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Montano

Montano is an electronica duo based in Wellington, comprised of Jet Jaguar and Octif.


History

Although Shanan Holm (Octif) and Michael Upton (Jet Jaguar) had known each other while making electronic music in Wellington in the mid-90s, the pair only started writing music together while both living in Melbourne. Keen to map the sounds of their (relatively) new home, they went out and about with DAT and mic and recorded specific locations. Taking these back to Shanan's flat they then hacked, filtered and manipulated the results until they could pass for music. The only rule they set themselves was that the music could only be made from the sounds of one recording, with no added instruments.

In a strange moment of synchronicity Montano was contacted to take part in an international, net-based project with almost exactly the same aim. The French label Autres Directions In Music was creating a compilation called The Noise & The City, for which contributors all over the world were asked to make music using the sounds of their hometowns. Compiled in geographical order, the two Kiwis had the strange (fitting, given the ex-pat population?) honour of representing Melbourne.

Shanan and Michael both left Melbourne in 2005, leading to a fairly inevitable hiatus, although Montano did perform two gigs in Wellington that year.

A New Zealand release of the band's self-titled first CD in December 2005 roughly coincided with the cessation of the Capital Recordings label. Accordingly the album received very little in the way of press or publicity, but was still featured as one of the best New Zealand albums in Grant Smithies' Soundtrack book.

Both members of Montano are back living in Wellington and have resumed writing music together.


Band members


Discography


Trivia

  • Montano is named after the name next to the doorbell at Shanan's flat, where the project first began.


Related Links

Jan 2002
Tags: Ambient, Electronic, Wellington, jet jaguar, electronica, montano, octif,