If we mention the genre of pop to you who do you think of? Britney? Rhianna? JLS? They are all totally fair answers, as there’s often a lot of mainstream and stardom associated with pop – we often think of the ‘pop star’ – so it’s not surprising those kinds of names come to mind. Unfortunately with that type of star there’s also a lot of elements that are manufactured, in order for the star to be fully propelled into the lucrative limelight. Sadly, in pursuit of the important dollars we notice that a lot of the pop music can suffer, as a stream of similar songs are created and handed out to them by the labels. It homogenizes the genre and puts a lot of people off, save for a large number of 14 year old girls. Hopefully today we can show you an example of a new group that are making proper pop music, with enough integrity and edge to warrant just as much broad attention.
There’s a twist in this story though as two out of the three people behind Monsta are a production duo called Rocky and Rufio, who are perhaps better known as Pegasus. They’ve helped major label artists, such as Gary Barlow and Daisy Dares You, write hits in the studio, so when we talk of manufactured pop, this duo are one of the silent machines in the background who help to spit it out. Another solo artist they’ve previously worked with, called Bryn Christopher, (who’s signed to Polydor), has joined to become the third member of the team. It’s his clean, soulful voice that makes up the trio now calling itself Monsta. This blurs the lines between the manufactured and the genuinely authentic like never before, but what we do know is their music sounds like a sting of hit singles in waiting.
Monsta harnesses the machine-tooled pop of the modern era, but they effortlessly inject the kind of soul that pop’s creators once developed decades ago. Pop wasn’t pioneered by Britney or Rhianna, they simply borrowed lessons from a genre that used to be packed with integrity, especially in the 60s, where soulful hit machines ruled the airwaves, or in the 70s and 80s when sexual synths arrived in the form of Madonna, alongside the dance moves of Michael Jackson. Monsta blend that soulful depth with exciting synthetics, but also add in more contemporary heavy basslines and massive beats. It’s a deadly concoction that should have a big appeal, as what is pop designed for if not to be hugely popular.
The track Destroya begins with a familiar pop production before the beats begin to march in. Bryn’s vocals seem to be sped up from his solo work, giving them an enjoyable styled tweak. It sounds like the kind of tune Justin Timberlake would have loved to get his hands on. Where Did I Go sounds like the missing tune from a Cee Lo Green album, sharing a similar slower pace with Never Ever, which also contains a more urban twist. In fact they share quite a few genes with Gnarls Barkley, so fans of that accessible pop music will adore this. As you would imagine the production is immaculately put together, with masterful touches throughout each of the songs. As if to push home the soulful elements of their music they’ve also covered I Heard It Through The Grapevine to good effect.
The hit in waiting has to be Holdin’ On, which hooks you from the outset. It’s very sample-heavy, like a Pretty Lights tune, but it marries Bryn’s strong vocals over a punchy bassline to wonderful effect. Like a lot of their songs they’re designed for the radio, further proving that we’re dealing with a team that fully understand how to write singles. Because of this we can expect them to be signed up very soon, if they’re not already. Their debut gig is on Tuesday 20th September at The Water Rats in London and with their combined experience we expect a performance to match the polish. Here lies a lesson in not only mixing the right ingredients for commercial success, but utilising those people with the genuine skills in which to deliver them. (MB)
MONSTA – HOLDIN’ ON
MONSTA – DESTROYA
MONSTA – GRAPEVINE (cover)
