Pilgrimage of the Soul is the 11th studio album in the 22-year career of Japanese experimental rock legends, MONO. Recorded and mixed – cautiously, anxiously, yet optimistically – during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, Pilgrimage of the Soul is aptly named as it not only represents the peaks and valleys where MONO are now as they enter their third decade, but also charts their long, steady journey to this time and place.
Continuing the subtle but profound creative progression in the MONO canon that began with Nowhere Now Here (2019), Pilgrimage of the Soul is the most dynamic MONO album to date (and that’s saying a lot). But where MONO’s foundation was built on the well-established interplay of whisper quiet and devastatingly loud, Pilgrimage of the Soul crafts its magic with mesmerizing new electronic instrumentation and textures, and – perhaps most notably – faster tempos that are clearly influenced by disco and techno. It all galvanizes as the most unexpected MONO album to date – replete with surprises and as awash in splendor as anything this band has ever done.
MONO began in Japan at the end of the 20th Century as a young band equally inspired by the pioneers of moody experimental rock (My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai) and iconic Classical composers (Beethoven, Morricone) who came before them. They have evolved into one of the most inspiring and influential experimental rock bands in their own right. It is only fitting that their evolution has come at the glacial, methodical pace that their patient music demands. MONO is a band who puts serious value in nuance, and offers signi ficant rewards for the wait.
“glacial, metallic, all-consuming post-rock” Stereogum
“Stunning, eloquent, emotionally gut-busting” Pop Matters
“it’s the kind of album that’s best played start to finish (and best played loudly), and that can truly suck
you in and transport you to another world if you do so.” Brooklyn Vegan
MONO “Pilgrimage of the Soul” European Tour 2022, with special guest: A.A. Williams
Feb 10 / NO Oslo / Jakob
Feb 11 / SE Stockholm / Sodra Teatern
Feb 12 / DK Copenhagen / Pumpehuset
Feb 13 / DE Hamburg / Uebel & Gefahrlich
Feb 14 / DE Berlin / Hole 44
Feb 15 / DE Cologne / Luxor
Feb 16 / CH Zurich / Mascotte
Feb 17 / CH Bulle / Ebullition
Feb 18 / FR Toulouse / Le Rex
Feb 19 / FR Biarritz / Atabal
Feb 21 / PT Porto / Hard Club
Feb 22 / PT Lisbon / LAV
Feb 23 / ES Seville / Custom
Feb 24 / ES Murcia / Garaj
Feb 25 / ES Madrid / Shoko
Feb 26 / ES Barcelona / Apollo 2
Feb 28 / FR Besancon / L’Antonnoir
Mar 1 / FR Paris / Trabendo
Mar 2 / BE Antwerp / Zappa
Mar 3 / FR Lille / Aeronef
Mar 4 / UK London / Lafayette
Mar 5 / UK London / EartH
Mar 8 / UK Glasgow / St. Luke’s
Mar 9 / UK Leeds / City Varieties
MONO Festivals 2022
Jun 18 / FR Clisson / Hellfest 2022
Aug 18 / UK Bristol / ArcTanGent 2022
