Formation and early years: 1999–2000 In January 1999, Tokyo native electric guitarist Takaakira "Taka" Goto began composing music and spent the remainder of the year searching for other musicians with which to form an instrumental rock band; eventually recruiting long-time friend and fellow electric guitarist Hideki "Yoda" Suematsu on rhythm guitar. In May 2000, the band entered Rinky Dink Studio in Tokyo and recorded their first extended play with engineers Tetsuya Morioka and Toshiro Kai, which was later self-released in September 2000: a Japan-only release titled
Hey, You on their own independent record label, Forty-4. The band spent the bulk of the year composing more music and performing at various houses around Tokyo, in the neighbourhoods of Setagaya,
Shimokitazawa, and
Shibuya. Mono also travelled to the
United States to play a one-off show in November at the
Mercury Lounge in
New York City; a show which was later described by Paul Wheeler of rockofjapan.com as having a "big beautiful sound that [...] naturally [expanded] through each song."
Under the Pipal Tree: 2001 Following the release of the
Hey, You extended play, Mono spent the next year playing shows throughout their native Japan, as well as playing several shows in
New York City and
Sweden. The band also made an appearance at the 2001
South by Southwest music festival in
Austin, Texas. Between performing in Japan, Mono recorded their first studio album,
Under the Pipal Tree at Studio Take-1 and Forty-4 in Tokyo. The majority of the tracks were recorded live (a trend which the band would adopt for all subsequent studio albums) in one day, the recording session of which was funded by experimental American musician
John Zorn, with the band handling production duties. The album featured two previously released tracks (from the
Hey, You extended play), as well as six original compositions. The album was released worldwide through
New York City record label
Tzadik, owned and operated by John Zorn.
One Step More and You Die: 2002–2003 After the release of
Under the Pipal Tree, the band spent the next year touring Japan and the United States, also visiting Germany and Taiwan in support of the album, as well as composing new material inspired by the tour. In June 2002, between shows in Japan, the band recorded their second studio album,
One Step More and You Die at Little Bach and Sound City studios in Tokyo, with Mono again handling production duties. The album was released in Japan in October of that year on Japanese record label Music Mine Inc. The band spent most of 2003 touring in support of the album, returning to Japan, the United States, Sweden, and visiting Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom for the first time.
Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined: 2004 Mono's next release was a collaboration with Japanese musician Aki Onda; whom the band met while touring New York in 2002. The band, Onda, and several notable members of the New York experimental music scene (including
DJ Olive,
Jackie-O Motherfucker, and
Loren Connors) remixed
One Step More and You Die. The album, titled
New York Soundtracks, was released in February 2004 on Human Highway, Mono's own record label, and a successor to Forty-4. In January 2004, the band began a long partnership with Chicagoan recording engineer
Steve Albini, recording their third studio album at Electrical Audio Engineering in
Chicago, Illinois. The album, titled
Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined was released in April 2004 on Human Highway in Japan, and on Rykodisk in Europe and Temporary Residence Limited in the United States later in the year. After the album's release, the band embarked upon a year-long tour of America, Asia, and Europe.
You Are There: 2005–2007 The band also spent 2005 touring Asia, America, and Europe composing music, and eventually returning to Electrical Audio Engineering in February and September to record their fourth studio album with Steve Albini. The album, titled
You Are There was released in Japan in March 2006 on Human Highway, and on Temporary Residence Limited in the United States and Europe. Mono also collaborated with Japanese musician
World's End Girlfriend in 2005, releasing a collaboration studio album in December of that year, on Human Highway, and with American band
Pelican, releasing a split album with the band through Temporary Residence Limited in October 2005. In February 2007, American
webzine Somewhere Cold voted their split with World's End Girlfriend
Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain No. 7 on their
2006 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame. Mono spent 2006 and 2007 touring Asia, America and Europe in support of
You Are There. In October 2006, the band returned to Electrical Audio Engineering and recorded a four-track extended play, which was released in April 2007 as part of Temporary Residence Limited's
Travels in Constants series, titled
The Phoenix Tree. In November 2006, the band released a two-track extended play titled
Memorie dal Futuro through Vinyl Films, and also contributed a track to a Temporary Residence Limited compilation album,
Thankful. In September 2007, the band released their first compilation album, compiling material from all previous extended plays, split albums, and compilations, titled
Gone: A Collection of EPs 2000–2007, as well as the music documentary DVD,
The Sky Remains the Same as Ever, documenting the worldwide tours of 2006 and 2007 and the recording of
The Phoenix Tree extended play.
Hymn to the Immortal Wind: 2008–2011 In 2008, the band took a year-long break from touring, spending the time composing new music and playing a handful of shows throughout the year, including an appearance at
All Tomorrow's Parties in Somerset, England, curated by
Explosions in the Sky in May. Mono returned to Electrical Audio Engineering in June and November 2008 to record their fifth studio album,
Hymn to the Immortal Wind, which was later released in March 2009, and followed by a year-long tour of America and Eurasia. The band played a ten-year anniversary show at the Society for Ethical Culture Hall in New York, United States on 8 May 2009, accompanied by the 24-piece Wordless Music Orchestra. The performance was recorded and later released as both a
live album and a
DVD, named
Holy Ground: NYC Live With The Wordless Music Orchestra, through Temporary Residence Limited in Europe and America, and Human Highway in Asia. The band then took another year-long break and went into "hibernation mode", returning to Japan to work on songs for a new album.
For My Parents: 2012–2014 Mono spent early 2012 recording a new album at Waterfront Studios in Hudson, New York, with recording engineers Henry Hirsch, accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra. The album was mixed by Fred Weaver at his studio, Apocalypse the Apocalypse, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.
For My Parents was MONO's first record in eight years not to be recorded by
Steve Albini at
Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago.
For My Parents, was released on 4 September 2012, through
Temporary Residence Limited.
The Last Dawn/Rays of Darkness: 2014–2016 Mono released a double album on 24 October 2014, two contrasting records: The Last Dawn, being a more traditional Mono record; and Rays of Darkness, some of their heaviest material, even more notable for the first use of vocals on
The Hand That Holds The Truth. The two were released on Temporary Residence Limited in North American and Pelagic Records elsewhere.
Requiem for Hell: 2016–2019 Mono announced the forthcoming release of
Requiem For Hell on 19 July 2016, their ninth studio album. It reintroduces strings to their sound. It was also their first full album under the newly formed label Pelagic Records. Prior to the full release of
Requiem For Hell they did a split album with
The Ocean (
Transcendental) to commemorate this event. Later it was known that it was actually a sneak peek of the first two songs of their upcoming album. On December 9, 2017, they announced via their social media pages that Yasunori Takada (drum kit, glockenspiel, synthesizer), who has been a member since the start, will leave the band due to "personal reasons." He was replaced by Dahm Majuri Cipolla beginning with the band's live performance on August 9, 2018. Starting in August 2018, they worked on their next project with Steve Albini at Electrical once again. On September 25, 2018, the new album was revealed to be called
Nowhere Now Here, their first with Cipolla, it was released January 25, 2019.
Hymn to the Immortal Wind (10 Year Anniversary Edition)/Pilgrimage of the Soul/My Story, The Buraku Story/Heaven Vol. 1: 2019-present To commemorate the 20th anniversary of MONO, and the 10th anniversary of
Hymn to the Immortal Wind, Temporary Residence Ltd. released
Hymn to the Immortal Wind - Anniversary Edition. Featuring remastered versions of the original. In 2020, the band started touring Asia and Australia with more dates to follow in Europe and North America, but they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band stopped the touring activity and began writing new music. On Christmas Day 2020, Mono released a 2-track single called "Scarlet Holliday". Firstly released only digitally, it was then released on vinyl on March 4, 2022, with a third extra track. Meanwhile, the band released their 11th record
Pilgrimage of the Soul on September 17, 2021. The album was recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 with the usual assistance of Steve Albini. The single Riptide was released in July 2021 and anticipated the new album. As the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic kept the band away from the stage, Mono composed their first soundtrack ever.
My Story, The Buraku Story was released on vinyl and CD on May 27, 2022. Finally, the band played live for the first time in over 2 years in April 2022. The first tour was held in North America throughout April, then European tour was followed from mid-August to mid-September, ending the year with a short Asia tour in the second quarter of November. In December 2022, the band announced the beginning of a series of Christmas EPs named "Heaven" to be released every year on Christmas day. The goal of the series is to express is the light without anxiety and sadness in life.
Heaven Vol. 1 featured three brand new songs and was released digitally on December 25, 2022, to which a vinyl physical released followed in March 2023. Mono entered the studio in February 2023 to record their 12th album once again at the Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini. The recording was completed on March 4 and the album was expected for release in 2024. They also announced a new European tour for spring 2023 with more festival dates to follow in the summer. ==Musical style==