Premiere: Me & the Monster Emerge with Urgency in Raw, Stirring Self-Titled Debut EP

Me & The Monster display a stunning wealth of creativity and depth in their self-titled debut EP, a powerful indie folk journey into social and environmental issues and beyond.

Stream: ‘Me & the Monster EP’ – Me & the Monster

Every now and then, a band comes around that, put simply, stuns. “Greetings! This is the jungle of my feelings,” sings Me & The Monster’s Andrea Trujillo. “Jump in cold water, and breathe… When the wind blows, feel the call within you Carry your home through the seas.”

This is one of those special moments, and Me & The Monster is one of those special bands. The Berlin, Germany-based four-piece comes from all around the world – its members hail from Spain, Venezuela and Italy – but Nico Uris, Andrea Trujillo, Giulia Mariani, and Niki Comploi have come together over a shared love of music, humanity, and Mother Earth. Me & The Monster display a stunning wealth of creativity and depth of thought in their self-titled debut EP Me & The Monster, a powerful indie folk journey inviting listeners to think critically about our world and the choices we make.

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Me & The Monster, independently out Friday, January 31. The five-track offering arrives on the heals of pre-release singles “Give Me Fire” and “My House,” both of which faithfully capture Me & The Monster’s dynamic energy and evocative sound. Falling somewhere into the Of Monsters and Men camp of rock-influenced indie folk, Me & The Monster utilize heavy, tribal drumming, energetic vocals, ambient guitars, and colorful synths to create unique, head-turning and toe-tapping tapestries.

“Give Me Fire” finds them harnessing deep drumming and light, lilting guitars to weave a driving, feverish outcry for help. Meanwhile, “My House” serves as a perfect EP entrance, telling the four members’ story of meeting and finding kinship in a new and unfamiliar place. Even more importantly, the song encourages listeners to transition away from the idea of “home” as a place, but rather as a feeling – with moving lyrics that tap into what it means to be at home in body, mind, and spirit.

my house is not where I am from,
It’s everywhere a little bit
my house is a living reminder
to change everyday a little bit

Known for their “traditional, earthy, and textured sounds,” (lauramclainsmith.com) Me & The Monster evoke intimate emotions through vast, well-decorated musical landscapes. “The music of the monsters is influenced by a broad scheme of different artists that vary from Ry X to Mumford and Sons, with hints of tribal percussions and the synthesizer world of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein,” the group tell Atwood Magazine. “The EP was recorded throughout the summer of 2019 in several home studios in Berlin, and was produced by Gabriel Augustin in his own house. The musicality of the tracks in the Me & The Monster EP developed to become a combination of powerful drumming and soulful vocal performances, alongside ambient guitars and experimental synthesizer mixes; bringing a new taste of musical flavor.”

Every part of Me & The Monster’s identity is fleshed out with intent, right down to the band’s name: “Me & The Monster describes the modern man and his “connection with the most original part of himself, the subconscious – his monster,” the band explain. It’s the ideal complement for lyrics dealing with social awareness, environmental issues, questions of freedom, and more; a symbol of the clash between the head and the heart, the mind and the body.

Following “My House” is the percussive lyricism of “The Shadow,” the rollicking melodrama of “Here,” and the moodily layered “Colours.” Every track brings new energies to the table, but connecting all five songs is a sense of urgency for unity and causes alike. As Andrea Trujillo so breathtakingly sings in EP closer “Colours” – a song about the bleaching of coral reefs: “It’s in my body, it’s in my bones – I must keep fighting.”

When the storm comes, I dig too deep
and new wounds are opened
And we keep dancing blinded
bleaching your waters

Don’t lose your colours
Don’t lose your colours

From climate change and political tension to inner balance and stability, Me & The Monster cover a beautiful breadth of subject matter in their equally beautiful debut extended player.

Not only do they succeed in introducing themselves to the world, but they also tell us what they stand for — and in truth, we can barely say that about most established acts in the music world. They are more than an artist to watch — Me & The Monster are an artist you need to hear right now.

Experience the full record via our exclusive stream, and peek inside Me & The Monster’s self-titled EP with Atwood Magazine as the band go track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their stirring debut!

Stream: ‘Me & the Monster EP’ – Me & the Monster

:: Inside Me & The Monster ::

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My House

All members of the band come from a different place, with different cultures and very diverse backgrounds. Meeting in Berlin and finding each other, in some way, also meant finding a new home. All migrating humans can relate to the feeling of leaving the place where you grow up to find yourself in a new surrounding. This creates a change in the mentality, not only towards the future but also seeing the past with a new perspective, and in some way losing some of the connection we had to home. This is when home stops being a place, and starts being a feeling.

The Shadow

The shadow was one of the first songs the band wrote, and it’s the most descriptive to the band’s name and main concept: the division of one’s most untouched self, the monster, and the constant chase of the shadow (representing the external influences of society) towards that rawness and the pressure of “growing up”.

Here

In many places, political issues unfortunately end up affecting civilians. “Here” was written with the intention of making people aware of this problem and bringing an end to it.

Give Me Fire

The song is a loud scream longing for help; it’s looking for a light to follow throughout the darkness of cold and terrifying days. The song was rewritten to be adapted to the band’s feeling and musical direction as it developed; it is driven by a strong rhythm and a chorus that leads you to sympathize with the feelings and make you want to sing along.

Colours

After watching the Netflix documentary “Chasing Coral,” the band agreed this was an issue to be brought up. The bleaching of coral reefs is causing the death of ecosystems throughout all the ocean; so the monsters thought: what better way to raise awareness than writing a song about these beautiful pieces of our planet?

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Stream: ‘Me & the Monster EP’ – Me & the Monster

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