The Ocean and Mono will be releasing a split LP on 23rd October to coincide with their upcoming European tour together. You can now listen to Mono’s contribution to the split here with The Ocean, below.

2 bands from very different cultural origins, Japan and Germany… yet spiritually akin and connected by many similarities: a cinematic approach to music, based on lengthy, escalating compositions… the fact that both bands have existed for more than 15 years and released multiple albums since their inception; that they have toured many times around the globe, visiting off-the-beaten-track territories like Siberia, New Zealand, South
East Asia and South America; and finally their shared passion for double albums, such as THE OCEAN’s ‘Heliocentric’ / ‘Anthropocentric’, and MONO’s ‘The Last Dawn’ / ‘Rays Of Darkness’. It only makes sense that these two bands will now tour together – and release new music just in time for their extended European run, in form of a split LP. Two songs, one by each band – but 24 minutes of new music altogether.

MONO, who have toured relentlessly since the release of 2014’s double release The Last Dawn / Rays Of Darkness, address similar topics with their contribution, an 11-minutes song entitled Death in Reverse. The song serves as a trailer for the upcoming 9th MONO album, which is scheduled for an early 2016 release through Pelagic Records. Guitarist and main song writer Takaakira Goto comments:

‘The theme of this track is life and death and regeneration. Even when our bodies decay and decompose, our souls will prevail unchanged. Our bodies will act as seeds for the next generation, while our souls will journey together into our new eternal life. This is the story we want to explore with our next album, a portrayal of our journey through life towards death; from living out our lives proud and high, to bodies immolating, infused with precious memories… and through the vast, noisy tunnel of space, we become pure souls – a single drop of water in the fountain of life.’

TRACK LIST
1. MONO – Death In Reverse
2. THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE- The Quiet Observer

Upcoming UK dates:
6th November – Electric Ballroom, London
7th November – Damnation Festival, Leeds