Name: Almost Monday
Members: Dawson Daugherty, Cole Clisby, Luke Fabry
Nationality: American
Occupation: Songwriters, performers
Current release: Almost Monday's new EP til the end of time is out via Universal.

If these thoughts by Almost Monday piqued your interest, their official homepage is a great point of departure. For current updates, photos and music, visit them on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



For most artists, originality is preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you: How would you describe your own development as an artist and the transition towards your own voice?

Finding your own sound can take some time. There’s always going to be artists and bands that influence us but in the attempt to create music with similar feelings to your idols you can stumble into something that sounds unique to you. I think the challenge is and will always be writing music that is pushing boundaries in some way. It’s easy to imitate great artists that you’ve always looked up to, but it’s something entirely different when trying to craft your own sound.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I think for us the need to create has always just intrinsically been there. I’ve always found writing songs to be so mysterious and beautiful, in the way that it can bring different groups of people from different places together.

In terms of inspiration I think we are looking at almost everything. Whether it be dreams, movies, relationships, politics or art we are constantly trying to pull from those source materials. They are usually pretty relevant for us as creatives

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

We always refer to this elusive idea “the magic in the room”. Sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s not.

Most days we come into the studio with a title, or a concept and maybe a few melodies, and I feel like those things provide a pretty good guide for the song, but it’s not always that simple. I think some of the best songs we’ve ever written have come within the first 10 minutes of being in the room, and there’s not really an explanation for that honestly.

So I think the approach we have is to try and write a great song every day, but also understand that some days are just better than others.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

We write down a lot of interesting phrases and titles in a long running Google doc.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Lots of yerba maté.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

Melodies usually come pretty quickly. They kind of just appear out of nowhere and I just have to sing them out. And that usually starts a chain reaction of lyrical ideas, and production.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

I think production is one of the most important elements of the song, it’s pretty make or break for us. Solid production can take a song from good to great, and that also applies to the mix. They usually are just elevating the song from its most bare form to something much more special and unique.

Have there been technologies or instruments which have profoundly changed or even questioned the way you make music?

Our producer Simon just got this new Hofner bass that sounds amazing and we’ve been using it on some of our new songs. Almost every bass line you play on it just sounds good.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Not really honestly, I think we experience gratification when putting out music. Finally feels like you can share a big part of yourself with your fans, and hopefully they can take it and make it something for themselves. Makes me feel more filled than empty really.

Can you talk about a breakthrough work, event or performance in your career? Why does it feel special to you?

Honestly, we just played lollapalooza and it was insane. Seeing fans singing the words to our songs will forever be one of the most special things to us.