Wise Monkey Lab, a bit of USI to the beat of eDm
Institutional Communication Service
6 May 2019
Wise Monkey Lab, the music combo led by USI alumnus Tommaso Mainardi and soon-to-be USI student Michelangelo Cavadini, took stage at the USI Aula Magna performing the musical interludes during the XXIII Dies academicus, with great appreciation from the audience.
Deeply rooted into reggae and dub music and strongly influenced by hip-hop, electronic and black music, the sound of Wise Monkey Lab is an original and unique mixture, sometimes groovy and punchy, sometimes slow and full of pervasive sounds. Their music genre can be defined as eDm (= electronic DUB / DANCEHALL music).
Wise Monkey Lab was born from the combination of two bands based in the south of Switzerland – Zona Sun (from Locarno), first reggae band ever in Ticino with 15 years of experience; and Sun Over Waves (from Mendrisio), younger but already skilled and more focussed on electronic music – resulting from a series of concerts held in the summer of 2017 where the renowned reggae group from Locarno performed with a number of gests, inlcuding the frontman of the young band from Mendrisio.
In January 2018, the single Roots'N'Soul was released and the new band began to create and produce, eventually performing a first concert on the main stage of the super-event Music Festival in Mendrisio (opening for the Swiss hip-hop artist Rootwords) and other performances during the same summer. In February 2019, the single Big Up was released, and was well received also by artists in Ticino and not only by the black and electronic scene. Last but not least, the song is currently broadcast on national radio stations such as Rete Tre and Couleur 3.
On the studio side, they act as a team to create their own sound, sometimes working with other musicians to add additional flavors to the productions. On the stage side, Wise Monkey Lab is a modular collective intended to perform their songs in live, spread the vibes and set small as big venues on fire.
Finally, Wise Monkey Lab isn’t just a band, it is indeed a laboratory of creative experimentation. The music products, for instance, are also followed by an original comics series of the Wise Monkey's universe, which is one of the additional contents and dimensions of the art developed by the group.
Discover Wise Monkey Lab:
