Photo: © MONO4OLY
"Collect salary
as you pass"
Back story
Mono4oly are an four piece Blues-Rock band, based in Seoul and founded in end of 2023. In the beginning of 2024, I was also able to see the group live in South Korea and was impressed by the live performance.
ORDINARY CHAOS
MONO4OLY's first full-length album, Ordinary Chaos, sings of this "mind-shaped mirror." Confusion is no longer our obstacle, and in it we find freedom. The realization that nothing is real in the place that transcends everything, this album quietly conveys it.
"Confusion is always with us, but it may only be a passing illusion. Everything is emptiness, and everything that exists in the world, is a shadow without substance. The prosperity of a large land, the difference between rich and poor, and even selfish desires, are ultimately gratuitous. Wealth and poverty, peace and war. All of these things take on different appearances, but when you get to their essence, they eventually lead to one. Even fear and joy are illusory, and we live with fear and desire, trying to find the truth in them."
5 short questions to the band
Q1: Hello, thank you for your time! Could you introduce yourself? (name/ instrument) For someone, who gets new into your music - how would you describe your band in Genre/ background in some words?
Hello everyone! We are a hard rock band with guitar (Jihyo Pyun), bass (So Yeon Kim) and drums (Eunsu Jang). Our music expresses all the emotions we experience in everyday life. Shortly after the release of our album, our singer left the band.
If you're listening to our music for the first time, I don't want to tell you a specific genre or background. It's like a canvas that is finished in a different color by each listener. I hope it can add a special scene to your day.
Q2: You currently released your first album. How was the process of creation - your thoughts, musical influences?
The whole process went pretty smoothly. Our album was heavily inspired by Buddhist philosophy, particularly the Heart Sutra. Chaos is always around us, but perhaps it is just a temporary illusion. Everything is emptiness, and everything that exists in the world is ultimately just a shadow without substance. Great successes, poverty, selfish desires - all of this is fleeting. Wealth and poverty, peace and war - they look different, but at their core they are
The process was really quick and I tried to do my best in my field. I listen to the pieces again and again, to see how well I fit
in with the whole thing. In the end, I'm just grateful to see my name on such a great piece of work. (Bass: Soyeon) For the songs on the album, I wanted to express my playing differently than
usual. Musically, I was heavily inspired by the members I worked with.
Q3: If you could choose one song of your album, which one would you take?
It's hard to choose just one song because each song on the album serves a specific function. It's best to think of the album as a 53-minute-long piece of music, similar to Pink Floyd.
**"Fake Empire"** best reflects the ironic chaos in my everyday life. **"Enter Your Password"** is a track that is particularly close to the heart of Soyeon Kim, the face of MONO4OLY - so be sure to give it a listen!
Q4: What are your future plans?
Our plan is to continue to observe topics that move us and express them in music. Since we just released our first studio album, maybe we'll take a little break. However, I think we will use this time to concentrate on the next project and explore new things - so that we can show you even more exciting sides of us in the future.
Q5: Some words for fans and new listeners:
My answer to the second question is exactly what I want to tell you.
Thank you for the interview!
Photo: © MONO4OLY
Review
The album takes the listener to an 14 track journey of Blues, Rock and Rock n Roll inspired psychedelic sounds. Fake Empire starts as a powerful entry on your journey, followed by "Isolated Brain" and "Craving". The "Chopin Prelude in E minor Op.28 No.4" gave me here (for Anime Soundtrack) kind of Cowboy Bebop vibe. On song #06, the listener hears the main song "Butterfly", which represents in the opinion of the band the best, accompanied by Broken Valentine guitarist Ji Hwan Byun. "Hipster" gives you an free, self-confident vibe. "Children of a Dream" and "Enter your Password" represents Mono4oly in cool rock sounds.
Track number 10 is my favorite of "Ordinary Chaos". It gives you a cool and easygoing feeling. Followed by "Chopin Prelude in C minor", "Bitten Apple" and "Hey J", especially the last 2 songs give me a throw back to the live version, which I saw this year in Seoul. :) Each track itself satisies the listener by the great vocals and guitar soli - it transports a part of the city into tunes.
Album: Ordinary Chaos
Release: 06.11.2024
© MONO4OLY