Search - Vanilla Monk :: Parallels

Vanilla Monk's Parallels is the first full album of original music from Matt Farr and Craig Stevens. After working for almost a year on developing rough ideas into sonic art, Vanilla Monk emerges with this ten-song collection. The collaborative process of this album showcases electronic and acoustic sounds that the group is hoping will appeal to a broad audience. Blending down tempo, electronic, soul, and pop, this recording is for those listeners looking for deep textures, melodic vocals, and "down-tempo" grooves. Farr and Stevens have been writing and performing together over the past 5 years around the South Florida area. Performances include numerous appearances at Sunfest, one of South Florida's premier music festivals. After performing live for many years both decided to focus strictly on recording their original music at the end of 2006. With both parents' musicians themselves, Farr began cultivating his talent at a very young age. "It is easy to get involved with music when you are surrounded by it during your childhood" Farr explains, "there is no doubt it was the most influential factor in me becoming a musician". Farr briefly attended University of Miami for music and has been involved in numerous musical projects around South Florida. His diverse skills as a vocalist, producer, and composer in many different styles and through many different avenues, can be heard on the new Parallels record. The project represents a yearlong collaboration with longtime friend and fellow musician, Craig Stevens. When asked about Vanilla Monk, Farr said, "this is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. Cross the boundaries of musical genres to create something fresh and different. Being able to truly collaborate with Craig and work with great musician friends also brought different ideas and viewpoints to each song every single night. Starting at the age of 5, Stevens began his musical journey with piano lessons and recitals. "Once a week I walked across the street to Matt's house and took lessons from his mom before catching a ride to school," said Stevens. Starting that early in his life, and in the morning, gave Craig the drive to learn more and more. All through grade school and middle school Craig refined his skills on the piano. It wasn t until his second year in college that Craig picked up the bass. "I remember my brother was starting a band at home and they had gone through several bass players and couldn't find a match. I told them I would play and that summer I purchased a cheap bass and amp and learned to play, recalls Stevens. From then on, Craig used his knowledge of music from years on the piano and translated it to the strings of a bass. After playing around the Chicago area for many years, Craig made the move to Florida to begin collaboration with Farr. "We both knew from a young age that we wanted to make this a career and we both knew there was chemistry between our styles of writing and ideas. This experience has been a long time coming, said Stevens. Studio sessions with the dynamic vocals of Audrey Assad and the world class drumming of Matt Crowning, bring the Parallels music to life. Audrey Assad has been making a name for herself to date with her own solo material. Audrey's vocal ability and musicianship played a huge part in the making of numerous tracks on the Vanilla Monk album. "Audrey is a joy to record with. She can effortlessly bring vocal parts and harmonies to life. Not to mention her writing, phrasing, all of which are superb. She also is a good friend, and that makes for a good time regardless, explains Farr. Matt Crowning sits in on the drum set for the majority of the tracks and adds his own style to the Parallels record. Matt is one of the leading drummers in pop, jazz and R&B in South Florida today.