Close To Monday
talk to pauliepaul
This is gorgeous - best pauliepaul x
Formed in 2019, burgeoning Synthpop collective Close To Monday champions a nouveau strain of indie-laced Electronica for the contemporary audience. In 2020, the one-man-band evolved into a duo, welcoming the inclusion of vocalist Any and debuting their union with ‘Interference’ in April of this year. The LP proved to be a raw and rebellious offering, receiving staunch support from industry peers and audiences alike, and subsequently holding a fourth place position in the Deutsche Alternative Charts for six weeks running; standing as the only representative of independent music across the full chart. Another of the album’s shining successes was ‘Step By Step’ which made it to #1 in both the LRDR Radio and Klangwald Radio charts. Currently residing in Berlin, Close To Monday are proving they are a force to be reckoned with, securing themselves as ones to watch, the future is very exciting for Close To Monday.
I’m interested in the dynamic - how did you meet?
We met very simply! Alex heard my voice (Any). We met, talked, and realised that we were looking in the same direction in relation to many aspects of life and music.
Thats how the band was born!
You're Independent?
Our music is so original that we don't have a releasing label right now. To be honest, we haven't been looking for a safe haven in the form of label support yet.
Most likely, this will definitely happen in the foreseeable future, but at the moment we are 100% representatives of independent music. We write music independently in our small studio, independently communicate with music influencers, independently negotiate with clubs and festivals...
Of course, like everyone else, our independence is specifically hindered by the pandemic with all its limitations, but we think that this fall and next summer we will make up for everything we missed this year in terms of club and festival performances.
Influences?
(OMG Depeche Mode! This is why I love you best pp)
Depeche Mode led us to music! There are many bands that have inspired and inspire us, but the starting point was the music of David Gaham and Co. The modern music industry is very rich in magical discoveries. Very often we admire the work of DJs, how they create a completely new musical masterpiece from the original track.
Recent tracks by Flume, Hugel, Toby Romeo, Famba, Tinlicker are AWESOME
How does playing live work, if at all?
Alex founded the project in 2019, and the first two albums were completely instrumental, or rather, absolutely electronic-experimental! Alex and I (Any) joined together in a common project in 2020, and almost all this time we have been creating, recording and continuing to record new tracks. We released the album in the spring of 2021 and are now completely immersed in collaboration with other musicians! The most important joyful event of this summer is our remix with Ron Flutter! Due to the limitations of the pandemic, so far we have not been able to perform in clubs or at festivals, but there is a great desire, and we think that we will be able to organise our first club performance this year, and we hope that it will be just the beginning!
Music and album releases has changed beyond recognition for my generation - the first album I ever bought was in 1980, 'Blondie' Parallel Lines, and I'm guessing Blondie got, still get a decent % of my £4.99. Is the current music industry benefiting new artists?
The modern world is one continuous challenge and this challenge begins every morning for everyone and every person has the strength to accept this challenge, cope with it and start a new challenge! Depending on the person whether he or she is ready to accept challenges or not, this is everyone's choice!
We are philosophical musicians and we like the music industry! There are a lot of incomprehensible things here and because of this it is difficult but also a lot of amazing things! For example, we have two states - we either write our own music, and over the past year we have already recorded 18(!) tracks.Eleven of which were released as part of our first album INTERFERENCE, the rest will be released as singles and/or as collaborations. Our other shape is we listen to music or watch the performances of our colleagues and it's amazing, it inspires you to live! For example, our one of our favourites at the moment are the Techno Marching Band MEUTE. These guys perform everywhere - at festivals and just on the streets, they make amazing collaborations-and this is also thanks to the modern music industry!
How’s Berlin, I’ve never been, talk me round your Berlin?
At a glance, we can name cool areas for us - Schlesisches Tor, Friedrichshain, there are clubs and an atmosphere here! Berlin is a unique place for solitude with yourself, our most favourite place is Spree, any place near this magical river! For privacy with yourself and with food haha, Berlin offers stunningly delicious food, a mixture of tastes of all the cuisines on the planet. We would especially highlight our latest discoveries - italian Il Casolare, magical turkish Dada Falafel, vegan or vegetarian Cookie Cream and Double Eye coffee shop! We are connoisseurs of inspiration, communication and food, so everything we have told you about we highly recommend haha!
Back to music, how did the remix with Ron Flatter come about?
Initially, Ron was inspired by the vibrations of our track, GUNS which went on to win the Best Dance Music Video category in London and Rome this Spring. He was drawn to our track ‘Time' and the interesting story around the track and wanted to tell his own story.
What's your perspective on this track, (’Time’) It feels very deep, and I feel the emotion. I always say emotion in art lasts forever ....
Our track TIME was born in Rome, known as the "Eternal City”, the walls and streets have witnessed so many events that this city can really be associated with eternity, with the inevitable but constant passage of time. We think that time often scares people, especially those who do not know what to do with it, but time is not our enemy, but our ally. Each of us has the right to decide how to use this gift of the Universe - the time that is given to us. The cover of our remix was created in the same style,
as you can see, there is an hourglass here that symbolises time. In addition, the lower part of the picture seems to crumble into sand, for
comparison, this time is like sand passing through our fingers, we want to understand the value of Life and perhaps tell others about it!
Bless you, best pauliepaul
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