Monotonix (2000s) Gat first came to prominence as the guitarist and founder of the punk band
Monotonix. After finding themselves banned from most venues in their country due to the wild and controversial nature of their concerts, the band decided to leave Israel and tour the United States and Europe. With Monotonix, Gat released an EP and two albums on
Drag City Records. Gat's guitar was the only harmonic instrument in the drums-guitar-vocals trio and was singled out by the likes of
Pitchfork, who wrote: "guitarist Yonatan Gat slides in and out of solos without ever throwing the rhythm off the rails... The descending guitar line that follows is sweet and yearning enough to fit onto a damn Strokes record." During the band's five-year existence, they played 1,000 concerts, collaborated with musicians such as
Fugazi's
Ian Mackaye and
Guy Picciotto and
Beat Happening and
K Records founder
Calvin Johnson, while touring as support for
Pavement,
Faith No More, and
Silver Jews. The latter's frontman,
David Berman, would go on to co-produce Gat's 2018 sophomore album,
Universalists. Songs by Monotonix were used in TV, film, and video games such as
House,
Grand Theft Auto, and
Better Living Through Chemistry. In 2008, Monotonix were called "the most exciting live band in rock 'n' roll" by
Spin magazine. By 2011, after completing a world tour for their final album,
Not Yet, the band stopped touring, allowing Gat to focus on his career as a solo artist.
Solo career After Monotonix's final world tour in 2011, Gat went on to earn a bachelor of arts in anthropology from
Columbia University. Soon after, Gat settled in New York City and began recording and performing as a
bandleader and solo artist, engaging Gal Lazer (drums) and Sergio Sayeg (bass) as his core studio collaborators, while expanding his projects into collaborations with musicians such as
Medicine Singers,
Lee Ranaldo,
Laraaji,
Brian Chase (
Yeah Yeah Yeahs),
Jaimie Branch,
Ikue Mori, and
Thor Harris (
Swans). He released his debut
EP,
Iberian Passage, written and recorded while he was living in
Portugal, in the spring of 2014 on
Joyful Noise Recordings. His full-length studio album debut,
Director, followed in 2015. Within months of
Director's premiere, an EP produced by
Steve Albini, titled
Physical Copy, followed. Gat's second album,
Universalists, was released through Joyful Noise on 4 May 2018. In that same year, the artist went on to release a split 7-inch with
Os Mutantes, was featured as guest guitarist on the
Nigerien band
Tal National's new album, and premiered a collaboration with a
Rhode Island Algonquin powwow drum ensemble—
Eastern Medicine Singers. The album's release was followed by a world tour, featuring an eight-piece band, which included members of his own ensemble of longtime collaborators playing alongside the
Indigenous American drummers and singers of Eastern Medicine Singers, a project that later developed into the collective Medicine Singers. Gat's third solo album, which featured
Greg Saunier (
Deerhoof) on drums, was his reinterpretation of
Antonín Dvořák's
American String Quartet, substituting the string quartet's two violins, viola, and cello with electric guitar, bass guitar, electric organ, and drums. ==Discography==