The Band Explains: Monico Blonde - 'Breathe' (Single)
South Wales indie-pop outfit Monico Blonde speak to us about the ideas behind their debut single, ‘Breathe'.
Recorded at Vale Studios in Worcestershire with producer Gethin Pearson (The Enemy, JAWS), 'Breathe' combines choruses lavished in tight harmonies with big, brash guitar hooks.
Recorded at Vale Studios in Worcestershire with producer Gethin Pearson (The Enemy, JAWS), 'Breathe' combines choruses lavished in tight harmonies with big, brash guitar hooks.
Monico Blonde Explains:
"‘Breathe’ is the first song we’ve recorded as a band together. We worked with Gethin Pearson, who’s recently worked with JAWS and The Enemy, and immediately we could tell that something was clicking.
We used Vale Studios in Worcestershire to record ‘Breathe’, which was great. It’s this big old house with some sweet gear. Gethin brought his toys as well, so we had a good time trying out different sounds. On ‘Breathe’, there’s a Moog, an 80s Memory Man pedal, a Juno synth that used to belong to the Horrors, and loads more we can’t even remember. It was a mad sound lab for 24 hours.
We were warned at the start that the studio was haunted, and a couple of weird things did happen during recording. When sleeping there, Jack complained that he kept waking up to see someone standing over him. Also, when Dave and Owen were in the outhouse watching Anvil, the TV had a mind of it’s own - turning up really loud, then quiet, then cutting out. Not enough to make us believers though...yet...
Lyrically the song touches on ideas of nostalgia and dependency in a relationship, but people can relate to it in different ways - even members of the band interpret it differently. That’s what we love about music, when it means different things to different people instead of being explicit in meaning. We’d love to know what you guys think of it too."
Feature by Karla Harris
"‘Breathe’ is the first song we’ve recorded as a band together. We worked with Gethin Pearson, who’s recently worked with JAWS and The Enemy, and immediately we could tell that something was clicking.
We used Vale Studios in Worcestershire to record ‘Breathe’, which was great. It’s this big old house with some sweet gear. Gethin brought his toys as well, so we had a good time trying out different sounds. On ‘Breathe’, there’s a Moog, an 80s Memory Man pedal, a Juno synth that used to belong to the Horrors, and loads more we can’t even remember. It was a mad sound lab for 24 hours.
We were warned at the start that the studio was haunted, and a couple of weird things did happen during recording. When sleeping there, Jack complained that he kept waking up to see someone standing over him. Also, when Dave and Owen were in the outhouse watching Anvil, the TV had a mind of it’s own - turning up really loud, then quiet, then cutting out. Not enough to make us believers though...yet...
Lyrically the song touches on ideas of nostalgia and dependency in a relationship, but people can relate to it in different ways - even members of the band interpret it differently. That’s what we love about music, when it means different things to different people instead of being explicit in meaning. We’d love to know what you guys think of it too."
Feature by Karla Harris