Oscar [Opiuo] and Albino [Austero] are Sun:monx. As we celebrate their new ep In the Trees it seemed like a good moment to get to know them better. Both are great producers and performers in their own right - together they bring heaps of good vibes and music for the sun…
1/ How did you first get into music ? i.e. where / when and what were your influences ?
Oscar:
Music has been around me since day one. Whether my parents were throwing parties, or my uncle and aunties were jamming out. It's been a part of me. I dove into it myself during my high school years playing in bands and djing at local outdoor festivals. My influences were many, too many, but one festival and collective called The Gathering honestly changed how I saw and experienced music. I was only 14 at the time, but the first one I attended changed my world.
Albino:
I think I was like ten or eleven when I actually started to listen, really listen to music. An older friend from school who played the guitar introduced me to Guns n' Roses, it was 1990 i think and I still remember feeling a bit naughty looking at the art of the cassette portraying a semi naked girl. I was really into it, but It was until the summer of 1992 when it really hit me, I was 12. I was on Brownsville Texas on a holiday with my family, I don't know why but I was walking between towering stacks of Televisions, on this shady appliance store and i remember looking down, to the bottom Tv, there it was, one of the most haunting things i had ever seen in my life, both sonicly and visually, "plush" from Stone Temple Pilots. I couldn't stop watching it, it was like magic pouring into my eyes and something inside me changed forever, at that moment it didn't make much sense but it was definitely a planted seed. One of the most significant single moments that changed my life forever. Influences: Jeff Buckley, The Doors, Rage Against The Machine, Tool, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Guns n Roses, Alice in chains, Blind Melon, Radiohead, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Sublime. I think you get the picture..
2/ Tell us how Sunmonx came to be…
Albino:
After hanging out and sharing Musical creations, Oscar and I started to spend more and more time in the studio, one day he gave me a call and said "Let's do Music together!" and that was it!
Oscar:
We like sunrises, and this is music for the sun. We met at a festival in 2008 and never looked back.
3/ What things do you like best about being based in Melbourne ?
Oscar:
The people, parties, places, faces, spaces. Its a never ending mash of all things awesome, and its gritty charm entices me back every time I leave to tour.
Albino:
Good parties, Good job, Good friends, Good Music, Good food, and very Good coffee!
4/ What simple set up would you suggest for a beginner looking to learn the basics of production and make some tunes ?
Albino:
Powerful computer, I think this is a must. I remember that it was a pain to constantly being unable to keep on working on something because the computer couldn't handle it. Half decent speakers, something moderately acceptable. Half decent audio interface, specially if your recording instruments. A simplified controller, it could be just the keys of the piano, a microphone, and guerrilla soundproofing, old mattress, couches, pillows and just surf the internet to find the best setup for the room your working on.
Oscar:
A good pair of speakers, a good room, and a free mind. Don't make what you think other people want to hear, make what makes you feel good. Confidence takes a long time to master, but the sooner you start being yourself, the sooner you will make it.
5/ What is music to you ?
Oscar:
Everything.
Albino:
Hmmmmmm…. 20 mins later...... To many things in my head to answer. I will say everything. A fuelling tonic that heals the self unknown.
6/ Do you have a current favourite synth or plugin ?
Albino:
Virus ti!!
Oscar:
I live u-he's Diva. An analogue style soft synth. I use it a lot.
7/ What do you listen to when you’re not working on your own material ?
Oscar:
Hiphop, disco, funk, soul, folk, electronica mostly. But it constantly changes.
Albino:
Absolutely nothing, maybe some oldies like Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, super chilled stuff really.
8/ What gives you a burst of inspiration ?
Albino:
Joy or sorrow fueled by morning coffee, also rainy days, or cold weather, [not freezing].
Oscar:
Anything. From travel, to parties, riding my motor bike, to having a cup of tea.
9/ What was your favourite location to perform at this last year ?
Oscar:
At Glastonbury on a giant mechanical spider with fire breathing legs.
Albino:
Japan
10/ What country in the world would you most like to visit and why ?
Albino:
Mongolia, I don't know why but it calls me, its said in some legendary stories of Mexican anthropological Chinese whispers that they were some of our first visitors, before every other country, and you can see it in features of some people that are still not that "westernised" in the hidden untamed Mexico. "No psss quien sabe!"
Oscar:
Iceland. They seem like they got it sorted!
photos courtesy of Rebecca Metamorphograph
