Interview: The Mon
While the first part explored abandonment and loss, Songs Of Embrace focuses on presence, proximity, and the physical act of staying, of remaining.
The Mon, the solo project from Urlo (who also plays in the mighty Ufommamut) have just brought out latest album Songs Of Embrace, a collection of music that follows on from last year’s Songs Of Abandon and the results are simply mesmerising. In celebration of the album, Gavin Brown caught up with Urlo to get an insight into Songs Of Embrace, The Mon live shows and what Ufomammut have planned next.
E&D: Your new album Songs Of Embrace has just been released. It is the second chapter of Embrace The Abandon, a chapter that began with 2025s Songs Of Abandon. Can you tell us about this second chapter and what themes the album deals with?
Urlo: Songs Of Embrace is the second chapter of Embrace The Abandon, and it expands its emotional landscape rather than closing it. While the first part explored abandonment and loss, Songs Of Embrace focuses on presence, proximity, and the physical act of staying, of remaining. It is the breath that answers, the inner voice. The album avoids the idea of resolution or comfort, embracing slowness, repetition, and a physical tension that can be felt from beginning to end. It is not just music, but a stream of consciousness, an inner research, a way of embracing what weighs inside us without letting it go. While Songs Of Abandon was a collection of songs, nine tracks written in nine days, Songs Of Embrace is a constantly evolving musical flow. It is a movement that shifts, grows, explodes, slows down, settles, and then rises again. It is like the sea: sometimes still, seemingly motionless, and then a breath of wind is enough to set it in motion and turn it into a storm.
E&D: How was the experience of creating and recording Songs Of Embrace?
Urlo: Songs Of Embrace is a ritual, conceived more as a classical piece, a suite. Different parts unfold like movements, each track a natural continuation of the previous one, and the album only finds its full meaning as a whole. The compositions are deeply interconnected, like embraces: some bring quiet, others pain. These are pieces meant to be listened to in one breath, to be wrapped in, lulled, and sometimes pushed away, just as it happens within an embrace.
E&D: What have been the biggest inspirations and influences on the sound of this record?
Urlo: I used a lot of synthesisers, pushing many parts to their limits, trying to create a sense of both tension and breath at the same time. It is the continuation of an “acoustic” record, carrying forward a sonic path and transforming it, translating it into a different kind of atmosphere.
E&D: Have you been happy with how both Songs Of Embrace and Songs Of Abandon have been received?
Urlo: Yes, very much. I am also very happy from a live perspective. I feel this latest work is deeply mine, more than any previous record, and the atmosphere it creates is very particular, ritualistic, almost hypnotic.
E&D: Will there be further chapters in this series of music?
Urlo: Embrace The Abandon is complete with the release of Songs Of Embrace. It is a closed chapter. What comes next still has to be written, I don’t yet know what it will be.
E&D: Is the music of The Mon still best exemplified as evocative atmospheres for a soul catharsis?
Urlo: Definitely. The live shows are a ritual of transformation. Each piece shifts and becomes a way to bring my soul toward a catharsis, a purification.
E&D: You have brought out visuals for the track ‘A Pearlescent Pulse Of Light’. Can you tell us about this and was making it a powerful experience for you?
Urlo: The video for this track blends images of the three nails from Songs Of Abandon with the calendula from Songs Of Embrace. I was searching for something that could fully embody the piece, something that could visually resonate with its essence. It was an intense and very focused process, trying to find a balance between symbols and atmosphere.
E&D: Have you had any thoughts about potential new music at all?
Urlo: No, right now I am fully focused on this project.
E&D: You must be looking forward to taking Songs Of Embrace on the road?
Urlo: I am currently on tour with kariti and already bringing this project live. I am very excited to see how the audience will react.
E&D: Is kariti the perfect touring companion for this run?
Urlo: Absolutely. There is a strong affinity, both musically and emotionally. kariti’s sound resonates with a similar depth and intensity, and sharing the stage with her feels natural. It creates a cohesive journey for the audience from beginning to end.
E&D: Will you be playing songs from both Songs Of Embrace and Songs From Abandon on this run?
Urlo: Yes, I divided the set into two parts: one based on guitar and one based on synthesisers.
E&D: You unfortunately had to cancel shows at the end of last year, does that make this tour extra special for you?
Urlo: Yes, definitely. Having to cancel shows left something unresolved, almost suspended, and this tour feels like a way to reconnect and give shape to that interruption.
E&D: Do you feel that the tracks from Songs Of Embrace in particular will take on a life of their own in a live environment?
Urlo: The songs from Songs Of Embrace are especially open to transformation. Live, they breathe differently, they stretch, they collapse, they evolve. They are not fixed forms, but living organisms that react to the space, the audience, and the moment.
E&D: Is there a big visual element to these shows?
Urlo: Yes, visuals are an essential part of the experience. They are not just an accompaniment, but an extension of the sound. Light, shadows, and images help to create an immersive environment, a space where the audience can lose themselves and enter the flow of the music more deeply.
E&D: Have you considered playing both Songs Of Embrace and Songs Of Abandon in full in a live scenario?
Urlo: Yes, it’s something I’ve thought about. They are two parts of the same whole, and performing them in full would be like presenting the complete cycle, the entire breath from absence to presence. It would require the right context and the right space, but it’s definitely something I would like to explore.
E&D: What have been some of your favourite live shows that you have played with The Mon?
Urlo: There have been many intense moments, but I particularly remember shows where the connection with the audience became almost tangible. Certain nights feel suspended in time, where everything aligns: the sound, the space, the people. Those are the shows that stay with me, like the last show I played in Wien at Arena. It was magic.
E&D: Who are the most inspiring live acts in the world for you?
Urlo: I am inspired by artists who turn live performance into something transformative. Not necessarily tied to a specific genre, but to an approach where sound, presence, and intention become one. That is what I look for and what continues to influence me. If I have to tell a few names, I could say I’ve been touched by the shows of MMMD and Bosco Sacro in the last years.
E&D: Can you tell us what Ufomammut have planned for the future?
Urlo: There are always ideas evolving. We are constantly exploring new directions, new sounds, and new ways of expressing what Ufomammut is. It is an ongoing process, and there will definitely be new music and new live experiences ahead. Right now we’re working at our show at Roadburn Festival and it will be a very special one.
E&D: Would you ever do a tour with both Ufomammut and The Mon playing on the same night?
Urlo: Yes, I think it would be very interesting. They are two different expressions, but they come from the same root. Bringing them together in the same night could create a unique contrast and a deeper narrative, a dialogue between two parts of the same artistic identity.
