The conflict and correlation between dark and light is a universal theme with a historically rich history. Musically, perhaps no band in the 21st Century has mined that relationship more consistently or effectively than Japan’s MONO.
Across 10 albums in 20 years, MONO have convincingly reflected the quietest and most chaotic parts of life through their music. Their ever-expanding instrumental palette – which began in earnest in 1999 with the traditional guitar-bass-drums rock band setup – has evolved to include as many as 30 orchestral instruments. Now, on Nowhere Now Here, the band add electronics to their repertoire – perhaps inspired by guitarist/composer Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto’s recent collaboration with John McEntire, the beguiling Behind the Shadow Drops. Nowhere Now Here also sees MONO’s first-ever lineup change, adding new drummer Dahm Majuri Cipolla (The Phantom Family Halo) to the core trio of Goto, Tamaki, and Yoda. Tamaki also makes her vocal debut here, singing into the shadows of vintage Nico on the poetically hazy “Breathe.”
The unlikely career of MONO has taken them to virtually every corner of the planet, several times over. Those corners have all left indelible marks on their music, as it drills deeper towards the sound of feeling not quite human and all too human – often at the same time.

In the beginning, Mono combined the ugly washes of noise pioneered by My Bloody Valentine with the beautiful, subtle guitar figures of Slint and Mogwai. Eventually, their classical influences broke through, pushing the music to structural and emotional extremes that owed as much to Wagner and Beethoven as it did Black Sabbath and Neurosis. This release contains all of Mono's rare and out of print tracks, perfectly displaying their astounding growth. All tracks have been re-mastered from their original tapes, with both CD and triple vinyl formats boasting absurdly beautiful deluxe packaging.

NYC 现场专辑

Tokyo’s Mono is a peculiar group. While most bands offer up their sincerest and most genuine recordings in their infancy and spend the rest of their careers trying desperately to rediscover their youthful energy, Mono's trajectory has been quite the opposite. This flourish of hopeful creativity was captured by Steve Albini in the form of the eight pieces that make up their third album Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered And The Sun Shined. More lush and orchestral than previous recordings, the album couples an overall slow-melting ambience with a thunderous drive that reaches far greater heights than the band’s earlier work.

For My Parents
After years of exploring, searching ourselves, and composing pieces here and there, we found ourselves with more questions than answers.
When we could not find these answers in the outside world, we were bound to turn inward. And so we went back to our roots.
This is something we wanted to do while we still have the chance. What cannot be explained in words to parents, we hope can be captured by these songs.
We hope that this album serves as a gift from child to parent. While everything else continues to change, this love remains a constant throughout time.
——Mono