Alt hip-hop band Monster Florence release the hypnotic new video for single 'Spaceman' + touring with Professor Green on his April tour
WATCH HERE
ANNOUNCE TOUR SUPPORT w/ PROFESSOR GREEN
NEW ALBUM ‘MASTER SYSTEM’, OUT NOW
PRAISE FOR ‘MASTER SYSTEM’
"What separates the group from the plethora of different artists out there at the moment, is not only the bold lyrical content; but their fearlessness when it comes to production. Being considered genre fluid is something all artists seem to be aspiring to these days, but few are genuinely achieving this rarefied status." GRM DAILY
"Through the blending of hip-hop, punk, indie, psychedelic rock, and more, Monster Florence has carved out a nice unique sound for themselves. The music is reminiscent of other genre-blurring masters such as Gorillaz and Kenny Beats. Paired with insanely catchy hooks and meaningful storytelling, Monster Florence have proved to be one of the most compelling hip-hop groups coming out of the UK."
THIS SONG IS SICK
"Colchester alt-hip-hop group Monster Florence dissect the dystopian state of the world through lyrical tricks and commendable beats on their new album Master System. This record ultimately demonstrates how underrated they are." WHY NOW
"While some albums are a collection of singles with a few additional songs; Master System is the sum of its parts and a journey which I’ll be continuing to take over the coming months." LOUDER THAN WAR
"brimming with captivating cuts and killer flows" MYSTIC SONS
"Monster Florence have had such a brilliant BBC introducing journey and with this new release and previous one Relax we should be really really excited about new music from Monster Florence"
BBC 6MUSIC (Angelle Joseph)
"British hip-hop supergroup Monster Florence are sending more of their progressive sounds our way" TRENCH
******
After recently releasing their highly-praised new album ‘Master System’, which was supported by the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Gemma Bradley and Nels Hylton, and BBC 6Music’s Angelle Joseph, Kiss Fresh, BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio and A&R Worldwide’s Passport Approved, UK alt hip-hop band Monster Florence are back to deliver the hypnotic new video for their recent single ‘Spaceman’ as well as announce tour support for Professor Green in April.
Capturing the otherworldly nature they have always looked to present within their aesthetic, the new visuals for ‘Spaceman’ makes for captivating viewing from beginning to end. Teaming up with their longtime creative collaborator Scribbler who directed the cut, their newest visuals adds that vital layer of technicolour vibrancy to the warm and woozy offering.
Speaking about the new video, Monster Florence said, "The concept was simple; dress up into our finest space attire and spend the day (metaphorically speaking) floating off into the cosmos. Some may ask “how would there be a drum kit in space” or “Why the hell is that guy playing the saxophone?“… My answer to that would be don’t overthink it…let the visuals take you on an expedition. Otherwise you’ll just ruin the magic."
While director Scribbler added, "The spaceman music video takes you on a journey through the void, with haunting apparitions of the band wearing 90’s era flight suits (a nod to the time period in which the song’s story takes place). The video’s hypnotic motion draws the viewer's attention to the deeply personal narrative."
Monster Florence have also announced that they will be providing tour support for Professor Green this April. With five dates spread across the whole UK, these new shows are set to become their biggest to date.
Adding about the live performances, "We’ll be joining Professor Green on the 10th anniversary tour of his iconic album ‘At Your Convenience’ and we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this. Especially knowing what the album means to Professor Green, it’s truly an honour to be the official support for the entire tour. Our history with Green stems back many years, him having featured on Dream McLean's first album following a few more collaborations since, he’s been big supporter and great friend to us over the year and even joined us on stage at Glastonbury 2021, so it’s an honour to be in the position to play alongside him again. If you’ve seen a Professor Green or Monster Florence live show you know both acts definitely don’t hold back and aim to leave it all on the stage. Tickets are selling fast so be sure to grab yours asap! We hope to see you there."
Professor Green UK Tour Support Dates:
22nd April - Nottingham, Rock City
23rd April - Glasgow, Galvanizers
25th April - Manchester, Albert Hall
26th April - Birmingham, 02 Institute
27th April - London, 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Hailing from Essex, the acclaimed six-piece behind ‘Deck of Cards’, ’26 Ghosts’ & ‘Beautiful Death’ have spent the last decade defying genres with their critically revered blend of rap, alt pop, punk, indie, psychedelic rock and more. What originally started off as a few studio sessions between producer Tom and vocalist Alex, soon turned into a full-blown musical project.
As a six-member group, each with their own diverse individual backgrounds and mixed bag of musical styles makes Monster Florence somewhat of an anomaly in today’s musical climate. While it was common in the ‘90s for there to be an influx of multi-member acts, these have become more rare as the years go on. But for Monster Florence, drawing from a multitude of genres: hip-hop, punk, indie, psychedelic rock and anything in between is what makes this band so unique. Much like The Flaming Lips, Wu-Tang Clan and Los Angeles collective Odd Future, their strength lies in numbers - even if it did take a little time to find their feet.
When Monster Florence first started working on the album there was no title in mind. It wasn’t until after they recorded the tracks ‘Bad Graphics’ and ‘Lag’ that a loose concept started to form; to create an immersive world through their music, it also happened to coincide with the coronavirus pandemic, a period that gave rise to a digital revolution and saw a wave of new online activities and assets start to dominate the global conversation: NFTs, live streams, crypto currency and the Metaverse being a few of them.
The album’s artwork depicts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden - only they’ve been replaced by two androids. Artist Scribbler explains: “The robots in the Garden of Eden represent the idea of man playing God. Artificial intelligence, the metaverse and etc are, in a way, a crude mockery of the natural world and the way we interface with it. The forbidden fruit can speak to many temptations with eventual catastrophic consequences. Whether that be climate change or AI sentience, that’s up to you. It’s more an observation than a point of view”
‘Master System’ is awash with stand out moments, many of which bring about deliberation. “Is the ashtray full or is the ashtray half empty?” Alex asks on ‘Borstal’, one of the group’s personal favourite tracks. Armed with an addictive bounce, it finds Monster Florence with some rare unoccupied time to reflect on previous missteps and a variety of other topics, and it marks the first time the group “set out to write a tune in a particular way and smashed it”.
“With this new album, I feel like we’ve arrived at a place where we’re a single unit working together,” says Dream, speaking about the group’s collaborative symmetry. “It feels more cohesive than a lot of our previous work; it’s without doubt our best work to date.” Tom adds: “We’re constantly evolving, and this album is the perfect example of that growth. I’d love to be in a situation where I hadn’t heard the album yet because that first listen is a real treat."
“Until recently, we didn’t think you could flourish by doing something a little left field. Our main goal is to continue to do that, push things forward and usher in new ways of doing things; that’s more important to us than having a Number One single.”
Monster Florence are:
Alex Osiris - vocals
Dream Mclean - vocals
Wallace Rice - vocals
Tom Donovan - production, guitars, keys, programming
Jonny Poole - sax, keys, guitar
Cameron Morrell - drums
https://www.instagram.com/monsterflorence/