Mono (stylised as MONO) are a Japanese instrumental band, formed in 1999 in Tokyo. The band consists of Takaakira “Taka” Goto (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Hideki “Yoda” Suematsu (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Dahm Majuri Cipolla (drums) and Tamaki Kunishi (bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, glockenspiel).
The band have cited a variety of experimental, avant-rock and classical music artists as inspirations but stated that their aim is to transcend genre, rejecting the post-rock label which has often been applied to them. Mono’s sound is characterised by the lead and rhythm guitars of Goto and Yoda respectively, both of whom make extensive use of reverb, distortion and delay effects. The band’s live performances are noted for their intensity, both in the playing and in the dynamics.
Mono has drawn influence from various musical and non-musical sources throughout their career. When the band first formed, their main influences were American experimental rock band Sonic Youth and Anglo-Irish shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, when making Under the Pipal Tree and One Step More and You Die. As the band broadened their musical tastes, starting with the album, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined, they began to be influenced by music from sources such as German classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven, Italian film score composer Ennio Morricone and later Polish minimalist composer Henryk Górecki, among others. Lead guitarist Takaakira Goto has also acknowledged Danish film director Lars von Trier (in particular the 1996 film, Breaking the Waves) as a major influence since the band’s formation, in terms of expressing the different depths and heights of emotion.