After recently returning with their much-loved comeback single 'Beyond Material', Chicago-based duo Monoculture have now delivered a new short film to coincide with their recent offering.
Created alongside Spirit Award-winning director Merawi Gerima, the new film looks to add a broader and more absorbing feel to their newest jam. Using rich and emotive imagery to bring their latest track to life, they continue to cement themselves as one of the more inventive names on the rise right now.
So with the new film available to watch now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most lately.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Faayani: Guitar. And it still is my primary instrument!
Nick: Drums, but also hearing DJs mash different types of music together was a music concept that I was drawn to.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
F: The first piece of music I listened to when I was younger that I still listen to and enjoy to this day is Third Eye Blind’s first album. I owe a lot of my early development as a guitar player to that album!
N: Pop-punk and rap.
What was the first album you remember owning?
F & N: Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go” album and Linkin Park’s “Hybrid Theory”.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
F & N: To be honest, this doesn’t cross our mind.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
F: In my anxiety around feeling like I needed to produce things rapidly, I used to try to force songwriting. Now, I just let it happen. Obviously, there is some conscious effort required to write the songs we do, but if it ever feels like a chore and isn’t enjoyable, then I come back to it later.
N: Making voice recordings when I first get an idea. I made a MIDI version of my drum kit that I can play with an MPC controller to make demos with. I like having digital “chunks” to play with.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
F: Ferkat Al Ard or Issam Hajali (who was in Ferkat Al Ard) are my current faves. These are Lebanese artists from the 70’s who recorded two amazing albums (Oghneya & Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard) with sounds that span Arabic music, bossa nova, psychedelic rock, and pop.
N: As a life long blink-182 fan, their latest album was way better than I expected(lol), so that’s been played a lot the last year.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
F: Only my biggest musical inspiration, Arthur Verocai!
N: Gorillaz. The heavy use of different collaborators and the whole visual element of the band has always been influential, and it would be awesome to have live performances like theirs.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
F & N: For us, the entire process of writing, self-recording, self-producing, and mixing the album was the most rewarding. And then when you’re sitting there listening to the masters and they have the effect you wanted – that’s one of the best feelings in the world.
And what is the most frustrating part?
F & N: All the administrative work that’s required to keep things moving along. Playing the music is only a small fraction of being a musician.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
F: Remember that you’re doing it because you like doing it!
N: As vague and aimless as it may seem: to just go out and make something happen and stick with it.
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Monoculture's new film 'Beyond Material' is available to stream now. Watch it in the player below.