Monade

It's still early in 2005, yet Too Pure Records already have a busy year planned. Their first release of the year is MONADE, a brand new signing featuring Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab. MONADE will be releasing their second album "A Few Steps More" on March 8th. It's also the first as part of Too Pure's new worldwide relationship with Duophonic High Frequency Disks, which is the label owned by Stereolab and the manager of both bands, Martin Pike.

When Laetitia Sadier isn't fronting Stereolab, her nom de plume is MONADE. Originally starting out as her bedroom-recording project, MONADE is now a far bigger beast and a four-piece band that consists of Laetitia (vocals / moog / tambourine / trombone), Marie Merlet (bass / vocals), Nicolas Etienne (keys) and Xavier Chabellard (drums).

Despite this being their first album for Too Pure, "A Few Steps More" is actually Monade's second album but their first to be recorded and mixed in a proper studio (Stereolab's studio, Instant Zero situated in Bordeaux, France). Their debut record, Socialisme Ou Barbarie, was released by Drag City in April 2003 and was billed as 'The Bedroom Recordings'; piecing together all her early solo work, reflecting the D.I.Y. nature of said material.

Although displaying an affinity with her work in Stereolab, Laetitia's MONADE is a different proposition. Distinct by its more considered approach and spare arrangements, A Few Steps More is deceptively adventurous, greatly benefiting from the development of MONADE in to a fully-fledged band. Laetitia's trademark vocal stylings are lent a more emotive edge amidst minimal percussion and the understated playing of the band, augmented by warm analogues and Laetitia's own trombone playing.

MONADE's Too Pure debut, A Few Steps More will be released on both cd & vinyl on March 8th, 2005 and a tour is being planned for late spring.