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With increasing popularity among South Africa music fans, the five piece pop band of Monark are about to drop their debut album entitled Negatives. We caught up with drummer Graeme Wuth to chat about the new album, the band and more generally cool stuff.
It’s exciting times for Monark with the launch of your debut album, Negatives. Give us some insight into the start of the band and everything leading up to the point of this release?
The band was basically formed around Eugene (Coetzer). We’re all good friends and had worked together on different projects before, but when Ewald (Jansen van Rensburg) and Eugene started seriously working on songs together we knew that it was something worthwhile investing in. The first song we released was ‘Smiling’. We used it to test the waters, we were proud of what we had produced but weren’t sure what the public response would be. It turned out to be better than we could have imagined. I think Bouer Bosch was instrumental in getting us exposure, he took it upon himself to promote the song and certainly gave us the kick start we needed. From there were signed with Universal, and worked tirelessly to put an album together in 8 months. And that’s where we are now. We’re proud, excited and optimistic.
How did the name Monark come about and how does it fit with the band?
As with many of our lyrics, I think our name has many interpretations and we leave it up to our fans/ friends to find a meaning that makes the most sense to them. To get you started though, music has a large influence on our lives and we hope that our fans relate and enjoy our music as much as we do. Monark is about bringing people who have similar enjoyments together.
What was it like recording your very own album and how long did the process take?
It took close on a year from the release of ‘Smiling’ to the release of the album. It might seem like a fairly long time but, we started from scratch; we didn’t have a backlog of songs. It was fairly daunting. We weren’t prepared to compromise our high standards in any way. But we had faith in Ewald’s production talents, and he delivered beyond expectations. I think being able to spend the time we needed in our (Ewald’s) studio was key to our achievements. From my side, Ewald and Eugene wrote most of the songs together, and I couldn’t believe the calibre of songs that emerged one after the other. I couldn’t wait to hear another one.
What are your thoughts on the final product?
I think we have an album that can stand proud alongside any other.
How many tracks are on the album and what can fans expect from it?
The standard album has 10 tracks, while the deluxe edition has 16 (some of which are remixes). Fans can expect songs that cover a range of everyday experiences, yet there is a common uplifting theme that carries on from the singles we have released so far.
Which tracks mean the most to you and why?
I think each band member has his own favourite. But ‘Smiling’ is special because it was the start of everything.
“we’re taking things one step at a time, but believe we have something special, love what we do and intend going from strength to strength”
Explain Monark – Negatives is 5 words?
Feel-good, Entertaining, Genuine, Unified, Professional.
You are fairy new to the South African music scene but have already has some great success with your singles. What do you attribute to this success?
As a band we are fairly new, but we have all been involved in the music scene for many years and have plenty of experience. This, combined with doing it purely because we enjoy it, a professional approach and us all being good friends has helped our success.
You recently released your 3rd single entitled Something. How has it been received by your fans and music lovers?
It is doing well, it’s climbing the charts and all the responses so far have been very positive.
Will we be seeing a launch tour for the Album? If so, where can fans get the details and what can they expect from it?
Of course! We are doing a media launch on the 9th July at music connection and then we are doing a countrywide tour in August. All the details will be on our Facebook page.
What have been some of the best gigs you have played?
Jacaranda day was great. Great day out in the sun and a good crowd. The shows we did with Gangs of Ballet during their album launch also stand out. They are great band; we enjoy their music and it was fun sharing the stage with them.
Which venue, festival would you most like to perform at?
Jo’burg day is always a big show for any SA band, and Oppikoppi brings a crowed that really gets stuck in to having a good time.
What’s next for Monark?
We are going to do our best to promote Negatives and hope everyone out there enjoys the music as much as we do. Other than that, we’re taking things one step at a time, but believe we have something special, love what we do and intend going from strength to strength.
Pre-Order Monark’s Negatives here.
Photos by Waldo Pretorius
