When I got a press email that a band from the UK was playing a free gig in my favourite local Irish pub in Karlsruhe – I thought: “Sure, why not?”. And in my usual manner – without checking out the music first. It’s sometimes a thing I like to do. Just let yourself be surprised.
And boy, was I in for a surprise. I mean I had read the band’s sum up of what they were about, however once the guys on stage started playing, I wasn’t quite prepared.
The band was called Montrell. Four guys from around London. All very different. All very bunched up on the tiny stage. Yet, when they started playing, everything just came together.
It was sort of love at first listen. Lulled into this trance state, the whole pub was sucked in. Those in the back, came to the front to see who was playing. And far too quickly – the set was over. So, should you ever get the chance to see the guys live – I highly recommend you do so.
What made it even more special, was the fact that they even had a support artist with them. Their very own guitar player, Michael Kurtz, who had just joined Montrell not too long ago but also makes his own music. A really nice touch for a usually super casual Sunday evening in an Irish bar.
Being completely smitten by what I was hearing on stage, I knew I needed to reach out to the band. And boom! A few emails later, we have a lovely introductory interview with Jonny P Taylor, lead-singer and guitarist of Montrell.
Wait, Listen To…: Let’s begin at the very beginning. When and how did you guys become Montrell?
Jonny: Well… I met a chap called Danny Monk in a cinema bar in Soho a couple of years ago. He was standing there with very good hair and aura and we clicked… Fairly shortly after that, we were putting music together in a studio. The name is from ‘Montrell Road’ where Danny used to live in Brixton. I wrote it down one day and it just stuck, I guess. I also liked how it looked written down! Danny left to continue audio engineering this year, but he’s still very much a part of Montrell.
Now I know you’ve had some changes from your “original” band member set up. Who’s come and gone? Who’s all in the band now? And has this affected with way you’ve made your music?
On drums we’ve had a lot of change… George Lukas, Ed Broad and Dave Persiva. Genuinely great drummers. Now we have Alex Moorse and he’s really solid. We had Louis Van De Westhuizen on bass, he was a tight player. After him, Sam Delves came along. Sam has been a real rock, in more ways than just bass. Danny and I had been on guitars since the beginning, when he left we gained Michael ‘Mikey’ Kurtz as our new lead guitarist after he saw us at a London show this year… I loved his own music and asked him to come on tour and he has really added something important. But yeah, a lot of change. The impact that has does feed into the music. Such is the way when you want to pursue something, I suppose… so now the band is me, Sam, Alex and Mikey.
Speaking of having an impact. Your music has this wonderful way of blending together some of my favourite lo-fi sounds. (For me personally, some of your tracks even have elements of Tame Impala, The 1975 and even some Beatles/Pink Floyd vibes thrown in there.)
Where do you pull your inspiration from? Is there a particular band/artists that has influenced you while creating music or writing your lyrics?
Haha thanks, that’s really cool of you to say… I’m glad you said Tame Impala — Kevin Parker has become quite staple choice for indie bands to reference, but I think that’s for good reason… I think our new EP sounds like Montrell, haha… I reckon our sound is influenced by not spending enough time together, but then having to produce a result almost spontaneously for an audience and then in the studio.
Now I always find it hard to describe music – or rather – where to place anyone in a certain genre. How would you describe your music in five words?
Sure… yes it is difficult to describe, I suppose because anyone could come along and disagree with you… um, I would say for ours:
Introspective… pop… crunchy… smooth… mellifluous. Is that ok? Haha.
Now: Exciting news – you have a brand new EP coming out, called “The Lemon EP”. It’s your second one… and I just got the feeling that – music wise – this EP is a little more on the uptempo, “happier” side.
Does this mean a change in music marks a new chapter for the band?
Yeah, Glow is definitely more upbeat… I think we’d really like to explore what happens by arranging more songs with the new line up… because what with tour, shows and the build up to Christmas we’ve barely had enough time to do that… yeah, I’d personally like to write slightly more upbeat music next year, I’d have to ask the guys though, haha…
Any favourite track(s) (and why)? Or any stories that you want to share about any of the songs?
Myself, I enjoy playing Aqua with the guys, because it sort of calms me down onstage… I reckon Don’t Stop Me Baby must have pissed off my neighbours when I was writing it, they could probably hear the frustration in my voice I think, haha. I know Alex likes going a bit ‘savage’ as he puts it at the end of Aeroplane. You can really feel that in the live show.
Love the lemon artwork for the EP by the way. Who made it? And why call your EP, ‘The Lemon EP’?
Well, Luca Bowles made it and he’s a cool genius! He really smashed this one. Such an exciting and innovative illustrator… Luca’s from Rome originally. We thought it would be kind of cool to have just a lemon as a cover, maybe kind of Warhol-esque. And Luca is a family friend who I knew had become this great illustrator. So I asked him to draw us just a simple, basic lemon… and we loved it. And then he illustrated that whole video (to Aeroplane) which is so magnetic… the whole idea of the lemon came from the lyric in the Aeroplane chorus which is perhaps a little bit of nihilism seeping out. But only for that song, I think. Luca’s Lemon is fresh in its own right!
So finally, the end of interview calls for my last and final question I always ask (because here, we’re all about recommending other artists/bands): if you could stop anyone on the street right now and say, “Hey wait, you need to listen to…” – who would that be and why?
Sam says: “Saint Jude’s new EP – Understated vocal delivery with expressive lyrics and characterful melodies underpinned by modern hazy electronic beats.”
Mikey says: “Fontaines D.C. debut album, ‘Dogrel’ – They’re unpretentious, really clear guitars and thoughtful lyrics.”
Alex says: “White Denim – Great riffs, really tight band.”
Jonny says: “Matt Maltese – Important writer, great break up songs.”
“The Lemon EP” is out now via Panther Records. Available to stream and download everywhere now.
And make sure to follow Montrell on Facebook and Instagram.
Videos: YouTube
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