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As we start to get used to life under a second national lockdown, we are keeping all the musicians and artists that make our world so special at the forefront of our minds.
Liverpool indie The Mono LP’s scored a record deal during the Pandemic and have just released their tempestuous new single Hell, Save My Soul.
Purple Revolver caught up with the band online and talked about everything from their group dynamics to the new challenges facing the music industry.
What’s your creative process like?
Ste: “It varies a lot from song to song.”
Vicky: “I’d say with our new album, a lot of the creativity happened in the studio. With our previous album, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted each song to sound like.
“But with this new album, the studio was like a paint box and we were experimenting with different colours and techniques. We didn’t quite know what we would end up with.”
How have you been coping with the new challenges for the music industry?
Ste: “It is strange for us because we got signed during lockdown. We never thought we would get a record deal during a pandemic! It’s frustrating because we just want to get out and gig but we can’t.”
What influenced the making of your new single ‘Hell, Save My Soul’?
Ste: “It started with the riff and I wrote the song around that. The riff came first, which is unusual. It is about toxic relationships and how sometimes what you want is not what you need, and vice versa.”
If the pandemic wasn’t a thing, how would you have liked to promote ‘Hell, Save My Soul’?
Vicky: “We would have loved to have had a launch gig. With the release being so close Hallowe’en, it would have been really fun to have a Halloween themed fancy dress gig.”
What was the most enjoyable part of producing the new single?
Ste: “This was an unusual one because we recorded some of this at home, initially, including this song. So the interesting bit for me was being able to record in my pyjamas!”
Vicky: “We had our friend Leanne recording backing vocals, which was fun.”
Please tell us about your favourite gig so far and a stand out memory?
Vicky: “We absolutely loved playing in Norway a few years ago. That was definitely a highlight! They treated us like royalty and we would love to go back.”
Most bands have their creative differences… What are your group dynamics like?
Vicky: “We are really all really close as a band. Creatively, we all have different musical tastes that we bring to the table. Ste is a huge Beatles fan, I’m very into soul as well and obviously have a classical influence with playing the cello.
“Ste is always the one with the mad ‘out there’ ideas! We have learnt to trust him as his ideas always come to fruition. He is really good at seeing a vision and then realising it.”
Ste: “We all play off each other when we are in a room together with our instruments. We chip in ideas and that is how the songs develop and sound like us as a band.”
If you could only describe the new single in three words, what would it be?
Ste: “Big phat riff.”
Vicky: “Heavy rock cello.
“A juicy phat riff combined with gospel harmonies and attitude.”
Does releasing ‘Hell, Save My Soul’ on Halloween make you scared?
Vicky: “The only thing that scares me is that Halloween was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.”
If your music transformed into a Halloween costume, what costume would it be and why?
Ste: “That’s easy. It would be Frankenstein’s Monster because the whole of our new album is a mish mash of different genres, sounds and influences sewn together with the unifying thread of the cello to make one massive monster sound.”
What’s next for The Mono LPs?
Ste: “Hopefully, we will be releasing our new album in the new year on Fretsore Records!”
Vicky: “We are excited to see where this new partnership takes us.”