That smoke, that haze, that skyline

Photographs by Allan Wan

Libra is the new project by Los Angeles musician Zeh Monstro. Zeh discusses the similarities between Los Angeles and his home country of Brazil, touring with Kate Clover, and the story behind his new single, “Freak Show.”

Who is Libra and what is your music about?

Libra is my new solo project that I've been composing and making demos for almost 2 years. Ironically I thought 2020 would be the perfect year to finally release it. It's a project where I'm gonna be recording all the instruments (drums/bass/guitar/keys/vocals) and I'm always gonna have a different female singer singing with me on each song. And I'm gonna be releasing each song one at a time. For the debut song I released "Freak Show" featuring my super talented friend Lily Waters, who also has her own band.

What is your history as a musician?

I started playing music at 14 years old, playing drums and composing with this punk rock band I founded with friends in Brazil called Holly Tree. After that, I played drums, bass and guitars in several bands in Brazil til in 2012 when I decided to form Name the Band. With Name the Band, I was able to apply for an artist visa and move to the US, in 2014. We played with NTB all over the country and I ended up meeting amazing musicians from everywhere, especially in LA, and started to play with them. I played bass for Veronica Bianqui, guitar for Kate Clover, an bass for Crocodiles, among many others.

You were born and raised in Brazil. What was your life like there?

Brazil is an amazing place with a lot of music, art, great food, inspiring landscapes, and so many talented people. But I think I always took living there for granted. I grew up listening and playing American and British music and it's funny but I started to pay attention in Brazilian music and realized how amazing it is after living here for so long. But I think I needed this detachment to feel this lack of knowledge about the place I grew up to realize that I needed to be more connected with my roots.

Why did you decide to move to Los Angeles? What were some big cultural differences you noticed when you first moved here?

I sing in English on Name the Band's songs so it was natural for us to decide to move out here. The rock and roll scene in LA was popping and we were very excited to be part of it! Brazil and the US have much more similarities than differences, especially in LA where the Spanish/Latin community is big. We felt very welcome in LA and it truly became our home after living here for 6 years.

In the 6 years of being in Los Angeles/United States, how have you grown as a musician and an artist?

I definitely grew up a lot. LA is a tough city, especially for someone that is not from here, so since day one I had to bust my ass off to keep doing what I love and being doing my whole life, play music. That for sure reflected on my compositions. I think Libra is a direct product of all this amazing experience. Not mentioning the great opportunity of playing with awesome musicians that made me mature as an artist.

Last year you went on tour with Kate Clover. What was that experience like?

It was an unique experience. Kate and I were friends before I started playing for her but now our friendship reached another level. I consider her as my sister. I toured three times, every time with a different band supporting her. Combining all of them I spent 4 months on the road. We played all over the country with so many cool bands. I met so many amazing people and had one of the best times of my life. It was really transcendent.

You just released your debut single, "Freak Show". What is the song about? Why is this a good first representation of Libra?

With Libra, I want to make pop music. Not dumb predictable pop, but interesting and good taste pop. That's my goal. “Freak Show” talks a lot about LA nightlife and meaningless parties that you always end up going to and the only thing that you get from it is a terrible hangover the next day. But at the same time, it can be very inspiring. I think it's an amazing debut song for Libra because it captures musically and aesthetically what I wanna pass. Having Lily Waters singing with me gave me the opportunity to take the song to another level. Also, Al Sgro made an amazing work producing it. I am very happy with the result.

What's next for you?

Oh, It's always hard to plan things during this crazy pandemic we are going through. But I am recording Libra playing live in a Studio and it's gonna be filmed by my good friend and amazing photographer Allan Wan. I'm gonna be playing the song accompanied by amazing musicians and of course Lily Waters singing with me. And if the world doesn't end in the next 2 months I'm recording Libra's second single.