The sounds of Defective Monk encapsulate music all rolled into one angst-driven package, which Defective Monk refers to as “Anger-Techno” with a dash of industrial, techno, electronica, metal, hard rock, and sprinkles of dub, resulting in a truly distinct style.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Defective Monk about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

Thanks for having me for starters… I am a solo artist from one of the mini-Republics around Chicago, and I have ‘self-proclaimed’ my music creations/genre as “Anger Techno” – blending the analog and digital realms of music to create something as unique , yet familiar as possible – fusing the computer base modules with a variety of synths, drum kits with real bass, guitars, keyboards/organs, but still giving it an aggressive presentation of sound, because I will always be a metal head/rocker til I die!

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I was 15 years old when I decided I wanted to do music and work in the I.T. Field, which actually go in hand together, especially in this day and age. I have always been a realistic dreamer, because I knew then the average salary of a true professional musician, is not the kind of money I wanted to live off of… so why not do both? Makes more sense to have a career that can fuel the other career, which is essentially what I do – this is from the financial perspective of course, and a particular standard of living I like to live.  As far as the music artist perspective, I have been in at least 3 bands (recording, performing, etc) and learned so much! Probably learned more about business with music than in the I.T. Field actually – but over time… everyone (musicians, fans, trends, industry, technology, etc) has a different idea and perspective as to what they “should/should not” be doing with music, and I just decided to go solo. Simply put, I have nobody to deal with in terms of what I envision and see with my music, along with I don’t need a band anymore (great being an I.T. guy BTW). There is no need to pay anyone else, deal with other egos, listen to music artists who don’t look at themselves or their music from a business perspective, aside from the artistic perspective. So it totally comes down to very low, if not no stress levels – nobody to contend/deal with – get to create what I want to create, without any outside forces to contend with, all at my own leisure. It’s a beautiful thing to do what I want to do, and that keeps me moving forward and pushing on, because I don’t get bored continually creating my style of music. It keeps me focused, adaptive, growing, and happy.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

Well, this is going to be my 3^rd solo release in MAY 2021, and with each release I tend to think of a general theme for each EP/Album. The theme for my upcoming album entitled, “SiN MiNiSTeR”, is loosely based off the Seven Deadly Sins in Catholicism/Christianity (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth). Each song on this album deal with at least one or more of these sins, hence the aforementioned album title.  So since I do a theme to each EP/Album release, it dictates/guides my ideas on what instruments I am going to use, plus what types of lyrics/songs I write for the project, to give it an overall continuity to the project/album.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

One challenge for EVERY indie music artist out there is capital, plain and simple. You need money for instruments, equipment, but you especially need the cabbage for marketing (CDs, T-shirts, Advertising, Radio play, and more…). It’s a LOT easier to buy marketing and get Internet radio play these days, but to invest in your own Merch is still expensive, plus to TRULY get the marketing you want is not cheap. You’re going to need hundreds of thousands of dollars easy… to even come a hair close to what the “big boy” record company/labels are spending to get REAL air play.

The second challenge is… How are you going to actually SELL your products/merch/music?   Technology makes it easier to access your digital media and such, which is great… but streaming your music does NOT pay you enough for streaming your music. If you look at it from a completely consumer perspective for example – music listeners who have a premium streaming service, are LESS likely to buy ANY of your music, because they’re already paying for premium streaming package, so there’s no reason for them to buy any music – they’re only going to keep listening to it if it’s REALLY good to their ear AND is a GREAT studio recording. Also, you’re still competing against the “big boy” record labels, who are shelling out a lot of money on playlists and advertising on the streaming services – remember, if you’re doing it as an Indie Artist, the record companies are doing it a 100,000 times more than you on the low end. With that being said, in this day and age, you’re MUCH better off having a physical product (like T-shirts, CDs, custom USBs, vinyl, etc) when you’re performing out or having promo shirts/CDs to hand out to people at your show or at a show you happen to be at, just to get yourself promoted and create a buzz. The “old skewl” method actually works better now, more than digital streaming currently. The only REAL difference is to make sure your music is the BEST sounding music as possible, because nobody wants to hear GREAT music that’s recorded okay, and would RATHER listen to okay music produced and mastered wonderfully.

The third challenge is to try and create music and/or sound that is more unique and “different” than what other major/indie artists are doing out there today. My firm belief is… Never Follow The Crowd – Make music that is going to be different from what you hear with the current “norm” out there. There is nothing wrong with having your favorite influences, but don’t try to become like those artists, because they’re already doing it. Try to get a little niches on your style if possible, while not becoming too “weird” and “out there” with your music, because most fans/listeners do not care for really different/”out there” music. 

What was the last song you listened to?

Aside from my own music, I listened to Testament “Practice What You Preach” and XYZ’s “Face Down In The Gutter” the other day.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Prefer vinyl because I love the sound from it, but use MP3s constantly because it’s so much easier & convenient to deal with, work with, listen to… just because I am on the go or editing/mixing/mastering my music or another artist’s music on a regular basis.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I prefer Spotify, because I don’t have to get a premium subscription/account to listen to streaming music. Otherwise, the rest of the platforms are just tools to have my music available to the public.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

The best place is my “Artist Page” at https://defectivemonk.hearnow.com  This is a one stop shop so to speak, where you can reach out to me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, along with sharing this page to others, AND checking my current discography on platforms (Amazon, Apple, Deezer, Spotify). I also use Bandcamp and Reverbnation as well – You can type Defective Monk in a search or use #defectivemonk #AngerTechno #SinMinisterAlbum on social media.

Anything else before we sign off?

I am very pleased to have given a little detail and depth about myself and how I view things regarding music, technology, streaming platforms, and how I view an EP/Album project. My new ablum SiN MiNiSTeR looks to have it’s official release on May 21^st, 2021, and the current single “Ruled x 6″ is out now on all digital streaming platforms   Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/album/1Re78GyUxEBOEcHvbNtIcY?si=W5CLI3iqQmGnIoFiSkVd9Q 

My new single AND video “Fear Cage” should be released prior to my upcoming album release. My business/company website for Merch (CDs, T-Shirts) is www.aww-mannproductions.com                                                 

Social Media IDs are –  FB: @OfficialDefectiveMonk       IG: @monkdefective      Tweet: @defmnk

I definitely THANK YOU for your time in reading and getting my music out there as well. It is greatly appreciated!  And thanks to ALL you have been able to partake in viewing and reading this interview. I hope it was enjoyable, and was a pleasure to do it. Thank you all again.