1. What inspires or has influenced your music the most?
The whole progressive rock period of the ’70s is the obvious genesis (pun intended) for our music but that’s just the basis for it. Playing in a alt-rock band certainly did rub off as well, so there’s a bit of a’ 90s guitar vibe in there too. And then the Alcest worship, of course. The song Helios/Flight To The Moon is me unabashedly getting my Alcest on, without the Elvish vocals.
2. What do you love about making music?
The never-ending quest to create and recreate that always too fleeting feeling of near-ecstasy when you play those perfect notes with the perfect accompaniment. In simpler terms, as John “Hannibal” Smith from the A-Team would’ve said if he was in a band, “I love it when my band comes together”.
3. What do you hate about the music industry?
The fact that as an instrumental (strike one) progressive rock (strike two) band, I’ll never be able to get far enough in the industry to hate it as much as the people who are in it do.
4. What can a punter expect from your live show?
Some crazy jams, the greatest drummer in the world, one barefoot guitarist and occasionally there are a few surprises as well. Last gig we played at The Gasometer Hotel we were joined by the guitarist from The Pachyderms and played a second set consisting of only Frank Zappa songs. It was frickin’ awesome! We’ve also been known to cover The Smiths in our own weird, vaguely proggy way.
5. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be and why?
Conveniently a lot of my musical heroes are still alive. I’d say Frank Zappa but he would absolutely tear my music to pieces (as he did most people’s) so…Robert Fripp of King Crimson. To fulfill this questions quota, I’d travel back to the 1973-4 Fripp-Wetton-Cross-Bruford lineup – one of my favourite periods of the band. I feel like even if he didn’t like my
stuff he’d be really polite about it and appreciate the effort and lengths of which I went in order to show him the music, particularly given he’s still alive at the present time.
6. If your music was a chocolate bar, which one would it be, and why?
Some sort of delicious, multi-textured treat that’s epic in scope. So one of those giant Toblerone bars.
7. What makes you happiest about what you’re doing?
The fact that I can get an album under my belt before I turn 21, the fact I’ve got a group of people willing to play the music I’ve written regardless of how insane it ends up being, and the fact that two artists I really enjoy (Phideaux from the band of the same name and Lars from the band Wobbler) have both sent encouraging messages about my music. It’s awesome.
8. Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them?
Sure do! Daybreak is our self-funded debut album, recorded at Head Gap Studios in Preston. You can grab it from our bandcamp (montresor.bandcamp.com) or from Polyester Records, Smoke Dreams and Collector’s Corner – all record stores around Melbourne.
MONTRESOR play The Prague this Friday June 29 supporting HUSK alongside Our Best Laid Plans and Red Sky.
