How can we define our feelings of constraint in the parallels of life? When it’s time to make a choice we must weight the good versus the bad, and hope the good overcomes. Today’s song reviews these sensations of opposing forces, the inner dualities of our daily life. I’m talking about “One-Stop-Shop“, the new single from Belgium artist: Monrad.
It feels as if Leonard Cohen came back from the grave to sing us one last song…
Monrad is the solo moniker of Matthew Ramon, a wandering soul who has been making music since his 20s. He fled Belgium to find new challenges and discoveries, and after several years of traveling he finally settled down in a small town in Italy. Although he comes from taking part of a reverb-drenched, instrumental surf punk band, Monrad has also dark, ethereal qualities to his music and only in Italy did he nourished that. Hence, “One-Stop-Shop”.
A somber vibe with a kinda positive message, beautiful guitars and bass arrangement, and a baritone voice that seems to call deep down from Monrad’s thoughts. Seeking alternatives to conventional song arrangements, Monrad stretched out his musical vision with the help of Filip Tanghe (recording and/or live engineering Balthazar, Warhaus), who helped him record some of his first songs.
Now, after two years of musical self-exploration, finding his voice and maturing his music, the duo came back once more, joining forces with Bert Desmet and Gijs Coucke to record his first full-length album “Wired”.
One-Stop-Shop holds the listener as one holds a glass of whiskey, with style and delicacy. You can tell the work and time spent by Monrad to grow his voice, and the dark, soft ambience helps to stand it out even more. “The song describes the inner dualities that are part of our daily life; the need for being alone vs the need for attention; being happily in love vs the drain of energy, being constrained and bound…“
But even though its conflictive nuances, the song doesn’t feel uneasy at all. A soft double bass sweetens the arrangement while lush, ethereal pads carry minimal percussions, and reverb-smeared guitars help to back up Monrad’s melodies. You can even hear what seems like a citar near the end. Approaching the inevitable with grace.
Monrad’s first verse, final line: “With lots of bass, well this is what it’s all about” describes the song perfectly.
After listening to it for a while you can notice the fine details, either from the rhythmic guitars or the background vocals. This really appears to be a well-meditated work between all heads of the team, taking their time in the process.
We want to thank and congratulate Monrad and his team for such a beautiful song, most needed in this times, and are eager to listen to his full album, Wired. Let me close with one of my favorite lines of the song: “As long as we’re lost together, all is fine, wouldn’t you say?“. I would say so, Monrad, and I know must of us would.
Don’t forget to support this project and to follow Monrad on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify. You can also check out his official website. If you enjoy his music and are able to provide monetary support, you can download it on Bandcamp.
It also helps to stream and share his music; you can obviously find it in the following playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Alterindie State Of Mind, Indie Only
Remember that you can always find me here Linktree MadZen for all my social media and own music.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!
This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator https://www.musosoup.com/sustainable-curator