Forming in late 2017, 'Monks' is a five-piece Dreampop band originating from outposts such as Sefton, Ellesmere Port and Wavertree. The Pond show at the Invisible Wind Factory in 2017 was a big moment when George Pomford met Nathan Johnson and the idea of the band 'Monks' came about. Having met via mutual friends and through college, the band line-up is, chief songwriter George Pomford on guitar and vocals, Nathan Johnson on guitar, Joe Fay on trumpet and synths, Liam Daly on bass guitar and sampler and Kali Diston-Jones on drums. They fuse various influences, such as psych rock, jazz and dream-pop to create their own unique sound as, Lo-Fi dreamy production and Jazz meets Psychedelia, bringing together a new sound. George told Bido Lito, "I think when people see us they definitely think we're 70s inspired, but we all have our own style. In terms of the music, it crosses many boundaries: psych music, funk and modern alternative is what most of our songs are based around". Sound Basement on Duke Street is where they did their first shows and learnt how to properly play live. George's song-writing contains different time signatures, and samples sentences from old news interviews, bringing a creative twist to some of their songs. Joe's trumpeting (from an orchestral background), brings a distinct flavour to their sound, whilst Nathan's guitar work, replete with reverb-infused riffs and Kali's complex drum fills, all add perfectly to forge their unique sound.
Having recorded their first single, 'Dreamboat', at Elevator Studios they released it in early 2018 and secured a prestigious slot at the 2018 Liverpool Sound City Festival. They had continued to gain a wider audience, having been played on 'BBC Introducing Merseyside' numerous times and playing various gigs supporting bands such as 'Blaenavon' and 'SPINN', along with a handful of sold out headline shows supporting 'Paris Youth Foundation' and 'Clay'. As well as Liverpool Sound City and the Liverpool Calling Festival, they had further support slots, including a gig at Studio 2, supporting 'The Bohos' on April 7th.
April 2019 saw them headlining at Arts Club Loft, Liverpool where they appeared to control the crowd at the snap of their fingers, playing crowd favourites, such as 'Why Does Everybody Look The Same?' and 'Dreamboat', as they wound their way through the set, each song progressively livening the crowd up. Managing to blend together a mix of genres has seen the band grow exponentially over the past couple of years. The addition of a trumpet gives them a unique selling point that you certainly wouldn't find in many bands of their age, and they make perfect use of it, giving it a solo every now and then that captivates the audience. Midway through the set they announced a new song, 'Golf', with a destined release date of sometime in May, and it went down a treat and having delivered another faultless performance they left the stage before coming back for an encore when they delivered their most popular song 'Sundried'.
October 2019 saw the release of their fifth song, 'Tempranillo', recorded and produced by Robert Whiteley in Whitewood Recording Studio, Liverpool. Music blog Getintothis has said of the band, "Monks are the perfect expression of old heads on young bodies. While they know how to have fun and get down with their peers, their sound and performance levels are that of someone with a lot older head on their shoulders...They are certainly a band you need to keep on your radar, so make sure you check them out."
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/11/pool-of-sound-columbia.html
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