monroe and she
monroe and she, the musical collaboration between matt monroe and lea leone, have released their first EP, white hot fire—four songs between shoegaze and indie rock with trip hop and dream pop influences. monroe and she is a Swiss band conceived and birthed in New York City.
In 2017, Swiss instrumentalist matt monroe temporarily moved to Brooklyn to take some time off and make some music. He wrote a full album there, but lacked a lead singer.
In 2018, he took another trip to New York with several friends, including lea leone. In a karaoke bar in Manhattan, he challenged lea to a duet, and promptly realized they were not simply singing karaoke, but beginning the musical journey that now sees fruition in white hot fire.
Below you'll find one of monroe and she's music videos, "the edge," and audio tracks for the three other songs on white hot fire. You'll have to log into Spotify to hear the audio tracks. If you'd prefer, you can go to their YouTube channel to hear all four songs, and watch the videos, without logging in.
matt monroe: classical guitar electric guitar, jazz guitar, bass – one would like to put matt in the classic guitarist pigeonhole. but watch out: the guy also has a piano, an accordion, a saxophone or a drum kit sitting around. everything he can get his hands on that makes a sound, he simply puts into a song.
covering classic rock hits by pearl jam or pink floyd in his early musical career, he later got inspired by portishead or massive attack and recorded a trip hop album with the band mellowtone – before he discovered the endless variety of shoegaze and dream pop through beach house or slowdive.
and yet, in his heart, he has somehow always remained the simple folk musician who allows himself a few quiet minutes to dave matthews or minor majority.
lea leone: a natural born singer? not so fast; before she discovered her heavenly voice in the lead role of a musical at the age of 12, lea first learned to play the saxophone at 9. the talent was born in her cradle as all five family members are until this day musically active.
after discovering her voice in musicals, lea never stopped – and sang in gospel & acapella choirs and soon – with 16 – in her first band, where she also wrote all the lyrics herself.
did you say versatility? over the years, lea sang in various rock, pop or funk combos, influenced by larkin poe, amanda marshall or joss stone. you might even find her with a guitar singing at the campfire, hear her play the piano or listening to classical music, blues or heavy metal.
