We are happy to ANNOUNCE that we can finally share our top 10 for our Monkey Music competition with you all.
Firstly, we want to start by saying a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who entered! With over 500 submissions, it's safe to say it was not an easy decision for our judges here at Rubber Monkey.
Now for a huge congratulations to the following compositions that made it into the top 10. Tomorrow, we will be announcing the winners – so make sure you keep an eye out.
The song is about a couple of friends of ours who live together. What started as a beautiful friendship between a straight male and a gay woman, grew into something neither had anticipated. He had become the exception to an otherwise steadfast sexual orientation - an enigma. Whilst the friendship always seemed to come first, they both grappled with this conundrum. He always respected her feelings immensely, but at times couldn't hide his confusion. We spoke a number of times about it and I eventually decided to write a song from his perspective. The song's message is one of respect. More precisely, about respecting someone's feelings and not thinking you are entitled to try to change their mind. Even when confused, he didn't question her. Instead he just wished that sometimes he could be what she wanted.
"is it about me...' - A song about a fractured mind, caused by the anxiety of fabricated narratives and undressed assumptions. I wrote this song while in a hurtful relationship; the dread of reading someones feelings through facial expressions instead of words. When someone can't express their truest thoughts they force unfair assumptions. I love the aphorism 'a web of lies' because of its pertinent reference to a spider; the creature shrouded in mystery--hiding in crevices and cracks, but undeniably dangerous. I wish the Kiwi stigma in sharing your feelings didn't exist because a lack of openness is dangerous... it destroys relationships. But despite what the actions of others can do, there is no doubt I can be my own worst enemy, and the tormenting voices of interrogation can be the biggest lie that is spun in a situation. Recorded entirely in a bedroom onto Logic Pro X with an AT2035 Cardioid Condenser Microphone running through an AudioBox USB 96 interface. Additional instruments include various digital synthesizers and electric guitar. Main vocals by Judah Jackson, backing vocals and production by Caleb White."
"I wrote this song about a time I was housing for a friend and wasn’t used to being alone. I ended up getting super lonely, super drunk, ordering Uber eats and diving into a very depressing state where I just wanted to people to be with me. This was recorded at parachute studios, drums played by Douglas Bagg, guitars & additional BV’s by Joe Faris. Sm7b on vocals and used to mic up amps."
"The writing of this song is inspired by the movie 'Her' about a lonely man who ends up falling in love with his AI companion, that quickly evolves into some transcendent divine being and leaves him lonely again. Super sad movie! But that premise felt like a really fitting story for these recent times as digital dependency is ramping up. I really wanted the production to feel really romantic (strings, harp, staccato bass, etc) but also eerie digital sounding elements floating around."
Makayla Douglass - What Do I Do? "This song is about grief, not of the dead but of the living, people you haven’t discarded but have outgrown.. This is a big part of growing up, as we grow and grow out of people we love, and dealing with this I’ve learned that grief is homeless love that can no longer find shelter in the person it used to belong to. This song was inspired by the “leftover information”, as the lyrics read, that has accumulated in your brain after this happens, not about the loss of the relationship as much as the parts of them that are still with you, that you can’t seem to get rid of even though they’re gone. They may no longer be in your life, but everything you took the time to learn about them is still there and no one can ever really be dead to you (figuratively) if their memory is still alive. You will still know they’ve grown when their birthday rolls around again, but you aren’t there to witness that growth and wish them a happy birthday. You will still think about them when the songs you used to listen to together come on shuffle, but they won’t be there to sing along. It is as if they are your old favourite shirt that you have grown out of, and you couldn’t fit into again even if you were to stretch it and rip it at the seams, so now it’s just sitting in the back of your closet collecting dust, never to be touched again but you can’t bring yourself to get rid of it because it was something you once really loved even though it no longer serves any purpose. So instead of getting rid of it you just think to yourself, “what do I do with this?”"
"Indie-pop artist ‘CAITLIN’ releases her first single of 2022: the first of many exciting songs coming out this year. The driving electric guitar and tight drumbeat paired with frank lyricism show that CAITLIN is not afraid to be honest with her audience. She touches on emotions of jealousy, stress and confusion in a way that will have you shouting the lyrics in your car. Recorded in a producer’s home studio, self funded recording. I would love to win some gear so that I can record demos and live recordings at home."
"This song came about after having a long meaningful conversation with a friend, all the while in the background a live Pink Floyd album was playing. Every song that came on seemed to matched the topics we were talking about at the time, enhancing the whole experience. So it seemed appropriate that the song would have some heavy Pink Floyd influence. The instrumental was based around a solo piano piece I had written the year before and it all built from there., there is also an extended 7 minute version that shines light on the original piano piece at the end."
"Far House is my journey into a more musical live, emo, progressive and moody sound whilst still incorporating my electronic production style most notably In the last section. It is going to be on my upcoming 4th album. Recorded drums at roundhead which was my first time in a studio. I recorded everything else at home and did all the production myself."
"The song is based around a bass riff of 21 beats - it is "One more than twenty" or "More than a Score". In the main part of the tune, the beats are divided into bars of 5/4, 6/4, 5/4 and 5/4 which makes up the 21 beat pattern. In the interlude, the pattern is arranged into 7 bars of 3/4. These changing time signatures create a hypnotic effect and the catchy melodies remind the listener of classic jazz tunes like "Take 5"! This was recorded live at Dunedin Jazz Club, Hanover Hall, November 21 of 2021."
"A Musical Epic that combines influences from Progressive Rock/Metal(Dream Theater, Plini), Virtuoso Guitar(Joe Satriani, Polyphia), and Cinematic(Hans Zimmer)."
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