Japan Genre: Rock Years Active: '00s, '10s |
BiographyJapanese experimental group Mono came together in 2000, choosing to forgo vocals and concentrate instead on atmospheric, classical-inspired rock music. The foursome, bassist Tamaki (the lone female in the group), drummer Yasunori Takada, and guitarists Takaakira "Taka" Goto and Yoda, released their first full-length record, Under the Pipal Tree, in 2001 on John Zorn's Tzadik label. In 2003, after switching to Arena Rock Recording Company, Mono issued One Step More and You Die, a remix version of which came out the following year as New York Soundtracks. That same year their fourth album, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined, recorded in Chicago with producer Steve Albini, was released on Temporary Residence. Albini also performed the same duties on Mono's April 2006 record, You Are There, and in September the band issued Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain, a mix between classical and rock that also collaborated with World's End Girlfriend, among others. The fascination with classical arrangements, strings, and atmospheres became an integral part of the band's sound. In 2006 they recorded You Are There, which included cellos on one part of the album and a string section elsewhere while keeping the dynamic and tension-building sound that had become the band's trademark, where beauty and chaos are woven together until they're an inseparable whole. On 2009's Hymn to the Immortal Wind, the band played live with a 235-piece chamber orchestra that featured woodwinds, reeds, and strings — and added a Hammond B-3 in spots to extend the orchestral dynamic. This culminated in 2010's Holy Ground: NYC Live, with Mono accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra, another large chamber ensemble featuring everything from harp and strings to winds and piano, playing the band's compositions. For 2012's For My Parents, the band employed a smaller chamber group, conducted by Jeff Milarsky, dubbed "The Holy Ground Orchestra," comprised of two violins, two cellos, viola, upright bass, timpani, and cymbals. ~ Marisa Brown & Thom Jurek, Rovi. Japanese experimental group Mono came together in 2000, choosing to forgo vocals and concentrate instead on atmospheric, classical-inspired rock music. The foursome, bassist Tamaki (the lone female in the group), drummer Yasunori Takada, and guitarists Takaakira "Taka" Goto and Yoda, released their first full-length record, Under the Pipal Tree, in 2001 on John Zorn's Tzadik label. In 2003, after switching to Arena Rock Recording Company, Mono issued One Step More and You Die, a remix version of which came out the following year as New York Soundtracks. That same year their fourth album, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined, recorded in Chicago with producer Steve Albini, was released on Temporary Residence. Albini also performed the same duties on Mono's April 2006 record, You Are There, and in September the band issued Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain, a mix between classical and rock that also collaborated with World's End Girlfriend, among others. The fascination with classical arrangements, strings, and atmospheres became an integral part of the band's sound. In 2006 they recorded You Are There, which included cellos on one part of the album and a string section elsewhere while keeping the dynamic and tension-building sound that had become the band's trademark, where beauty and chaos are woven together until they're an inseparable whole. On 2009's Hymn to the Immortal Wind, the band played live with a 235-piece chamber orchestra that featured woodwinds, reeds, and strings — and added a Hammond B-3 in spots to extend the orchestral dynamic. This culminated in 2010's Holy Ground: NYC Live, with Mono accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra, another large chamber ensemble featuring everything from harp and strings to winds and piano, playing the band's compositions. For 2012's For My Parents, the band employed a smaller chamber group, conducted by Jeff Milarsky, dubbed "The Holy Ground Orchestra," comprised of two violins, two cellos, viola, upright bass, timpani, and cymbals. ~ Marisa Brown & Thom Jurek, Rovi
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