Indie artist gives suits the finger with unique release

  Conglomerated Industries Monc dons a
bulb-headed costume in a scene from the video of "A Life in the Day
of an Alien." The video, as well as five audio tracks, is available
on Monc’s latest CD, "Guilty."

By Chris Moriates
Daily Bruin Contributor

A revolution is coming. Monc can feel it.

The UK-born indie artist is more than ready for something to
come along and turn the current corporate-run music industry on its
head. Not only does he expect it to happen, but he is also doing
his part to start it.

With his second five-track EP/CD-ROM, “Guilty,”
released on his own label, Conglomerated Industries, Monc once
again steps off the beaten-path of the mainstream music industry.
The EP includes a video of a day in the life of a
“lo-fi-cuddly alien” as well as MP3 files of all five
songs, which are ready and encouraged to be freely traded. Take
that Sony and Metallica! 

“Made with no corporate interference,” the green
economy-style cardboard album cover clearly boasts in white
writing. In true guerrilla fashion, Monc fights to carve his own
unique path in the music world.

“The whole structure is so corporate and weighed
down,” Monc said as he sat on a bench at the Sunset
Recreational Pool on a cloudy spring day. “So we decided to
use the Web primarily to get the music out
independently.”

The 28-year-old artist, who now resides in Hollywood, raised
enough money to put out two albums, start his own label and develop
a creative Web site (www.monc.net).

The Web site is as interesting as Monc himself, including a
strange interactive trip to “Planet Monc,”
where a visitor can explore the virtual musical
world and even try their hand at mixing their own Monc
song.

Trying to put a label on Monc’s style of music is like
trying to use a fake ID to get into the 21-and-over bars where he
regularly performs: it can be done, but you sure don’t want
to be caught attempting to do it.

“The English trip-hop style has a big influence on
me,” Monc said. “And then there’s a lot of
’60s sort of guitar bands that I like. I sort of put it
together.”

He claims that his inspirations are anything “that’s
got soul.” When pinned down to name a few of his musical
heroes, he unloads a laundry list ranging from Radiohead and Bob
Marley to John Coltrane.

Originally composing all the songs completely by himself and
hiring studio musicians to record, Monc has now assembled a full
band comprised of American musicians. He will, however, continue to
arrange all the instruments and maintain creative control over his
music.

Armed with a mini-tape recorder in one hand and the steering
wheel in the other, Monc can be seen stuck in L.A. traffic, working
on a new album.

“When I’m driving, I hardly listen to music because
I am always writing it,” Monc said, citing the trip to the
Sunset pool as no exception. “A little tape recorder is the
best way to get down ideas, especially for drum ‘n’
bass type of stuff.”

Currently, he is planning a double-album to be released. Monc
also has plans to tour college campuses throughout the U.S., where
his music has become popular on college radio. Some 200 college
radio stations have added Monc’s first EP, “Virtual
Reality Spacesuit,” to their programming, and the record is
receiving between 600 and 700 spins per week. He will continue to
fight the battle to do things his way and not give in to industry
control.

Monc’s previously unreleased track “Stone” has
been included on the “Memento”Â soundtrack. The
album will be released on May 22 and also features tunes by
Björk, Radiohead, Moby and David Bowie.

“The key thing is to try and keep it as indie as possible
without selling-out,” Monc said. “I’m trying to
feed it into the machinery without losing the autonomy.”

MUSIC: Catch Monc live at the Temple Bar on
June 6 and June 20. The Temple Bar is located at 1026 Wilshire
Blvd. Call the Ticket Hotline for Information at (323)
938-1696.