Irish-born DJ and producer Monaco has made an impressive start to his career, kicking off with his debut single "Grey", a driving and relentless piece of club music that bridges the gaps between techno's industrial tendencies with the emotive soul of house music. He's also found firm friends and creative allies in Boston Bun and the Circa'99 crew, the label that played home to the release. In fact, that banger's entire lifespan has been intrinsically linked to the label ever since Monaco dropped the track at one of the label's Parisian parties in December last year. The crowd reaction was electric and the track has since gone on to become the weapon of choice for both house and techno DJs the world over.
Although raves have been put on hold for now, the track's influence is still reverberating around the globe, so we hit Monaco up for a Complex Sessions mix to tide us over until the dancefloors open again. With any luck, all this extra downtime has given him the chance to craft his next banger.
Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.
I wanted to put together a mix that encompassed all of the sounds I'm itching to play when we're all back in the clubs again and having a good time. So a lot of dark and vocal-based techno alongside some jacking house records just to lift the vibe. I always rate a nice mix intro too, so I hope everybody spots the one I sampled for my Complex UK mix!
What was the one track you absolutely had to include?
Spencer Parker's "NICE". He's an insane producer and it's his edit of Drake's "Nice For What".
Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?
Yeah, there's a producer called Coco Bryce and he's made a breakbeat track called "Wish We Didn't" that I didn't get a chance to play, but it's one of my favourite records right now.
What's the first single or album you ever bought?
I was a kid and my father gave me £2 to go into the record store in Sligo Town and I came back with D-12's "Shit On You".
What's the last physical record you bought?
Jme's Grime MC on vinyl.
What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?
Honestly, musically I'd like to see all the underground scenes discover a way in which we can all evolve from the lockdown and pandemic experience, and look at finding safe solutions for artists and fans to get back out there. But for now, I know we will all have to sit tight and work on ourselves as people. For me, personally, I'm finishing some new music and figuring out what's the next record I'm going to put out after "Grey". I'm also really loving working with Boston Bun's label, Circa'99, at the moment so I'm gonna try and release some more records with the French family too.
What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?
The trend of cancel culture can go!
Tracklist:
1. Silvie Loto - Cosmic Drums
2. Roman Lindau - Way Down
3. DJ Haus - Let My Brain Go (Len Faki Remix)
4. Darius Syrossian - Flashlight
5. Sally C - OG Chunker
6. Spencer Parker - NICE!
7. Hammer - Cold Soup
8. Monaco - Grey
9. Skream - Still Lemonade
10. Elisa Bee - Orbit
11. Mella Dee - Ridgewood (Yoofy Mix)
12. Ejeca - Your Mind
13. Ben Rau, Sheff, Bas Ibellini and Jesse Calosso - Ride The Rhythm
14. Bobby Analog - We Should Get Together
