Push to Fire: Monarch Interview

Push to Fire Interview: Monarch
by Meghan Player
Monarch
Monarch are an indie rock band from Seatle Washington who seem to be fast on the rise with their songs being recently feautured in some MTV tv shows and collaborating with Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic. The band recently answered some of Push To Fire's questions on their sound, their inspirations, and their plans.
Being a band from Seattle, a mecca for musicians, did that partly inspire you to do the same?
While there’s no doubt that being involved in a musical city such as Seattle is very inspiring, we all found music before we met each other in Seattle as we’re all from different parts of the U.S.A.
What is the first thing people should know about your band?
We mean something in a music scene that doesn’t always.
Your sound encompasses a brit-pop vibe, what made you reflect that particular style?
We’re very excited to connect with the U.K. because that’s the type of sound we naturally create together. A lot of our musical influences come from bands in the U.K., and we love the music they make.
Your overall sound is warm and familiar, yet relatively unique on the scene at the moment. Are there any current bands that inspire you, or do you rely on developing your own sound and technique?
There are lots of bands that influence us individually (Elbow, Kent, Doves, Sigur Ros/Jonsi, Radiohead), but when we write we do so with the intention of creating something uniquely Monarch.
If you could work with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to work with Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Sting as it would be great to learn from their wisdom of music and life.
Do you have an album in the works? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
We’re working hard on a new EP which we're hoping will be released early 2011. The new music has hints of cinematic themes and inspiring melodic lines over an almost euro trip-hop beat. As we’ve been writing this album we get more and more excited to play it!
What are your current touring plans?
Currently we’re spending a lot of time investing in the local Seattle music scene. As we finish up our new record we’ve thought about branching out to various parts of the country, and depending on how we are received in the U.K. would love to tour overseas.
In your own words, why should people check out Monarch?
Monarch has meaning that stays with the listener after they put our CD down. Even fans who don’t normally listen to an indie pop artist will not only comment they are surprised they like a band in our genre, but that our music has a substance to it that most music doesn’t these days.

Thanks to Lisa McL for helping organise this and to Monarch for speaking to Meghan. Photo supplied by PR. Find more info and music clips on their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/monarch.band.

Push to Fire Interview: Monarch by Meghan Player Monarch are an indie rock band from Seatle Washington who seem to be fast on the rise with their songs being recently feautured in some MTV tv shows and collaborating with Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic. The band recently answered some of Push To Fire's questions on their sound, their inspirations, and their plans. Being a band from Seattle, a mecca for musicians, did that partly inspire you to do the same? While there’s no doubt that being involved in a musical city such as Seattle is very inspiring, we all found music before we met each other in Seattle as we’re all from different parts of the U.S.A. What is the first thing people should know about your band? We mean something in a music scene that doesn’t always. Your sound encompasses a brit-pop vibe, what made you reflect that particular style? We’re very excited to connect with the U.K. because that’s the type of sound we naturally create together. A lot of our musical influences come from bands in the U.K., and we love the music they make. Your overall sound is warm and familiar, yet relatively unique on the scene at the moment. Are there any current bands that inspire you, or do you rely on developing your own sound and technique? There are lots of bands that influence us individually (Elbow, Kent, Doves, Sigur Ros/Jonsi, Radiohead), but when we write we do so with the intention of creating something uniquely Monarch. If you could work with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would love to work with Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Sting as it would be great to learn from their wisdom of music and life. Do you have an album in the works? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it? We’re working hard on a new EP which we're hoping will be released early 2011. The new music has hints of cinematic themes and inspiring melodic lines over an almost euro trip-hop beat. As we’ve been writing this album we get more and more excited to play it! What are your current touring plans? Currently we’re spending a lot of time investing in the local Seattle music scene. As we finish up our new record we’ve thought about branching out to various parts of the country, and depending on how we are received in the U.K. would love to tour overseas. In your own words, why should people check out Monarch? Monarch has meaning that stays with the listener after they put our CD down. Even fans who don’t normally listen to an indie pop artist will not only comment they are surprised they like a band in our genre, but that our music has a substance to it that most music doesn’t these days.
Thanks to Lisa McL for helping organise this and to Monarch for speaking to Meghan. Photo supplied by PR. Find more info and music clips on their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/monarch.band.