Back in July, collaborative duo Analogue Monsta, composed of producer/singer-songwriter Suzi Analogue and producer TOKiMONSTA, treated fans to quite the listening experience with their highly anticipated joint album, Boom. Drawing on their collective background of hip-hop, psych rock, R&B and electronic, the two talented ladies struck a chord with listeners with the presentation of their well-crafted, forward-thinking sound. With the origins of their collaborative efforts dating back to 2010, the release of Boom was a long time coming, yet very much worth the wait. I had the pleasure of catching up with the two busy "eclectic partners in crime" to pick their brains about their debut project and their cross-country collaborative process.
EARMILK: While most EARMILK readers are familiar with your respective solo work, how would you best describe Analogue Monsta’s amalgamated sound?
Suzi Analogue: There's no one way to describe what we've created…it's just the sound that would be created when two hip-hop heads come together who have had some fun experiences sharing music. We don't try to be any one way, we just let the process create the tunes.
TOKiMONSTA: I agree, there is no one way to describe it. It's just the result of all the year's music we've been listening to.
EM. Sonically, Boom sounded like a very conceptualized project. Was there a concrete concept you two had in mind while creating Boom? If so, how was that conveyed in the music and the accompanying videos you two have released?
SA: We just wanted to make something that sounds like us, and the music we are passionate about. The videos were interpretations through other super-talented directors of the music that we had created, and we were open to that.
TM: I believe that out of all of my projects, this was the most conceptualized. It is a combination of Suzi and I, but in a way that is different from our solo work. We really just bonded on our appreciation for some slightly dated styles of hip hop and r&b, and then the rest the project ran with that.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obnC_mPwhr8[/youtube]
EM. I just want to take a second and say the visuals for “Time To” were otherworldly and beautifully executed. Artistically are there any parallels that you personally drew from the video for “Time To” and your latest visual for “Conversion Theory?
SA: Thank you. Both videos were really fun to be a part of. Respectively we're both into design, illustration and photography; so visual inspiration is very centric to our creative process. It's cool to flip the script and not only be inspired on a personal level. but work with other amazing directors to bring new life to the video experience.It's a super free-ing collaborative process, and we've been able to do it together from our bases in Philly and Los Angeles, which is pretty awesome.
TM: Suzi nailed it. Specifically, as far as parallels, both videos are very "other worldly" and slightly cerebral– I believe that describes us in a nut shell.
EM: Lastly, with the success of Boom can listeners expect a follow-up Analogue Monsta project in the future? Also, in regards to your respective solo careers what can listeners expect from you two in the near future?
SA:Analogue Monsta definitely has more life left in it, you never know what we'll do next, but if it has to do with continuing the make good music, we'd like to do that. Individually, I have a new vinyl EP dropping soon with Dopeness Galore.
TM: Yup, Analogue Monsta will keep going because I think people need this music. As far as my solo work, I have a single and video coming out on Ultra Records featuring Kool Keith called "The Force."
Check out Analogue Monsta's Chris Lagarce directed video for their soul infused hip-hop cut "Conversion Theory", a track taken off the duo's eleven track Scion A/V sponsored joint project, and be on the look out for more music from Analogue Monsta, as well as upcoming solo work from both ladies.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TjsLKQNQ4c[/youtube]
