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Monet
email Interview
December 2023

To be touched by the racket of Monet is to be changed forever. They are unique, an oddity, an inspiration; wildly exciting, ridiculously brilliant and totally off the wall fantastic. Beneath their aural chaos and stage shenanigans, there lurks sheer joyful energetic pure pop genius. No wonder they quickly became our (and your) new favourite band.

We are incredibly proud that they appear on vinyl for the first time on our split 12" Leeks and Beets, available now here from Bandcamp and in the shops from January 2024.

High time, we thought, for them to explain themselves...

Monet – who, what and why?
“Garden, Pusyë, Ciggy and Dewi Davies are Monet. We play high intensity, noisy chaos wherever we land and we very much enjoy getting weird. We see our shows as kind of a performance piece that can enable other like-minded humans to get crazy to our oddball sound. Monet exists to create something distinct and different. We are thriving on the endless possibilities of creativity which our troublesome brains have been emitting. There is no genre to us, we just make what we make.”

* Describe your sound to a tone deaf alien.
“Our sound is abrasive and loose, tight and pretty, chaotic and chill and anything you want it to be baby.”

* You've recently received a lot of notice and some great reviews – why do you think this is and how does it make you feel?
“It makes us feel good I suppose as obviously we are wanting to share our music and the experience of seeing us live to all crazy heads out there so maybe that’ll be good for that! I think we’ve received notice recently as we’ve been able to be a part of some sick events and have met a lot of cool people - we have also been working our fingers to the bone as we love doing this stuff."

*Leeks or beets, leaks or beats!?
“Haven’t the foggiest mush.”

* You are always happy to play Love Music Hate Racism gigs – do you think music / art can make a difference to the so called real world?
“Indeed we are and I’d say so in some aspects but in others maybe not so much. Art definitely has the power to make a difference in the real world but I suppose if you get finicky with it music is art too, so the answer is I’m not sure but I’m sure someone else is sure.”

* What do you listen to when hoovering?
“I’d listen to Lightning Bolt, Davies would listen to Buddy Rich, Pusye would listen to something Japanese perhaps although he wouldn’t be cleaning, and Ciggy would probably listen to the hoover.”

* Who is welcome in Ponty, and why?
“Anyone is but there’s not much there I won’t lie. We were lucky to be handed a fat bucket of inspiration by the gods of Ponty which tailed us into finishing our album ‘Locminé’, we’ve had some good times there but alas our ship has sailed elsewhere now.”

* Does it upset you when the London media say you're from Cardiff?
“Not at all, we play Cardiff so much and really don’t mind getting chucked in with the sick bands we get to play with up there as it does make sense. Obviously we are Swansea mushes, dirty jack bastards but nah we are chill with it.”

Pic by Sam.Ffoto

* Tell us a bit about the tracks on Leeks and Beets.
“We really dig these songs and we feel like they encapsulate what we are doing and aiming for right now. We are very much looking forward to releasing them as we’ve played them a bunch live to gather views on it and the reception has been down right grooving. I got down and dirty with the lyrics on this project as I (Garden) was going through bad tunnels at the time and writing in my own weird way about it profoundly helped me gather my thoughts on it all. Good times flutter now but it is a trip sometimes singing them bloody sodden words.”

* What do you hope the record might achieve for you?
“Critical acclaim, a few grammy nominations, some fat royalty checks and all the land we can pillage.”

* You're launching the album on December 16th at Elysium; what is the Monet Live experience like?
“Nutty, some say funny at times, umm.. a truly unforgettable experience to the naked. It’s like watching a monster film from back in the day but rather than stoically staring at you they are just absolutely ripping the tunes out.”

* Badgers or squirrels?
“Squirrels are nice… I am a certified monkey lover my brother.”

* Are you really the enfants terribles of the South Wales music scene?
“Apparently so… but I guess you’ll just have to come catch the chaos to find out. Cool title though.”

* If you could join a 5 band festival line up, which other 4 bands (alive or dead) would you like to add to the bill?
"It'd be a weird weekend, probably something like Mclusky, Incubus, Genesis and Horse Jumper Of Love. Gotta get some familiar faces like Papa Jupes, Spithood or Shlug mush… so we aren't too awkward to talk rip."

* Apart from on Leeks and Beets, how else can our readers hear your sounds, and why should they bother?
“Our music can be found on all parts of the inter-web, you can find our linktree in the bio of our instagram which will lead you to our music, music videos, unreleased music, and gig information. Hot damn you should bother because you ain’t gonna bother any other time and now is the time to start bothering. Bother everyone, it’s the bothering, come, come, come on let’s dance.”
https://linktr.ee/monetbanduk

* Finally and most importantly, what's best – chips or cream buns?
“Chippies baht, bit of salt, no vinegar.”

Big thanks to Monet for their tunes, their time and their tremendousness.

Leeks and Beats is available to order on limited vinyl here or digitally here https://orcd.co/leeksandbeets

https://linktr.ee/monetbanduk

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