Since 2012, Monophonics has steadily built a reputation as a consistent band with a unique sound. Well crafted songs and records are matched by an energetic live performance. A heavenly signature style: Pure timeless heavy soul and warm textures of psychedelic rock. This is a band that revels in the past, taking you back to the stylings of the late 60s and early 70s, while always keeping its feet positioned in the present, looking ahead to the future.
Aka Belle
“People ask us all the time if we are a family band or a cult,” says AKA BELLE. “The truth is somewhere in between, depending on what you think a family or a cult looks like.”
AKA BELLE was formed by married songwriters Catherine and Sam Merrick, alongside longtime friends Anthony Mulparry and Jake Stigers. Christine Nygard first saw the band when she was 17 and manifested the dream to join them by the time she was 19.
So…cult/family band…sort of. Together, AKA BELLE have become known for their immersive performances filled with layered harmonies, percussion, theremin, vibraphone and swirling psychedelic textures – fusing together psych-rock, garage rock, folk, blues, and tropicalia inspired sounds into a vibrant, theatrical and sometimes ceremonial, aural and visual experience.
AKA BELLE released their new double album “All Time is Now/Now is All You Have + The Time For Love is Always Now” through Moon Ruins Records in April 2026. Described as “Whimsically Defiant” the album “plays like a technicolor dispatch from a commune that discovered both a fuzz pedal and a philosophy book at the same yard sale…” –addtowantlist.com
(oh…there’s the cult/commune theme popping up again)
Exploring themes of identity, connection, uncertainty and the natural world through dreamy imagery and protest minded songwriting, four tracks have dropped as official singles – “Fittin’ In,” “Six Severed Feet!” “Envy of Venus,” and “Radiant” along with corresponding music videos, and these tracks – as well as others from the album – have received airplay across over 251 US and international stations, often landing in the Top Ten charts for new releases.
“…a positive fusion of pop melodies, psychedelic vibes and 70’s glam rock…catchy, quirky and surprising…” – Loud Enough? Magazine
“Commune-core psych jams for the end times (and the after party)” – Dennis, addtowantlist.com
“(Aka Belle)…continue to sharpen their distinct blend of cosmic psych-rock and experimental pop…” bloodmakesnoise.com
“Aka Belle makes the most inspirational, life affirming music. They’ll change whatever mood you’re in to the happiest and best side of you that exists. It’s all miracle-like, really,” Daniel ‘Kid’ Yoshida, DJ/Radio Boise
Their passionate calls for love, resistance and soul-lifting energy serve as reminders that we are all part of this beautiful Universe and the Earth we call home.
Cult? Commune? Family? You decide
