monofone was only 2 months old then.  Our original track, Sylvia, was awarded “Most Favourite Song” as well.  This, we feel, was a stepping stone and served as early blessings for our young band.

Monofone started out as a three-piece band, without a keyboardist.  Although Jules had already started playing with Monofone when it was formed (just to fill her time during the band’s rehearsals), it was only in late 2006 that she became Monofone’s official keyboardist.

Today, Monofone is almost a family band. Hym and Jules just got married to each other and the bassist, Luke, is Hym’s younger brother while the drummer, Kay, is Hym’s long-time family friend, both childhood buddies.

With fiery enthusiasm, we challenged ourselves to come up with pieces we could call our own; something we could brand as Monofone music.  We are adamant on forging a name for ourselves and creating a signature sound.  There will always be the search for new platforms for performances and new realms of creativity.  There is certainly no doubt that we’ve found ourselves right where we want to be.

Contentment, that's good to hear! How did you guys comes up with your name?
Monofone. (Mon o   -   f   - One) Mon o is another word for infectious.  The f in the middle is a symbol for loud in musical terms.  And lastly, “One”. We play music as one. Nobody in the band tries to outdo each other in terms of skills and musicality.  We will all do our part to get the music out as one. So metaphorically speaking, we are trying to produce “One, wholesome, infectious loud music.”

Sounds like a united front, how would you describe your sound?
Our music is a blend of new generation rock profiling textured guitar and bass with full overdrive, supplemented with the classical strokes of heart-provoking piano.  For us, it was all about intricacy.  We aim for precision in our instrumental technique, depth in their musical composition, and character in every word sung.

In doing so, are you guys trying to create some poetry too? It seems rather meticulous, who were your influences?
Muse, The Mars Volta, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, Metallica, The Great Spy Experiment, The Pinholes, as well as our all-time favourite Malaysian influential rock bands, Search and Wings.  Basically, we are influenced by bands that make great music and superb perseverance.

That brings me onto my next question, do you have a mission statement as a band?  What do you hope to achieve with your music?
Melody is King.  We can’t stress further about the importance of a great melody when we work on our songs.  What we want to achieve for Monofone’s music is to allow music to be enjoyed by all age groups and genres.  We feel that it won’t be possible without a great melody to start with.

What’s the best thing about being in Monofone?
We get 20 cents off when we go for haircuts at our favorite Bugs Bunny and Aladdin Malay barber shop.

Oh dear…
We believe it’s our chemistry that allows us to create music with ease as we have a kind of common understanding.  When one of us comes up with a song idea or rhythm, the rest would jump in and add value to the whole tune.  It’s really a joy to be making music together.

Metaphorically speaking, how would you describe your band/music in terms of either: food/drink/animal or, well, whatever you want really (and explain why please):
Monofone and ice-cream.  We are made up of a family, and that serves like the main ingredients of ice-cream making.  The different flavours come in each time we come up with a new song, almost like adding your own toppings to create an even more fabulous ice-cream sundae.  And like ice-cream, we hope to be well-liked by music lovers from all walks of life.

Sounds delicious! Well, tell us more about Baybeats – what does the event mean to you?
Well, it’s about time we got our music out there where people can listen to us and what better venue is there than The Esplanade?  And to give a double whammy, its Baybeats, the biggest rock festival, held at The Esplanade.  The turnout for this festival has always been massive and powerful so we would like to take this opportunity to share our passion. We have always wanted to perform at The Esplanade since the formation of Monofone 2 years ago.  It’s probably the vibe the venue emits which makes it a great venue to perform.

Many people at The Esplanade, be it after dinner or just having a nice evening stroll on Friday nights, are simply drawn to the stage when there’s a performance.  But come on August 3rd until 5th, and it won’t be any ordinary weekend nights… It’s Baybeats!  That place will be magical!

What has been your most memorable moment from past Baybeats as an attendee?
Memorable?  That has to be the crowd, great music and superb live acts! The overwhelming crowd.  It was just superb to see our home grown talent appreciated and enjoyed by thousands.  A festival where all music lovers unite. We Like!!!!

High Five! Who has been your favourite act from past Baybeats?
The Pinholes!  They are simply great entertainers!  You will be instantly entertained even when you’re in the darkest mood.  From the start till the end of their set, we were constantly smiling!

Tell us about the audition process – did you expect to make it through?
When we heard about the Baybeats auditions, held for the first time, we grabbed our instruments and started to hit on the notes to come up with our original.  Too bad, strictly no covers.  We got our act together quickly, went for a couple of jamming sessions before we hit the studios to record “Out for Last”.  All in all, it took us slightly more than a month from scratch i.e. music making to the auditions.
For the auditions, we tried to squeeze in 2 or 3 songs but that would make us sound like chipmunks, so we figured one song would be nice.
Even before the auditions on stage, it was an enriching experience for us to see that behind every single task, there was a crew member being assigned to carry out different jobs.  When we finally entered the auditions studio, we felt the urge to drop our jaws.  The sheer size of the studio, complete with ambient lighting and proper stage set-up sent shivers down our spine, not for its creepiness, but for the professional feel to the whole atmosphere.  We gave our best shot.
When we first heard the news that we got through, we were extremely shocked and were in a state of numbness at the initial period, knowing that there were 29 other bands and that we'd made the cut to the top 10. 
With the mentality that every show was going to be our last, it helped us give that extra boost to make an impact.

That sounds like complete havoc to me. Nevertheless, what are you looking forward to most about the event?
We most look forward to playing and hearing our music from the superb massive sound system Baybeats is reputed for.  We just can’t wait for that. We were already greatly impressed by the sound system during the auditions.  What more, the day itself…Magnificent!

Inevitably, there'll be loads of other performers there. How are you planning to stand out from the other performers at Baybeats?
We're gonna get AK-47s and go trigger happy on the stage! Haha!
We promise a tantalizing performance that will rouse your spirits and touch your heart. It will have highs that refresh you, and pleasant lows that will calm you.  All in all, the most important thing we want to showcase is our own passion for making great music. 

I like that energy and enthusiasm! If people want to catch you, what time and where can they watch your set?
3rd August, 7pm to 7.30pm, at the Nokia PowerHouse stage. See you there beautiful people!

Oh stop! You're making me blush...Besides your own performance, who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival?
We want to see all the bands that made it through!  They are all just simply awesome!
Each of them has their own great style and appeal.  But if we had the time to watch only a few, it would have to be Mercury Rev (we still can’t believe they are performing! Yippee!), Bismuth (great dynamics) and The Sallys (They are just darlings with great musicality!),

If you could share the stage with any band in the world – who would it be and why?
We can’t think of a better band other than MUSE of course!!!  What got us started in terms of playing music together was their music. It was 5 years ago when we first heard their album “Origin of Symmetry", we were amazed at their talent and ability to write such great music and with that, they inspired us greatly. And slowly, from playing most of their music in and out of rehearsal studios, we set out to create and share our own music with our friends powered by the inspiration from MUSE. We went to watch them perform live at Fort Canning Park a few months back. We must say,
THE BEST SHOW ON EARTH!!!
They are just amazing!

Imagine you’re stuck backstage at Baybeats in a locked room for 2 hours – who would you most like to be back there with and why?
Haha, that would be simple.  The three lads from MUSE of course!!!  There are a million questions that we want to ask them.  Chances are, we might end up speechless, having 3 legends in the same room with us and what seems like 2 hours would be 2 seconds. WE NEED MORE TIME!!!! We would be glad to be stuck with them for 2 weeks!

Do share your future plans with us after Baybeats!
We will continue to write and produce more songs. And of course to play regular gigs to get the flame burning.

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Check out Monofone on AMP.

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Posted by AMP Ed on July 24, 2007 5:17:00 PM HKT #