Vanilla Monk mixes electronic and acoustic influences on their latest release Parallels. Blending down tempo, electronic, soul, and pop, Matt Farr and Craig Stevens deliver this ten track recording for those listeners looking for deep textures and grooves

10 MP3 Songs
ELECTRONIC: Down Tempo, POP: Ambient Pop



Details:
Vanilla Monk's Parallels is the first full album of original music from Matt Farr and Craig Stevens. After working for almost a year on developing rough ideas into sonic art, Vanilla Monk emerges with this ten-song collection. The collaborative process of this album showcases electronic and acoustic sounds that the group is hoping will appeal to a broad audience.

Farr and Stevens have been writing and performing together over the past 5 years around the South Florida area. Performances include numerous appearances at Sunfest, one of South Florida's premier music festivals. After performing live for many years both decided to focus strictly on recording their original music at the end of 2006.

When asked about Vanilla Monk, Farr said, "this is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. Cross the boundaries of musical genres to create something fresh and different. Being able to truly collaborate with Craig and work with great musician friends also brought different ideas and viewpoints to each song every single night.â Stevens says, "We both knew from a young age that we wanted to make this a career and we both knew there was chemistry between our styles of writing and ideas. This experience has been a long time coming,â.

Studio sessions with the dynamic vocals of Audrey Assad and the world class drumming of Matt Crowning, bring the Parallels music to life. Audrey Assad has been making a name for herself to date with her own solo material. Audrey's vocal ability and musicianship played a huge part in the making of numerous tracks on the Vanilla Monk album. "Audrey is a joy to record with. She can effortlessly bring vocal parts and harmonies to life. Not to mention her writing, phrasing, all of which are superb. She also is a good friend, and that makes for a good time regardless,â explains Farr.

Matt Crowning sits in on the drum set for the majority of the tracks and adds his own style to the Parallels record. Matt is one of the leading drummers in pop, jazz and R&B in South Florida today. He has recorded and toured with many up coming artists such as Kerrie Roberts, Alex Bach, and Kyle Cook (Matchbox 20) and is one of the most sought after live and studio musicians in the area. His drumming encompasses a wide range of influences, which can be heard on the album. " The first time we sat down and jammed the material with Crowning, it is then that we heard the potential of this music," explained Stevens.

The mixture of acoustic and electric guitars were added from local guitarists Rich Friedman and Victor Russo. Friedman played venues around South Florida for years with the extremely popular Crazyfingers. "We were so excited to hear Rich record some beautiful acoustic to these tunes. Allot of times it was exactly what the track needed," said Farr and Stevens. Rich Friedman's acoustic is showcased on songs like Blue Days and Daydream.

"One of the biggest challenges of this record was how to tastefully add electric guitar to these songs,â said Farr. Farr continues, "we worked with our good friend Vic Russo on developing the sound into something more than just a guitar coming through an amp, but use it to create textures and ambience. Victor did an awesome job at providing those intricate parts where needed." Victor Russo also is featured on some nice soulful playing on Walk It Alone

Blending down tempo, electronic, soul, and pop, this recording is for those listeners looking for deep textures, melodic vocals, and "down-tempo" grooves.