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MP3 Gwyneth & Monko - Gwyneth & Monko
13 MP3 Songs in this album (52:57) !
Related styles: Country: Alt-Country, Folk: Alternative Folk, Type: Lyrical
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Gwyneth and Monko are on the move in more ways than one. They‟ve spent the majority of 2010 on the road, touring to support Good Old Horse, their first EP together. In the thick of that flurry of activity, the duo carved out a month to write and record demos for their new album at their home studio. Amidst tours to the Southwest and Northwestern US, they were then able to fit in time to record at Old School Studio in Northern California. The new self-titled album, due out in early 2011, will reflect the style the pair have cultivated on the road: somewhere between folky acoustic and indie rock. Fans of their previous record will still find their sound still heavily influenced by old-timey and Americana. They‟ll also be treated to the lyrical stories, Gwyneth‟s vocal style and Monko‟s intricate instrumentation they‟ve grown to love. “We both play an array of instruments that we didn''t play on the EP,” says Gwyneth. “There will be electric guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass and drums. We are really excited to have time to explore and get the sounds we want.” Their new work will bring them out of the folk mold to appeal to a larger audience, while keeping true to their musical roots.
With a voice that invokes Jenny Lewis‟ solo work crossed with the intimate folk of Gillian Welch; Gwyneth Moreland strums her guitar in subtle chords while Michael Monko accompanies her lyrical stories with trickling mandolin, steady acoustic guitar and folk accents. Gwyneth & Monko sound as if they come from classic country roots, perhaps off a farm in Tennessee, but it‟s northern California they call home.
Good Old Horse, Gwyneth and Monko‟s debut EP, is full of earnest folk sentiments that ring with purity. Lyrics lace together fictional female characters, while the down-home style mirrors the musi-cians‟ earnest lives stemming from their childhood into young adults and touring musicians. Kevin Gustafson of Blogcritics says of the EP and the pair, “Gwyneth and Monko focus on having the essentials: a singer with a moving voice and an amazing musician in Michael Monko.”
Gwyneth‟s lyrics and musical style reflects her small town life in Mendocino, CA (population 1,006), a city rich of nature and history. “My parents moved to Mendocino in 1972 after graduating from Stanford University, where they fulfilled their dreams of living in the „back-to-the-land‟ way and raising their five children,” affirms Gwyneth. As a child, Gwyneth grew up in a household with no TV, CD player or junk food. That lifestyle resulted in a young woman who values the simple things in life. Growing up listening to her parents‟ Bob Dylan and Joan Baez albums, her childhood has clearly translated into her adult musical life. Ironically, although there was no television in her childhood home, Gwyneth‟s aunt was Donna Reed (of The Donna Reed Show).
Monko grew up in the San Francisco suburbs, incongruously playing hard rock while listening to bluegrass in high school. As he got older, alongside the bass and guitar, Monko was drawn to classic folk and country instruments like the fiddle, banjo, and mandolin. Monko enrolled in Berklee College of Music online to continue his studies in theory, harmony and music production. It was as he was defining his folkier side, that fate stepped in and he met Gwyneth. He was an instant complement to Gwyneth‟s voice and lyrics with his Americana instrumentation.
Monko and Gwyneth formed as band after the 2009 release of Gwyneth‟s solo album Wishbone. When she was getting ready to tour for Wishbone, she searched for a backup band and fortune gave her multi-instrumentalist Monko. Almost immediately upon touring, the pair began writing music together. “The first time I heard Gwyneth sing, I knew she was special,” beams Monko. “I could only dream of playing with such talent.” Monko‟s musical past consisted of playing both heavy rock songs and bluegrass, which when blended together turned out to be the perfect complement to Moreland‟s earthy and classic country vocals.
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