MonoNeon
Hyper-kinetic funk and microtonal bass experiments wrapped in neon-quilted surrealism. High-energy grooves for people who find rhythm in the chaos of the internet.
Hyper-kinetic funk and microtonal bass experiments wrapped in neon-quilted surrealism. High-energy grooves for people who find rhythm in the chaos of the internet.
, known as MonoNeon, is a pivotal figure in the 21st-century evolution of funk and experimental music. Emerging from Memphis, Tennessee, his sound identity is built on a foundation of Southern soul and gospel, mutated by a fascination with microtonality and the avant-garde concepts of John Cage and Stockhausen.
His technical approach is legendary: playing an upside-down right-handed bass allows for unique leverage on string bends, while his use of Indian gamaka ornaments introduces a non-Western fluidity to the funk idiom. MonoNeon's career is marked by high-profile validation, most notably as the final bassist for Prince at Paisley Park, a testament to his 'polyfree' improvisational philosophy. Culturally, he bridged the gap between virtuoso musicianship and internet-age content creation through his viral 'speech-to-bass' videos. Critical consensus views him as a boundary-pusher who successfully reclaimed the 'noise' element of funk, influencing a new generation of genre-fluid artists like Louis Cole and Thundercat.
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