Norwegian Alt Rock Band MONALIA are out with their second single HTLT from their upcoming album. Dark but catchy, this new single is the perfect companion on a dark autumn night, with its gloomy, melancholic and yearning soundscape.
The band has created their own, unique genre, called mountain surf, influenced by the 60s pop and the British underground scene from the 80s and early 90s. At the same time a lot of the inspiration comes from the beautiful mountains of Telemark, where the founder of the band, Terje Halmrast, has his roots. HTLT is an acronym for "Hate This Lukewarm Thing", and is about breaking up with whatever it is that drains you of energy and time. How you are better off following your dreams and what you really want to do in life, says Terje who is also the songwriter. "We believe that doing things half way is not constructive in the long run. Do you dream about going all in with something you really love doing? Only a few dare to do that, but those who do dare may get a richer life", the guitar player Svein Petter Nilssen adds.
The inspiration for HTLT is rooted in Terje Halmrast's own experiences: "At the time when I wrote the song I had a job that I didn't like, and it was taking all my energy and zest for life. I just wasn't able to put my heart and soul into it, and felt that everything I did there was halfhearted. It slowly ate me up from within, and I felt the need to get away and do something completely different" he says. "Even though it was scary to quit my job and follow my dream, I haven't regretted it for a second. I think we can all get better at listening to our gut feeling, even when it's trying to push us out of our comfort zone", he concludes.
Monalia has created a floating soundscape that invites the listener to let go of the worries of everyday life, and let your mind wander into the world of dreams. Allow yourself to get carried away and enjoy the seductive harmonies of Monalia. HTLT was produced by Morten Øby and is out now on all digital platforms, e.g.:
Monalia is an Oslo-based band, with deep roots from the mountains of Telemark. Monalia is about longing; about getting away from all the worries and disappointments in everyday life, to a better world inside, where the greatness, the peace and the savagery of nature slowly gets painted out in the songs.
Some of his their biggest influences are popmusic from the 60s, with its melodic and catchy melodies, and music from the british underground scene through the 80s and the 90s, with its floaty, psychedelic, introverted soundscape.
In May 2015, Monalia released their first single, My Little Lies, on the Norwegian label, Ghost Town. The song got air time on the biggest radio stations in Norway, and was playlisted on German radio, as well as recieving a lot of good reviews in international music blogs. Their debut EP with the fitting title, Waited All Too Long, which was released in May 2016, also got regularly airplay on Norwegian national radio and many good reviews in different music blogs.
After the EP-release their time has been spent playing a number of concerts in Oslo and the East part of Norway. The highlight so far was a festival called «Festivalen Sin», where the band shared stage with some of Norway's biggest artist, Stein Torleif Bjella, Enslaved and Greni. Monalia has been in the studio since February 2018, recording their first full-length album. The first single from their upcoming album, Want To Be A Star is out now with more tasters from the new album to come, with several single-releases during this fall and winter. The album will be released in April 2019.
Links
Official: www.monalia.no
Facebook: www.facebook.com/monalia.band
Label: www.negativevibe.net
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Progressive Rock & Progressive Metal - E-Zine
