Monalia Gives You The Norwegian Mountain Surf!

Monalia is an Oslo-based band, with deep roots from the mountains of Telemark. Monalia is about longing; about getting away from all the worries and disappointments in everyday life, to a better world inside, where the greatness, the peace and the savagery of nature slowly gets painted out in the songs. Some of his their biggest influences are popmusic from the 60s, with its melodic and catchy melodies, and music from the british underground scene through the 80s and the 90s, with its floaty, psychedelic, introverted soundscape.

Monalia just released the first single Want To Be A Star from their new yet untitled album due out in April 2019

Want To Be a Star is a song with the characteristic Monalia-style; dreamy and melancholic, with a breath of yearning. With this new single the band has truly crystallized their unique sound, that has turned into a new genre calledmountain surf.

When the sound of Monalia’s new song is flowing out of the speakers, it’s like floating above the tree tops in a deserted mountain scenery. It’s liberating and fresh, just like the mountain air.

Want To Be a Star is about the idea of following your dreams regardless of the consequences. But what is the driving force behind that? Is it honor, talent or fame, or is it because you love it?" says Monalia’s Terje Halmrast, guitar player and singer, and the man behind the lyrics of the song.

"With a touch of irony the lyrics also plays up against the Norwegian ‘jantelov’, which is an unwritten cultural ‘rule’ that is supposed to keep us from reaching for the stars," comments singer Stine Helén Tunstrøm.

"We don’t mean that it’s anything wrong about following your dreams. But I think that it’s important to reflect a bit about what drives you," explains Svein Petter Nilssen, the guitar player. "The most important thing is to be the one you want, can, and should be. Be the star in your own life", he adds.

The inspiration for Want To Be a Star came to Terje during the process of looking for the right band members.

More infos on the band below:

In May 2015, Monalia released their first single, My Little Lies, on the Norwegian label, Ghost Town. The song got air time on the biggest radio stations in Norway, and was playlisted on German radio, as well as recieving a lot of good reviews in international music blogs. Their debut EP with the fitting title, Waited All Too Long, which was released in May 2016, also got regularly airplay on Norwegian national radio and many good reviews in different music blogs.

After the EP-release their time has been spent playing a number of concerts in Oslo and the East part of Norway. The highlight so far was a festival called «Festivalen Sin», where the band shared stage with some of Norway’s biggest artist, Stein Torleif Bjella, Enslaved and Greni. Monalia has been in the studio since February 2018, recording their first full-length album. The first single from their upcoming album, Want To Be A Star is out now with more tasters from the new album to come, with several single-releases during this fall and winter. The album will be released in April 2019