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Monkey3

Report: Monkey3, Tuber – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Another awesome band planned a greek tour recently and I’m referring to Monkey3, a well-known instrumental space-rock and stoner rock band from Switzerland. The band has recently released ‘The 5th Sun’, its fifth record. The record’s major success leads Monkey3 to be considered as one of the hottest names in their music scene worldwide. Smoke the fuzz managed to arrange the concert in Athens, along with Tuber, a greek desert rock band from Serres. So, here we are, in Six Dogs, on a rainy Friday night, ready to get trippy by Tuber and Monkey3. I feel the need to mention the fact that the show was a sold-out one. The show started just in time and Tuber came on stage. Tuber, as it is mentioned before, is an instrumental desert rock band from Greece. I have never seen them on stage before and I was curious to watch them performing their latest release (‘Desert Overcrowded’), as well as songs off their two past releases. I am not a strong fan of instrumental music; however I find the specific music genre ideal for concerts and live performances because of its powerfulness and psychedelic influences. The band started their set and the sound was actually perfect; a little louder than usual maybe but I could hear every instrument loud and clear. Tuber, considering the fact that they were the one and only support band, stayed on stage about an hour and maybe some more, delivering some straight-edged, desert rock melodies. We had the chance to headbang to songs like ‘Firebird’ and ‘Desert Overcrowded’, as the band was giving its best effort to rock Six Dogs. The bass was of course the one giving the chills. Everyone got stuck to the significant bass lines, combined with the funky, blessed with delay, guitars. Times passed away, without even noticing it, having our minds travelling hundred miles away, to US’s dessert south, listening to the best soundtrack for this trip. After a while, it was time for Monkey3 to perform their music set. The band was completely pleased with the crowd that joined the show and made it a sold-out one. As a result, they couldn’t stop smiling and thanking the fans, gifting them with a special performance. The lights were turned off and ‘Icarus’ was about to start this unique performance… If there is a band that can reflect kraut rock and psychedelic music today, that band is definitely Monkey3. The band performed in front of a large video wall, were a trippy movie was projected. The ambient synthesizer’s background music, combined with stoner rock guitar riffs was totally mind-blowing. The band performed mostly songs off ‘The 5th Sun’, performing for about an hour and half. Boris is a hell of a rocker, delivering those blues guitar solos and getting completely crazy with the crowd. I loved his passion for music and his energy on stage. The man behind the synth and the keyboard was also responsible for making the performance even more compelling and astonishing. Monkey3 and Tuber gave their best for this show to become a special one and their goal was achieved! The memories were the best ones and I totally recommend the fans in Larissa and Thessaloniki to support Monkey3. They won’t regret it! I also feel the need to congratulate Smoke the Fuzz events for its excellent handling of the show and for the equipment they provided, which helped the Tuber and Monkey3 sound excellent.
04 min read

Monkey3
The 5th Sun

Manos Spanos
It’s been a while since I last heard a song by Monkey3. I wasn’t a long time fan of the band and there’s not been a year since I have dug into the band’s music. The four men perform some instrumental music, totally influenced by post rock, as well as with heavier subgenres of metal and rock. Their previous record, ‘Beyond the Black Sky’, is claimed to be their career peak so far, and has been a favor record for the year 2011 by many. Two years after, the band returns with ‘The 5th Sun’, along with a desire to succeed again, proving that their ideas are flowing strong through their minds. For all those who are not familiar with Monkey3’s discography; the band’s music style cannot be described by any definitions. We could loosely describe it as instrumental-post rock or post-metal, with sludge and stoner elements. The keyboards play a major role to the song’s progression, creating ambient melodies. The lack of the vocals is covered with unique and significant melodies that could be easily memorized and tend to arouse the senses of the listener. This is the ultimate goal of monkey3’s music. Let’s get back to ‘The 5th Sun’ now. The record starts with a fifteen minute song and then continues with six more songs. The first one is titled ‘Icarus’. It is a great one, with beautiful melodies. The continuation of the song leads to points where the music is just ambient, slow and rhythmical and then we have outburst of melodic guitars, crafting a unique trip for our minds. ‘Icarus’ could be shorter in minutes but this is just my opinion for this song. Afterwards, ‘Suns’ comes upon. The second song of the record is a chilling and quite relaxing one. On the background, we can easily spot the groovy drums along with the groovy bass. Upon those, the band filled the song with plenty guitar riffs and keyboard’s touches, giving a unique sense to the plain bass n drum section. ‘Birth of Venus’ is the next song, and it is a loosely ambient one. There are a few heavy music outbursts, with the guitars leading in their primitive role. The keyboards’ parts remind me of choir vocals and fit quite well in the songs. Next, we have ‘Pintao’, a song where the bass lines and the keyboards shine and create the song’s continuation. The band created a quite interesting record this far, with mind-travelling songs, but besides ‘Icarus’, none of the other songs managed to shine out of the disc. The last three songs are faster and heavier than the previous ones. ‘Once We Were’, reminds me of stoner rock in the beginning. After some minutes the song progresses to mid-tempo riffs and ambient paths. ‘Circles’ begin with a haunting and inspiring blues-guitar solo, and the pentatonic guitar-orgasm continues throughout the song. The last song, ‘The Ship’, is another heavy one, just like the previous two. In overall, ‘The 5th Sun’ is a great record, another milestone for the band. I can’t decide if it is better than the previous record, which made such an impact, but I’m quite sure that the band continues in a pleasant and satisfying path.
03 min read