MonoNeon Archives - Page 6

Last month, musicians from throughout Prince’s career came together for an official tribute concert in Minneapolis. The star studded event was anchored by five of the Purple One’s bass colleagues: Sonny T from New Power Generation, Ida Nielsen from NPG/3rdEyeGirl, Andrew Gouche from NPG, Josh Dunham from NPG, and MonoNeon. In a beautiful moment, all five bassists performed together on...

Drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and percussionist Nate Werth are already in a killer band (Snarky Puppy). Seems like that isn’t enough for them, so they created another – Ghost-Note. For Ghost-Note, Searight and Werth teamed up with bassist MonoNeon, second drummer Alvin Ford Jr., xylosynth player Nick Werth and saxophonist/flautist Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II. Here’s the band performing “Can’t Get...

Bass phenom MonoNeon has dropped two new original songs on Bandcamp. “Strawberry Fields” and “Love Game Ain’t Free” showcase the bassist’s signature funk-minimalism and low fidelity composition/production style. He played all the instruments and even sang the lyrics. “For some reason the inspiration for the new songs came from watching the classic 1976 film ‘Car Wash’ and having surrealistic feelings...

Musicians around the world have been paying tribute to the Purple One since his untimely passing in April, and they have yielded some incredible moments. Here’s a great clip from a live Prince tribute hosted by Bootsy Collins that features Byron “Mr. Talkbox” Chambers, drummer John Blackwell from New Power Generation and bassist MonoNeon, who was one of the last...

When Prince died on April 21st, the world lost another legend. The Purple One touched so many lives through his music that he was more than a musician; he was a cultural icon. Besides being a world-class bassist himself, Prince always kept top-notch low-enders by his side. Rhonda Smith, Mark Brown, André Cymone, Larry Graham, Ida Nielsen, Andrew Gouché and...

I love it when my favorite players collaborate, and this clip is a great example of why. First, Mr. Talkbox covered Vulfpeck’s “Back Pocket” and posted it online. Then the unbelievably talented Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas, Jr. added his own distinct style to it. Finally, Vulfpeck’s own Jack Stratton took the video and added a bit of his own funky self...

Videos from this year’s Winter NAMM show are starting to roll in, and this one really caught my ear. Cory Henry of Snarky Puppy performed at the ROLI event with his band The Funk Apostles, including bassist MonoNeon. The band spins out their own jaw-dropping versions of The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” and Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues...

Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas, Jr. has been working with Prince for the past several months, and now the bassist has released a new song with His Royal Badness on keyboards and guitar. “Ruff Enuff” is a prime example of funk at its finest. “You may recognize Kirk A Johnson on drums, Mono Neon on bass and Adrian Crutchfield on sax and...

The name of the latest release of short pieces from bassist/experimental musician MonoNeon (Prince, Ne-Yo), a.k.a. Dywane Thomas Jr. kind of says it all: Selfie Quickie. Three of the five songs on the EP clock in at less than two minutes, while the remaining songs run no longer than 2:55 and 3:11, respectively. Selfie Quickie is a collection of funk,...

If you’ve been reading No Treble for a while, you’ll recognize MonoNeon. The singular musician pushes the boundaries of his art with a manifesto that includes wearing high-visibility clothing with polychromatic color schemes, and his bass playing will leave your jaw on the floor. MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., has been working with another outspoken musician: Prince. “I was invited...

The internet is a wonderful thing. Gregor Fris from BasstheWorld.com put together this epic bass jam with 29 bassists from all over the world for a stunning display of the instrument’s diversity. The bassists in order of appearance are Federico Malaman, Lars Lehmann, Trip Wamsley, Or Lubianiker, Hyunmo Kim (aka “hjfreaks”), Ralf Gauck, Zander Zon, Nathan Navarro, Miki Santamaria, Nik...

Nearly two years after their first release, bassist MonoNeon and producer Kriswontwo have teamed up again as Weon to release Neon the Won. The experimental duo fuse stellar bass playing with ear bending soundscapes to create an album that transcends genre. This time around they invited several guest musicians, including David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, Jerome Flood, Lance Lucas, Amber Baker, and...