VIDEO: Rekord speaks to uber-cool Pretoria band, The Lectric Monks
Meet Pretoria's funkiest group of talents.
If you drive through the streets of Pretoria and hear a bit of funk, with a teaspoon of rock and a pinch of folk music to the mix, you might be listening to the city’s grooviest band, The Lectric Monks.
The Pretoria-based band was formed in 2014 with a sound that leaned more towards a “bluesy-gypsy-jazz” folk. Since it has dabbled in a “rootsy rock ‘n’ roll” sound, but today is proud mixture of a variety of sounds and genres.
If you wondered where the name The Lectric Monks comes from, you might be surprised.
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“The Electric Monk is a character from a Douglas Adams novel, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. He is, in essence, a labour-saving device – just like a toaster toasts bread for you and a washing machine cleans your clothes for you, the electric monk believes for you,” says the band.
“In the story, the monk is dysfunctional and is able to believe everything in a world of infinite possibilities. We believe that same applies to what our band strives for, unconditional belief.”
The band comprises a mish-mash of talents with “Gary an architect, Francois a furniture designer and architect, Cynthia a piano instructor, Dylan a guitar teacher, Duncan a drum instructor and Henk a broker by day”.
“Most of us are from small towns across South Africa, with Duncan and Dylan born and bred Pretoria ‘boytjies’, but we all call the Jacaranda City home, and intend to stay here for the foreseeable future.”
Though The Lectric Monks has been spreading its groove for only about four years, it has in turn made sweet sounds with some of South Africa’s biggest talents.
“We have been very fortunate to have shared the stage with incredible and legendary local acts such as bra Vusi Mahlasela, BCUC, BOO!, Francois Van Coke, Die Heuwels Fantasties, Taxi Violence and ISO. On our album, we worked with the amazing Femi Koya whose sultry saxophone has been taking South Africa by storm.”
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Asked what their biggest hopes were for The Lectric Monks, the band members say not only did they want to produce and release interesting music with ‘lectic’ soundscapes, “but we also want to redefine how musicians operate in the music industry, with regards to stage performance, interactivity and of course, #lectriclove”.
The Lectric Monks give a shout-out to Rekord readers:
“It is hard to define what the biggest goal is, as this is only a step towards the next one, but we would love to play on international stages all around the world,” they explained.
The past four years have been action-packed, but nothing beats the few precious highlights the band members share.
“We have played some amazing shows at great venues and festivals. This has given us the opportunity to meet some of our heroes in the industry and the ability to see some beautiful places around South Africa. Some of our most memorable shows include Fete de la Musique, Oppikoppi 2016 and Mieliepop 2017.”
The Lectric Monks will be taking to the road to perform at the STRAB festival next month and plan to tour South Africa again very soon.
If you would like to experience the wave of talent and creativity that is The Lectric Monks, be sure to visit Railways Café in Irene, Arcade Empire, Aandklas, African Beer Emporium and Thirst @28 Degrees, among other venues in the city where they regularly perform.
To purchase some of The Lectric Monks groovy tunes, head to Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music or Soundcloud.
See a video of The Lectric Monks performing here:
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