Interview with MONORAL

The night before their concert in Paris, MONORAL took some time to answer our questions about their shows in Spain and France, as well as their Via Latin America Tour 2008. Sponsored by JaME, the tour went from November through December of 2008 and took them to Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Anis spent part of his childhood in France and answered some of our questions in French, so we indicated which language he used for each answer.


Hello, could you please introduce yourselves to our readers who don’t know you yet?

Anis: (in French) I am the vocalist for MONORAL, Anis, and this is Ali.

Ali: I play bass.

Since your last interview with JaME, your album Via has been released. How would you describe this album?

Anis: (in French) Actually, it’s a pretty colorful album, I think. There are some old songs that we’d composed when we were making Turbulences, and there’s also new material. I think it’s a mix, it’s a little of everything we’ve done from In Stereo until now. It doesn’t have strong colors like In Stereo or Ammonite. It’s a little like a mixture from those albums.

Ali: Like he said, (laughs) we wanted to do a candy pop album. I think we were able to do that.

We can see an evolution from Turbulences to Via. What were your inspirations for this album?

Ali: For Turbulences, we focused on making an album that would be different from our other albums. We wanted to really make different songs and give new feelings. Via is different from what MONORAL usually does. I think it’s a mix of everything we’ve done until the present.

Anis: (in English) That’s actually what I said earlier. (laughs)

Ali: Oh, right, that’s what you said in French. (laughs)

Anis: (in French) I think we were really inspired by the concerts we’d done. We wanted to put in our album the essences of different countries, even those we hadn’t been to yet, like Costa Rica. We wanted to do an album that’s really described by “Via” (“Voyage”), something that could bring us to other continents to do concerts. That’s what happened before! We released the album, and then we went to America, Mexico and South America, and here we are in France, and we also played in Spain.

Ali: I agree completely. (laughs)
(Note: He doesn’t understand a word when Anis speaks French.)

It seems in your musical approach, there is a sense of disorientation, a desire to create a strange universe far from what we know. Is that intentional? What do you want us to feel through your music?

Anis: (in French) It’s not really intentional. I was born in England and I’ve been to many continents. I think we try to make music that’s natural for us. We don’t try to do something difficult or easy. That’s why I sing in English, it was more natural for me because I listened to a lot of songs in English. I wasn’t born here in France, but I lived for thirteen years in Paris anyway. I listened to French songs, but mostly songs in English. And then, it was really just easier for us to write lyrics in English because Ali speaks English too… Really, it was easier for us to do it that way when it came to making music.

The sounds you play are a mélange of many different styles. Some are progressive, some are ethnic, and everything mixed with rock. How did you come to create such a universe? How does the writing of those songs come about?

Ali: I don’t know if it’s as big as that, in terms of music. It’s a little like for a writer, everything he hears and reads influences his writing. Even if there are kinds of music that don’t touch us directly, they have an impact on our songs. So I don’t really think it’s that extensive compared to other groups. MONORAL has, in some way, a direction we’re striving for. We’ve tried to do something that hadn’t been done before and something that was exciting for us at the same time.

What are your musical influences?

Anis: (in French) It’s a little of everything. I think Ali and I have heard everything and nothing at the same time. When I was younger, I listened to the Jackson 5 a lot, when I was around five years old, and everything that was sort of danceable. Before high school, I listened to the hits, like everyone else, whatever was in France, really everything. He did also, he listened to lots of songs. (in English) What did you listen to?

Ali: I listened to mostly old songs. I love Radiohead. They’re really a surprising group. I’ve been able to see them grow as a group from their first album and their first concert in Japan. It’s fascinating to see a group go from nothing to being so well-known today. What’s good about them is their music isn’t commercial at all. They really make artistic music and they achieve commercial success anyway. That’s something very rare, and it’s what I really respect about them. There are other groups who make true, good music, but they don’t become so successful. And Radiohead likes Jeff Buckley (American musician who inspired Radiohead).

For Halloween last year, you participated in a VAMPS concert. How did that go? What were your costumes?

Ali: You were dressed as a nurse, right?

Anis: (in French) Yeah, I think so, yes…(laughs) We did three Halloweens actually, ours and two with VAMPS. Ali was Amy Winehouse with VAMPS and I was a samurai. They say we played as MONORAL, but we did a kind of cirque du soleil. I was a unicorn, dressed all in white. It was crazy.

So, you didn’t get a real horse on stage like you wanted?

Anis: (in French) I wanted to but it didn’t happen. So instead I had a unicorn. (laughs) A real horse would be pretty difficult, but maybe this year or next year, who knows…but I think that would be so great, to have horses in a concert, that’s classy.

Indeed! In December 2008, you did your first tour in South America. What were the best and worst moments for you during this tour?

Ali: I can’t say there were particularly difficult memories, but just to say something, I’d say the worst moments were when we were moving from place to place, which was difficult because of the quantity of baggage and material we had to take. And moreover, the bags were limited by weight, as well as mixed together. We did about three transfers a day and for some reason, it took us thirty hours to get to Brazil from Mexico. We had to pass the US, to Santiago or somewhere….That day was a real nightmare. But apart from that, it was an amazing experience for us. It was the first time we had the opportunity to perform outside of Japan and have an audience listen to our new songs. It was really exhilarating to experience that.

Anis: (in French) I liked the arrivals. As soon as we arrived somewhere it was nice, we met new people and made new friends. The part that wasn’t cool was when we had to leave. We got so attached to the people we were working with and the people who came to see us. More than anything, it was really hard to leave Brazil because we’d stayed there for ten days. The Brazilians were in charge of the tour and we were with them everywhere – in Chile, in Mexico and Brazil, really everywhere. We had a month with them. It was a little sad to come back. The people were so enthusiastic, they knew all the songs and sang along with us. It was moving.

Were you surprised by anything during this tour?

Anis: (in English) I was surprised by a lot of things. I don’t even know how people knew about MONORAL. We were the first Japanese group to play in so many cities over there. Lots of people came, they knew us, they sang with us, they created the atmosphere and they also cried. It was really incredible.

Ali: Actually, everything was nothing other than a surprise.

We heard your concert in Monpellier was canceled and you did an improvised acoustic concert in a bar. How was that night and the meeting with your fans?

Ali: We felt really bad for our fans because of the cancellation. It was the morning of the concert when we learned it would be canceled. We really wanted to do this concert because there were people who came from all over the world, and for the Montpellierans. We didn’t know when we would be able to return, so we really wanted to do it. I’m glad we did something anyway…

Anis: (in English) We are really irritated with those responsible for the cancellation of the concert in Montpellier! (in French) We knew there were people waiting for us, people from Montpellier, and also people who came from Normandy, Japan and Taiwan. There were a bunch of people who came to see us play. It was really irresponsible to cancel like that. I was really happy we were able to do something. There were musicians from Montpellier who came to see us, and they helped us find a cafe with a terrace where we could play. Some people brought us acoustic guitars, as we only had electric instruments. And they brought the amps. But we wanted to be sure that everyone who should've been at the concert that night would be there. The venue was in an isolated place, so we left a poster there to tell people. We took our car and brought people who didn't have a ride, so we'd be sure everyone got there. It was probably better that way because we were able to talk to people. We did the same thing in Paris yesterday because we were going to play on May 3rd, but the date was changed to May 5th. There were a lot of people who couldn't make it on the 5th. We knew we couldn't play like we did in Montpellier because it's not so easy to do in Paris as it's so heavily populated. I'm not glad the concert was canceled, but it gave us the opportunity to meet people and talk. It wasn't so bad in the end. It could have been worse, if we didn't meet the people in Montpellier and Paris!

The night of your concert in Montpellier was the 1st of May. That day in France, it's our custom to give people lilies. Did any of your fans offer you some?

Anis: (in English) Right, you give lilies on the 1st of May, I got a few. It's a symbol of luck.

(We hand them each a lily.)

Anis: (in English) Wow, super! Thank you very much.

Ali: It's for luck, right? We'll need it for this tour, I think. (laughs) Thanks.

Today you come to the end of your first European tour. How was it?

Ali: To tell you the truth, we had a lot of cancellations this tour. It was a first for us. As a musician, it's very frustrating to have concerts canceled because we came here to play. When a concert is canceled, we can't release our energy. It's not like we were here on a vacation. Certainly the cities are beautiful and we had time to visit them following cancellations, but it was really frustrating to be unable to play. We are going to make sure in the future that this isn't repeated, and I personally want to make sure it never happens again. Having said that, it was the first time for me to come to Spain and France. It was really very beautiful. I'd always wanted to come to Europe but never had the occasion to. It's like a dream coming true. The next time we come, I hope it will be with a better use of time. We hope to do more dates.

Anis: (in English) What he means to say with that is to the people responsible for the cancellations: "Fuck you very much." (laughs)

Ali: At the same time, I feel very responsible for the cancellations because ultimately we couldn't appear before the public. We have to learn from these experiences to make sure they don't happen again.

Anis: (in French) We'd really like to do a good tour with a few more dates. We are really sorry to the Spaniards because the concerts in Vigo and Gijon were canceled. The day we were to leave for Vigo, we learned of the cancellation, so we were still in Madrid and couldn't get there. We couldn't do anything and we couldn't do a meeting with the fans, like we did in Montpellier. It was really a shame.

All of these cancellations haven't discouraged you from returning?

Anis: (in French) No, no, on the contrary, they've actually motivated us more. What we're doing now are tours where we are invited to come. Our production house made agreements with them. It was mostly those who invited us who made the plans. I think we willingly rushed to do a tour that was not necessarily well organized. After what’s happened, we will really have to make the preparations to come. There are some Japanese groups who do the organizing themselves, but we’ve never done that. We’ve been waiting for the chance to come. In the future, we’ll do more planning and if there are people who read that and want us to come, we’ll work with them directly. It’s really my dream to do a good tour, and do good concerts that are well organized. In Montpellier, we talked about that and said we’d get our revenge next year.

You also suffered a lack of publicity.

Anis: (in French) It was even anti-publicity. They did everything they could to cancel the lives. I have the impression that they did everything wrong to impede us and the people who came to hear us. That’s really the impression I got, and it really disgusted us and our people in general. We did everything we could to have things run normally.

Do you have any anecdotes from this tour you could tell us?

Anis: (in English) I think we drank a lot during this tour. There wasn't a single day when we didn't drink.

Ali: Yes, from the start of the tour, Anis was drinking like there's no tomorrow. (laughs)

Anis: (in English) Because of the cancellations. But after that, no.

Ali He passed the limits and that ended pretty pitifully, actually.

Anis: (in English) From the first cancellation, I wasn’t able to really appreciate the days that followed. They were very, very sad days. I drank a lot to forget.

Ali: Paris is a city he’s lived in, but I’ll say again, it’s very beautiful. I visited a museum.

Anis: The Louvre.

Ali: Yes, the Louvre. I’d always wanted to see it. We spent three hours there. It was fascinating, and I really enjoyed every moment of the visit. I am sure I’ll never forget this trip.

Anis: (in French) We walked around the Champs Elysées and went up in the Arc de Triomphe. We saw Paris from above. Tonight we’re going to the Eiffel Tower, it’s more beautiful in the evening.

Ali: Spain was really nice also. There were all kinds of landscapes in Spain. Barcelona was really interesting.

Anis: (in English) I really liked Granada.

Ali: Me too, I wish we could have stayed longer to see the city.

Anis: (in French) The first three days, it was really hell. We were moving all the time, we spent only one night in each place. I would have preferred to stay longer, it’s a shame.

And how did you find your European audience?

Ali: The audience was different at each concert. At the beginning of the tour we played with Niños Mutantes. A good number of the audience came to see them. I think a lot of them didn’t know who we were. It was really good because we’d never had the chance to play for people who didn’t know who we were at all. I felt like the concert unfolded very naturally and we got a good response. Like the countries in South America, their spiritual state is very musical. They were there really for the music, and for me, that’s great. As for France, we unfortunately haven’t played here yet. (laughs) I’m really eager for tomorrow to come.

Now for some more personal questions. What do you have on your MP3 players?

Anis: (in English) What songs do I have on it? I have a ton! The first on the list is A-Ha and the last is ZZ Top. (laughs)

Ali: I have a lot on mine. I have some new stuff specifically for this trip: Desiree Jones, whom I don’t like at all, (laughs) the last Depeche mode, very cool. What else did I put on there? I also have Silver Apples, a progressive band from the ‘60s which I listen to during specific moments. Akira and Daigo, our guitarist and drummer, were completely passed out one night and I put this music near their ears. I think they had nightmares because this music is crazy. I put it on here especially for them. Aside from that, I have some old classic singles.

Which album have you listened to the most in your life?

Ali: Which album have I listened to the most? I wonder…

Anis: (in English) When we make a song, we listen to it hundreds of times until we decide what to mix. To say one album name, I have no idea. I actually listen to cassettes more than CDs.

Ali: He’s really a classical fan, he’s heard everything a million times. The CDs I bought the most, because I kept breaking or losing them, are Radiohead CDs, and there are others, I lose my CDs a lot.

Anis: So do I, I lose them all the time.

Ali: I have eight copies of an album but not one of them has a CD inside! (laughs) That’s why I have to keep buying them. (laughs)

Of your own music, what is your favorite song?

Ali: What would it be…

Anis: (in English) It changes all the time!

But at the moment?

Anis: (in English) What would be really special for us is a perfect song.

Ali: It would be a good opportunity for us, we have to be very proud of how the song was created, a song that arrived at a good moment and describes the atmosphere well. We hope it has not been made yet.

Do you play video games?

Anis: (in English) I haven’t played any in a long time!

Ali: He loves video games. I don’t like to play with him because the most important thing for him is winning. There’s no “having fun together.” It’s all in the victory.

Anis: (in English) That’s just how I have fun. It destroys peoples’ motivation to play with me. I haven’t played in a while, three years now. I usually play sports games – football, golf, and also horror games. And I failed certain levels of "Resident Evil" and "Metal Gear." I economize, when the time comes to return to it, I’ll get myself into it again.

Ali: When I play video games, I get hooked and it ruins my life. When I was around thirteen or fourteen and the first Nintendo game came out, I did nothing but play that for months, and I said to myself, “Crap, I’m wasting time.” That’s why I don’t play except on special occasions.

What are your future projects?

Anis: (in English) To do a super European tour (laughs) “Peace!” I imagine it well organized.

Are you working on a new album?

Anis: (in English) Yes, we’re always writing music. As soon as we have a good song, it will be released. We were sluggish after the first release, but now we push ourselves to put out new albums. At the moment we’re concentrating on writing music.


JaME would like the thank Anis and Ali for their generosity and the time they gave us. We also thank Jason for his energy, his availability, and for making this interview possible.