I Monster

This article is about the British music group. For the horror film, seeI, Monster.

I Monster
Origin	Sheffield,England
Genres	Electronic trip hop psychedelic pop electropop
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Cercle Instant Karma Twins of Evil Dharma
Members	Dean Honer Jarrod Gosling
Website	imonstermusic.com

I Monsterare an Englishelectronic musicduo, composed of theSheffieldbased record producers Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling. Best known for their songs "Who Is She?" and "Daydream in Blue", both of which appeared on their 2003 albumNeveroddoreven.They have also produced records for acts such asThe Human LeagueorHK119and worked on a documentary about the origins of electronic music.

I Monster and its label Twins of Evil are both named afterhorror filmsstarringPeter Cushing(i.e.,I, MonsterandTwins of Evil).

Early life

Gosling played in arockband calledCandy Paigeas a teenager. Honer left school at 16 and moved to Sheffield shortly after. He started producing music and joined numerous bands. In 1990, he opened Neptune studio, arecording studio,together with Duncan Wheat.

Career

Formation andDaydream In Blue(1996–2002)

Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling first met in 1991, when a mutual friend introduced them to each other. Honer was setting up his studio and invited Gosling to make music together.Early influences included earlyWarp Recordsreleases,Fad GadgetandBlancmange.They were already makingtechnomusic akin ofAphex Twin,AutechreandBlack Dogtogether for years when they foundedI Monsterin 1998. Drawing inspiration from thepsychedelic rock,progressive rockandeasy listeningof the '60s as well asEnnio Morricone,they would go buy vinyl records and start tochopthem into songs. This was the process that resulted in an early version ofDaydream in Blue,which sampled The Gunter Kallmann Choir's version of "Daydream".After finishing their first albumThese Are Our Childrenin 1999, the two musicians received anArts Councilgrant to press 500 CDs which they had to give away for free, due tosample clearanceissues.After being evicted from Neptune studio in 2001, Honer set up Bowling Green studio, where he has been situated since.

Daydream in Blue,which already featured on their first album, was reworked and released as asinglein 2001 on Cercle Records, a record label founded by Honer and frequent collaborator Barry Smith ofAdd N To (X)along with singles from Smith's band andAll Seeing Imembers. Honer describes this era of creative cooperation as "quite a bit of cross-pollination between Add N To (X), the All Seeing I, and I Monster".After British radio hostNemonepicked up the song and played it on her show, interest grew in the duo and they signed toInstant Karmashortly thereafter.Daydreampeaked at number 20 in the UK charts.

Neveroddoreven(2003–2008)

In 2003 I Monster returned with their second albumNeveroddoreven.The original artwork featuring a skull was created by Gosling under the pseudonym of Varrod Goblink.The duo was able to tour after the release and were joined by Marion Benoist and Fred de Fred ofThe Lovers.According to the group, the label mishandled some of the release strategy, leading to them leaving. In 2005 the album was re-released with a new sleeve byDharma Records.

In 2007ChicagorapperLupe Fiascoheavily sampled "Daydream in Blue" on his hit song "Daydreamin'"featuringJill Scott,popularizing the song even more.

I Monster started collaborating with Finnish pop artist,HK119,for her second album in 2007. The resulting project,Fast, Cheap and Out of Controlwas released in September 2008 onOne Little Indian Records,and saw I Monster co-write and co-produce over three quarters of the album. This collaboration came from Dean Honer's previous role as a remixer for HK119's debut single, "Pick Me Up", from her eponymous debut album in 2006.

A Dense SwarmandPeople Soup(2009–2013)

I Monster released their third studio albumA Dense Swarm of Ancient Starsin 2009.The coverart was once again designed by Gosling, as well as the artwork for every I Monster release thereafter.

In 2011, the band producedThe Human League's ninth albumCredo,its first in 10 years. Joseph Stannard, writing forThe Quietus,called the album a "terrific synthpop record" and better than 1981'sDare.

October 2012 saw the duo releasing two albums,RareandRemixed,compromised of bonus tracks and rarities from "Neveroddoreven".

In 2013, they released a collection of songs that didn't make it ontoA Dense Swarm of Ancient Starsunder the name ofSwarf. 2013 also saw the release ofI Monster Presents People Soup,an album heavily featuring a fictional band entirely consisting of female singers over more pop-oriented instrumentation.

Bright Sparksdocumentary (2015–2016)

Bright Sparks,a two hour-long documentary, produced by Dave Spiers of GForce and I Monster, about the origins and pioneers of electronic music, was released in 2015,joined by an accompanying album of the same title in 2016. The feature documentary contains numerous interviews with instrument designers and musicians. The first half of the movie, called "A Side", focuses on US inventors, while the "B Side" features British innovators. Interviewees includeAdrian Utley,Daniel Miller,Billy Currie,Karl Hyde,Alessandro Cortini,Will Gregoryand many more.

The albumBright Sparksconsists of eight songs paying tribute to different innovators of electronic music, including but not limited toRobert Moog,Herbert Deutsch,Ken Freeman,Don Buchla,Harry ChamberlinandAlan R. Pearlmanamong many others.

Bright Sparks Instrumental,an instrumental version of the album, was released on 19 July 2016 on the group'sBandcampsite. Included on this album is a preview track forBright Sparks Volume Two.

Comeback (2022–present)

I Monster didn't release any music in over 5 years, but after the sixth track ofNeveroddorevencalled "Who Is She?" gained overnight virality onTikTokin 2022, the duo started work on an expanded version of that album. This resulted in the release ofNeveroddoreven (Redux)in March 2024. This version added three new songs and an acoustic version ofDaydream in Blueto the end of the album.

The newfound attention on their music also allowed them to tour Europe for the 20th Anniversary ofNeveroddoreven,called theWho Are They Tour.They were joined by two vocalists, Jenny Green and Hannah Hu, with visuals created by Katie Mason.

In June 2024, I Monster confirmed they were working on a new album.

Other musical projects

Honer, alongside DJ Parrot and Jason Buckle, was a founding member of electronic music groupThe All Seeing I,whose 1998 hit record "The Beat Goes On" was most notably covered byBritney Spearson her debut album...Baby One More Time.Honer recounts the aftermath of the success as "a flood of work", remixing a lot of songs and even turning aMadonnaremix down.

Honer plays in multiple other bands together with long-time collaborator Adam Flanagan, such asThe Eccentronic Research Department,The Moonlandingz(together with Lias Kaci Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski ofFat White Family) andThe International Teachers of Pop(together with Leonore Wheatley from The Soundcarriers).In 2018, he started a new project with Will Goddard, calledFrogman.Their entire output was exclusively released oncassette tapes.The music was created as asoundtrackto a fictional TV series, featuring spoken word written by Goddard and recorded byHK119,Russell Senior,Richard SpeightandTerry O'Connor.

In 2020, Honer formed yet another group,Another New Thing,with Don Himlin and Paul Nagle, releasing their debut albumXYZZYin 2021 via Dipped In Gold.

Gosling is also a part of multiple music projects besides I Monster.Cobalt Chapelconsists of him (exclusively onorgan) and Cecilia Fage, aLondonbased singer andclarinettist.Influences for theacid folkband include horror filmsValerie and Her Week of WondersandThe Stepford Wives.They released their selftitled debut in 2017.This was followed by aMountainin 2018 andOrange Syntheticin 2021.

Gosling has also released multipleprogressive rockalbums under the alias ofRegal Worm.Regal Worm released their first albumUse and Ornamentin 2013. Gosling was planning his sophomore effortKlara Till Slutetwhile still finishingUse and Ornament."It was going to be aconcept album"Gosling told in an interview, but it got scrapped. Some of the songs written forKlara Till Slutetwere released as part ofDissecting The WormandSausages,twoEPswhich came out later in 2013.2015 saw the release ofNeither Use Nor Ornament,the sophomore studio album by Regal Worm.Pig Views,the final installment of his initial trilogy, came out in 2018.Regal Worm's fourth albumThe Hideous Goblinkwas released in 2021. Their sound has been described as a mix of "Canterbury, Psychedelia,Space Rock,Zeuhland theRock in Oppositionmovement ".Gosling himself called the Regal Worm output "a continuation of [I Monster], but channeled through a more progressive rock and psychedelic style rather than electronic pop".

Discography

Studio albums

• These Are Our Children(1999)
• Neveroddoreven(2003)
• A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars(2009)
• People Soup(2013)
• Bright Sparks(2016)
• A Dollop Of HP(2017)

EPs

• Dear John EP(2009)
• Monsters of the Deep (Inspired by 'The Outlaw Ocean' a book byIan Urbina)(2021)

Instrumental albums

• Bright Sparks Instrumental(2016)

Compilation albums

• Rare(2012)
• Remixed(2012)
• Swarf(2013)
• Neveroddoreven Redux(2024)

Singles

• "As Long as There Is You and Me" (2006)
• "Lust for a Vampyr Part 1" (2009)
• "Lust for a Vampyr Part 22 (2009)
• "Only A Show" (2010)
• "A Short Song About Snow" (2021)
• "The Living Dead" (2022)
• "The Weather" (2023)
• "The Desert" (2024)
• "Won't Give Your Love" (2024)
• "Return of the Blue Wrath" (2024)

Production Credits

Production by I Monster, noted if otherwise.

Release	Year	Artist(s)	Notes
...Baby One More Time	1999	Britney Spears	Production on Track 12 "The Beat Goes On" by Honer as part ofThe All Seeing I
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control	2008	HK119	Co-production
The Art Of Chill 6	2009	Various Artists	DJ mix
Credo	2011	The Human League
Pocket Handkerchief Lane		Kevin Pearce	Production by Honer
Matthew Hopkins and the Wormhole	2013	Kevin Pearce	Co-production by Honer

In popular culture

The duo's music has featured in movies such asShaun of the Dead,Riders(Steal)andEndorphine.

Daydream in Bluefeatured on the soundtrack ofMr. RobotSeason 2 Episode 1 called "eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc".

External links

• Official website