Monker178 is a Manila based artist who crafts instrumental poetry. His music is an amalgamation of mesmerising ambience scattered amongst various and genre blends. The artist recently released his debut EP ‘God Child’, a forward thinking project which fuses an array of vocals and instrumental elements to create the unique sonic atmosphere in which Monker178’s music exists.
MONKER178 has joined #CO
<CO>
Where did you grow up and where are you based now?
<MONKER>
I grew up in between Sydney and Manila but right now I’m staying in Manila after a year of being stuck in Sydney.
I don’t feel at home in either place but I like not being tied down to anywhere, although that has its downsides too.
<CO>
How have these environments influenced your art?
<MONKER>
I think having two really different lives in two extremely different countries has influenced my music more than the environments themselves, it lets me be more open minded and fluid with who I am and what I create – but it gets confusing. I don’t think where I’m at changes what I make too much. I carry who I am wherever I go for better or worse.
Manila is a crazy place and there’s always something happening which I think helps me as much as it harms me. I need stimulation and Sydney is very calm in comparison – I do better in chaotic environments.
I left school really young as well, I never really went when I was still in school anyway so I think that let me work things out on my own which I carry into making art and music.
I think where I am mentally affects my music more than where I am physically.
<CO>
How did you get into making music?
<MONKER>
Originally I wanted to make movies and music videos so I started making music for them. I only started making music in late 2016 early 2017. I haven’t filmed my own MV or movie yet but I’m always dreaming of it. For me visuals are just as important as the music itself, I spend more time watching music videos than just listening to music.
<CO>
Can you name some artists whose work has had a big influence on you?
<MONKER>
Dean Blunt, Elysia Crampton, Tujiko Noriko, Max B, Lifelover, Yves Tumor, Solar Fields (Mirrors Edge Ost), Strawberry Switchblade, Billy Bragg, Triad God, Jonatan Leandoer96, Burial, Susumu Yokota, Kate Bush. These artists really helped shape not so much the music in regards to how it sounds but more how I think about music.
When I was younger I used to listen to a lot of Gorillaz, shoegaze, cure, euphoric hardstyle, hardcore punk like Career Suicide, and Minor Threat.
I like a lot of Visual Kei stuff also like malice mizer, hide, dir en grey also but more for their visuals than the music tbh. Really there’s a lot of music that’s really important to me still, but I don’t think it filters into my music, which is a good thing. If someone has done something better than me I don’t feel the desire to do what they’ve done already, I try to learn from it.
I feel like movies, images and games influence me a lot more than music as well, I spend a lot of time looking through art books.
<CO>
Who are you are listening to at the moment?
<MONKER>
Takagi Masakatsu, Busy Signal, Pa Salieu, CFCF, Ecco2k, AM & Skengdo, Mavado, Jun Togawa, Tommy Lee Sparta
<CO>
How has the internet influenced your style?
<MONKER>
Massively, not just my style but a lot of my life, I wouldn’t have met a lot of my best friends without it or been able to experience a lot of the positive things I have.
I don’t really go to clubs when I’m in Sydney or Manila so most of the music, art and clothes I enjoy I find by just being bored online or friends I’ve met online recommend to me. It’s good for finding new stuff but I think you really need to see and feel and experience real life in all different ways to really make work you believe in.
<CO>
How does creating art help you?
<MONKER>
It gives me guidance, even since I was a kid I’ve been writing graffiti. I don’t know what it is that makes me do what I do. It can be really frustrating at times but I don’t know what I’d do without art and music. It helps me give meaning to drama.
<CO>
What is the significance of the music you included in your mix for us?
<MONKER>
It’s all music that’s really foundational to me, I let all the songs / blends run for most of their length. All the songs or artists in the mix have in some way shaped how I think about making music.
MONKER178 has left #CO
