Mike Monday

Mike Monday has consistently stood apart from the crowd. From studying music at Oxford University, to starting one of the early live electronic acts (Beat Foundation) in the 90's with Andy Cato of Groove Armada, to writing a string of underground club hits on his label Playtime, Mike Monday has consistently stood apart from the crowd. As IDJ said, not a week goes by in dance music when you don't hear someone new trying to imitate Monday's trademark sounds. "What Day is it?" was a Berlin anthem, raved about by DJs from Steve Bug to Josh Wink and Mylo to Rob Da Bank. Tooting Warrior hit #6 in the German dance charts. ZumZum was in the Beatport top 10 for weeks. Bhalobashi was a staple of M.A.N.D.Y. sets who included it on their Fabric mix and was described by IDJ as one of the top 100 essential dance tracks of the last 10 years.' Which is why he's been in high rotation as a DJ touring all over the world including headline dates at WMC and Sonar parties alongside pivotal figures such as Claude VonStroke, Jesse Rose, and Tiefschwarz. With his debut album Smorgasbord he continued to develop his own unmistakeable style. An instant classic said Ministry Of Sound.com. Album of the month said IDJ - which also had Smorgasbord on their albums of the year list. An LP we just can't put down said DJ mag. And what he started with Smorgasbord, he has expanded upon with his next album "Songs Without Words - Part 1" due out on Om Records in September 2008. With Smorgasbord I only started to realise the potential of instrumental music as a medium for writing albums, Monday says. Lyrics make music specific but instrumental music can mean completely different things to different people. This allows the listeners to take what they want from the music, making it more personal to them. When I'm writing I always visualise something, but all I give to the listener are signposts or clues in the form of track titles, which I intentionally keep pretty inscrutable. As a result Songs Without Words - Part 1 is impossible to classify. From the emotive and entrancing opener Grace, through to the comical and catchy Bad Wind (With A Touch Of Acid), to the weird and watery I Am Plankton Mike takes us on a journey through a myriad of genres and soundscapes. From house, funk and hip hop to disco, chill out and techno, Mike is at home in any genre and uses them to draw us into his unique musical world. So now he's completed the album what's next? With his monthly podcast "Monday Club", a regular blog "The Unanswered Question", as well as worldwide album tour DJ dates you wouldn't expect him to have much time for anything else. But he has decided to go back to his performance roots and come up with a live show. As Mike says, the music on Songs Without Words needs to be performed live, and I've got some great tricks up my sleeve which I'm desperate to try out in front of a live audience. And after all the years of DJing I'm craving the spontaneity and danger that a truly live show can bring. Forget about a boring laptop set - expect something very different. But then - what else but very different would you expect from Mike Monday? read more read less