Monoke, by John Chantler

Monoke

by John Chantler

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more

1.	I Feel Summer About It 02:40	buy track
2.	Play Play 06:08	buy track
3.	Personal Rock 04:59	buy track
4.	Autu 05:55	buy track
5.	Vendor 06:25	buy track
6.	Parts Plastic 1+2 06:27	buy track
7.	Test Signal 05:29	buy track
8.	Slow Closure 02:14	buy track

about

Based on the rural Japanese island of Shikoku during the making of this album, John Chantler’s Monoke is testament to his time spent there.

An articulate and precisely crafted album, Monoke is a musical exploration of the sounds, textures and rhythms of the everyday life that surrounds him. The record has a reflective and considered tone; the result of many months preparation and dedication.

With a meager amount of equipment, Chantler first stepped into this record in 2001 and set himself the task of creating an album that not only reflected the pace and temperament of his locality, but also challenged his musical methodologies and abilities. A few months passed and his position working at a local school brought Chantler in contact with the school’s music department. Before long his album was reaping the benefits of this new exposure to a wealth of instruments.

Recording hours of source material from the drums kits, melodicas, glockenspiels and keyboards, Monoke’s sonic appearance was directly shaped by the items he found in the school.

In essence Monoke is a detailed blend of melting melodies, shifting rhythms and dreamlike arrangements that form a sonic portrait of Japan. If Hiroshige Utagawa had made his Ukiyo-e prints with sound, pushing his sonic colours through a screen of distance and alienation - perhaps it might have sounded like this.

credits

released July 7, 2003

license

about

Room40

Room40, a beacon of sound...ringing out from the deepest south. Also home to our sibling labels Someone Good and A Guide To Saints.

contact / help

Contact Room40

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Monoke, you may also like:

Spectral
by Madeleine Cocolas

A mesmerizing exploration of stillness, perception, and memory that hangs between ambient and neoclassical. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jul 15, 2022
go to album
After Vacation
by Norman Westberg

“After Vacation” is full of haunting, slowly-unfolding compositions that make the most of texture, atmosphere, and empty space. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 26, 2018
go to album
Cruel Optimism
by Lawrence English

Ominous but never overwrought, English's moody protest music is executed finely here with a cabal of luminaries. Bandcamp Album of the Day Feb 17, 2017
go to album
Material Interstices
by HEXA

Acclaimed ambient artist Lawrence English and Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart plumb the liminal zone between sleep and waking. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 19, 2021
go to album
touched by an angel
by Klein

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 9, 2024
go to album
Everyday Exotic
by Slow Reels (Ian Hawgood and James Murray)

The experimental ambient duo of Ian Hawgood and James Murray complement downtempo beats with meditative electro-acoustic textures. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 4, 2024
go to album
Ocean Garden
by Turn On The Sunlight

featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 26, 2024
go to album