Monni () is a South Korean
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band signed to Modern Boy Entertainment. The quintet consists of Kim Sin-eui (vocals), Gong Tae-woo (guitar), Lee In-kyoung (bass), and Jung Hoon-tae (drums). The band formed in 2004 and they released their debut studio album ''First Day, Light'' the following year with their original drummer Song Ju-hwan. Following his departure from the band, Jung was recruited to take his place. The band released its second studio album ''This Moment'' in 2010. In celebration of their 10-year anniversary, they released a compilation entitled ''Monni 10th Anniversary Best Album Fix''.
History
Beginning in winter 2003, Kim Sin-eui, Lee In-kyoung, Song Ju-hwan, and a keyboardist began practicing collectively.
Kim read the word "monni" () in a newspaper and "immediately felt that it fit the image of our band, because the simply truth is, we are all greedy for good music".
He suggested the name to his bandmates, which they all found satisfactory.
Monni was formally established in January 2004. They performed together at Club Sluger for three to four months until the keyboardist quit the band. With Monni's future in limbo, Kim asked former
punk-rock band member Gong Tae-woo to join, which he accepted.
Monni released their debut studio album ''First Day, Light'' in 2005. The lead single "Showers" is a song about death and separation, which is based on Kim experiencing the death of a friend from a disease.
The following year, the band was selected as a "hidden master" and were able to perform at the annual
Ssamzi Sound Festival
Ssamzie Sound Festival was an annual indie music festival held in South Korea since 1999.
The first version of the festival was held in Yonsei University, with 20 local bands performing.
The festival started out as a free one-day-festival, but ...
.
![민트페스타 vol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/%EB%AF%BC%ED%8A%B8%ED%8E%98%EC%8A%A4%ED%83%80_vol.50_Summer_in_the_city.jpg)
After performing at a club in
Hongdae, a representative of Soundholic approached Monni and they signed with the record label.
In 2008, they released their first
single album
''Single Album'' is the fourteenth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX, released on February 26, 2021. It is the band's first studio album in nearly five years, since 2016’s '' First Ditch Effort'', marking the longest gap between ...
''Monni: And,''. In midst of preparing for their second studio album, Gong enlisted in
mandatory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
and the band saw the departure of drummer Song. The latter was replaced by Jung Hoon-tae.
In Gong's absence, the three remaining members began implementing elements of
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
into the songs they crafted.
Monni released their second album ''This Moment'' in June 2010.
After spending seven years with Soundholic, Monni parted from the company in January 2014.
They decided to leave the record label to "create our own music and reinvest our personal passion into songs that we could truly call ours".
Kim established Modern Boy Records for the band to continue its activities.
Monni preceded the release of their fourth studio album with the single "Dotnaeyo" on March 11, 2014.
They released ''Follow My Voice'' and lead single "In the Moment" the following week. They celebrated their 10-year anniversary with a compilation album; three of the twenty-two songs on its track list were decided by the band's fans. Parts one and two were released via
online music store
A digital music store is a business that sells digital audio files of music recordings over the Internet. Customers gain ownership of a license to use the files, in contrast to a music streaming service, where they listen to recordings without ...
s on October 8 and 22, respectively, and the CDs were issued on October 27.
In 2017, Kim made his acting debut in ''
Blue Busking'', winning Best New Actor at the "Golden Cinema Film Festival Award".
Musical style
Musically, Monni is an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band.
Early in its career, Monni's music was noted for its "vibrant, youthful appeal". Their music became "slower" and "more laid-back" over time.
Kim cited indie bands Repair Shop and Cloud Cuckoo Land as his motivation.
He contributes a substantial amount of the band's songwriting and integrates the products his bandmates generate.
Kim's vocals have been compared to
Tom Chaplin
Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer, best known as the lead singer of the English pop rock band Keane.
Early life
Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and ...
of
Keane.
Members
List of members and instruments.
* Kim Sin-eui (김신의) – vocals
* Gong Tae-woo (공태우) – guitar
* Lee In-kyoung (이인경) – bass
* Jung Hoon-tae (정훈태) – drums
Former member
* Song Ju-hwan (송주환) – drums
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Live albums
Extended plays
Singles
Guest appearances
Soundtrack appearances
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2004 establishments in South Korea
South Korean alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical quartets