This album is only available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/madmonks1  

"The Dark Retreat" is the culmination of an ambitious 8 year project known as Mad Monks.  In keeping with this, we spent a great deal of time in the studio adding layer after layer of rhythm, lead, and sonic textures.  The album is thematic and all tracks flow into each other creating a near-seamless piece.  Our theme is based on the learning and death cycles, hence the name which refers to an elaborate Buddhist preparation for death.  "The Dark Retreat" also contains a visual element (by Claire Thoele) that mirrors this progression working in the story element of the theme which is the journey of the Helionaut as he crashes on an alien planet and continues his journey towards the next goal, the sun.
This album was tracked and mixed with Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studios in Iowa City.  Mastering was accomplished at Saff Mastering in Chicago.  All songs are original, and all sounds were made by the band.  We suggest that you crank up your speakers and play from front to back.


Helionauts (from "The Dark Retreat")

The three-piece hybrid of two earlier instruments: Bushido (now Olympus Mons) and Old Wound New Skin.  The recording is a low quality bootleg of a rehearsal.  Despite the fuzziness of the sound, you can clearly hear the old pieces of both tracks being put together and reorganized to make a new tune that could still thrive without the keyboards.  

Bushewskin small

This is a sound piece that was put together by James Edel (guitar player for Mad Monks).  It was originally intended for live performance as filler during performance gaps, or in case of equipment malfunction.  Features Buddhist chants, Ren and Stimpy, and some professor that James loves.

Monk Chant

Used for live performances, this was a Mad Monks intro piece.  I split samples from a couple shows and worked on it using GarageBand. 

The mad monk - a sample collage

From the new album, "Mad Monks," now available at www.digstation.com

Relentless Second (Album Version)

The Filth (Album Version)

Nowhere (Album Version)

All There Is (Album Version)

Twisting time switching and fun for all ages.

Off the new album, "Mad Monks," available at www.digstation.com.

The Omen

"The Dark Retreat" now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/madmonks1  
Additional artwork available upon request.


The New Story of the Mad Monks:

This is the way the world begins, not with a band but a whimper...

Deep in the emptiness, nothing stirred for ages.  Blackness, or was it whiteness, protruded eternally and none were there to witness that which was not.  In The Abyss, a hum quietly erupted and laid waste to the illusion of the void.  It seemed we were not alone after all.  Reaching beyond this electric illumination, a single finger tapped out a fretted note as if to say, "Join us in awakening."  It was not long before the others gathered, rapping upon warped metals and seducing swells of harmony from their long silent homes. 

"One member born, apart from the rest, and May the 13th stood forever blessed.
In darkness that stretches the flair light was lit, those in tuned to the void opened eyes to a squint,
The beacon resounds with a sunburst profound,
The madness is misleading, but is never lost ground..." 
-From "Prophecies of a Mad Monk," Author Unknown

Less Dramatic Bio:

Mad Monks formed ages ago, in 2006.  Heavily influenced by early seventies prog-rock and blues, the quartet coalesced in the shape of drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards.  The group experimented for a long time using King Crimson and Hendrix as launching pads to solidify the chemistry of the group.  The music of the Monks quickly evolved into the highly structured psychosis that we have all grown to love.

In 2008, keyboardist Jon Barder left to pursue other interests (life), and the Monks reverted to a trio.  As a three-piece the monks again refined their sound, writing and editing old and new compositions until it was perceived that recording was necessary.  In September of 2010, Mad Monks hit the ground running with the aid of Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studios and recorded their first album.  Ten tracks were interwoven and laid down to create a single artistic picture.  This mixed material was then sent to Carl Saff Mastering in Chicago and the album is due to be released in January of 2011.

During the recording process, certain melodic ideas were explored that required a fourth party to replicate live.  In the hopes of recreating the sound the Monks achieved on this first album, they decided the time had come to officially enlist another member.  In November of 2010, Sage Satterfield was ritually inducted into the Monastery, and the current Mad Monks were created.

Our influences are: King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Captain Beefheart, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, etc.

Mad Monks of Iowa City

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