Combining a love of camp horror b-movies and avant-garde electronica, producers Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling are Sheffield-based trip-hop duo I Monster.
The pair scored a major international hit with their mesmerising debut single "Daydream in Blue". The Top 20 track was released in 2001 and has been used in a wide variety of film and TV scores.
I Monster’s career has seen the release of five albums, including best-seller Neveroddoreven (2003); recently, the Sheffield-based band have enjoyed a resurgence after their track “Who Is She?” was rediscovered by the TikTok generation, now reaching a staggering 45 million Spotify streams and counting.
Gigantic Tickets was lucky enough to chat to I Monster about their inspirations, their return to the limelight, and their upcoming headline shows later this month.
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How did you first meet and get started as I Monster?
We first met in the record/CD section of Sheffield Central Library. We were introduced by a mutual friend. We were both probably looking at electronic music CDs. Anyway, we were both starting out making electronic music with small studio setups, so we decided to get together and make some sounds. This was the very early 90s where the universes of electronic and typical guitar bands were merging. Exciting times.
The late 90s onwards saw a massive burst of creativity in electronic music, with many underground acts becoming huge. Who were your inspirations back when you were first getting started, and who are you listening to now?
Jarrod: As we said earlier, the big influence for us, (certainly for me) was the emerging bleepy techno scene/electronic scene in the early 90s. Early Warp releases plus similarly bleepy records on Network etc. I still buy a lot of contemporary Warp releases, plus loads of stuff on Brainfeeder, which is great.
Dean: My first conscious exposure to electronic music was when my older brother bought a 7-inch copy of Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn” in the early 1970s. I was around 9 years old at the time. I realised it sounded very different from other music that I had heard before. I loved that it was futuristic. It fitted with my love of sci-fi TV shows like The Time Tunnel and Star Trek.
The next key moments for me were electronic disco, (“I Feel Love”) and then the emergence of Mute records with artists like Depeche Mode and The Normal, but the big one for me was Fad Gadget. Blancmange were also a favourite. I bought my first synth, a Moog Prodigy in 1981 or 82.
Most will recognise you from your hit single “Daydream in Blue” which has met with massive commercial success. Have you ever been surprised to hear where your biggest anthem has turned up?
Jarrod: I remember my brother-in-law saying it was used to great effect on the highlights of the day at Wimbledon that same year. I didn’t see it though as I’m not into tennis! It’s been used on loads of stuff since then. It’s still nice to hear it getting out there to the world.
Dean: It was a very pleasant surprise to hear the track used on many TV ads and shows. And weirdly it's still getting used 20 years on, which is great.
Where have you guys been for the past 15 years, and what have you been up to?
Jarrod: Various musical projects. The last I Monster album was Bright Sparks, which was a concept celebrating the original synthesiser inventors. I’ve been working on my psychedelic/prog band Regal Worm and Cobalt Chapel with Cecilia Fage, who worked with Matt Berry and the Maypoles.
Dean: Along with Bright Sparks there were also a few digital-only I Monster releases. “Swarf” and “Rare”, compilations of unreleased tracks, and also a HP Lovecraft-themed EP called A Dollop of HP. They can be found on all good streaming sites.
I've also had other projects such as The Moonlandingz with Adrian Flanagan and some Fat White Family chaps, The Eccentric Research Council with Adrian and Maxine Peake, International Teachers of Pop with Adrian and Leonore Wheatley from The Soundcarriers, Acid Klaus with Adrian, Frogman with my mate The Supreme Vagabond Craftsman, The Sound of Science concept album for children made with my mate Kevin Pearce. Production of The Human Leagues Credo album with Jarrod. Production of a band called Pale Blue Eyes. Writing and production with the great Hannah Hu. Production with I Speak Machine. Plus various bits of mixing and mastering... phew...
And what’s it like to wake up and find you’re suddenly a TikTok sensation?
That is weird and exciting! It's totally new to us, who aren’t savvy with the ways of the younger generation!
It's great to have “Who Is She” finally getting some exposure. We thought it was a great track when we made it all those years ago.
The cheekily titled Who Are They? Tour is your first run of shows in 18 years. How do you feel returning to the stage after all this time? Are you excited to play live once again or is it a daunting prospect?
Daunting at first, but we are a few shows into the tour so we’re getting the hang of it now! We’re a bit better organised than before. We have a great crew of people helping us.
Your comeback single “The Weather” certainly has an eerie quality. What was the inspiration for your new track about?
That was a track that we started at the time of Neveroddoreven. It wasn’t finished and when we decided to reissue the album as a deluxe package, we dug the old DAT tapes out. We worked from that and added our contemporary zest to it. The Weather lyrically is kind of an obvious look at the state of the climate. The end part, minus the weather lyric, originally appeared as “Big End” at the end of the original album.
From taking your name from a Peter Cushing movie to featuring on the intro credits to Shaun of the Dead, there are a lot of attachments between you and horror films. Which are your favourites, and do they feed into your music?
Jarrod: We are both of the age of growing up with Hammer horror double bills that were shown on TV in the late 70s and 80s. I actually prefer a lot of the oddball films that were made by rival film companies. The portmanteau films of Amicus, weird stuff like Death Line, Horror Express, Tombs of the Blind Dead and so on. We both love sci-fi as well. Anything odd that isn’t mainstream.
Now that you’re back, what have I Monster got in store for us in the future?
After this tour—new album!
📆 Tour Dates:
- Friday 21st June 2024: I Monster - The Leadmill, Sheffield
- Saturday 22nd June 2024: I Monster - Rich Mix, London
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