Sínann Fetherston speaks with Aby Coulibaly and Monjola ahead of RedBull's SoundClash on Friday, October 21.
Inspired by the 'sound clash' competitions of the 1950s in Kingston, Jamaica, where local reggae and dancehall performers challenged one another to battle in front of eager audiences, RedBull created their very own SoundClash events to highlight some of the globes most crowd-pleasing talent.
Kicking off in the Netherlands in 2006, the battles have spread across the globe and have seen heavy-hitting acts taking part including The Roots, Ludacris, Mike Posner, and Snoop Dog.
A mix of DJing, live music and MCs, this year's battle will take place under the guidance of MC Gemma Bradley in Dublin's RDS, and will see Dublin duo Mango x Mathman go head-to-head with emerging Irish artists Aby Coulibaly and Monjola.
We caught up with singer-songwriter Aby and Alt-R&B artist Monjola to find out more about this hotly-anticipated event.
"It's just so unfair," Monjola tells me over Zoom, looking exceptionally unfazed by his upcoming battle with Mango x Mathman, a duo who have been working, performing and crowd-surfing across Irish audiences since 2016.
"We have it won already. I feel like it's going to be fun, we're going to have a good time but... apparently they want it to be a tie," he adds, attempting a straight face. "I think that's what everyone is saying, they're already asking for a tie."
"Look, we're going to go to entertain," he continues on a more serious note. "We're not even taking it too seriously, we're just having fun with it. We actually know Mango and Mathman, they're actually friends, we're having fun, we don't have some rivalry with them. We make completely different types of music so it will be nice to perform to their audience and for them to perform to ours."
"But we are going to win," he laughs, "that's a given."
With the competition being judged by a decibel meter, getting the crowd hyped on the night will be essential, but they won't be alone in their efforts.
The crew leaders will be joined by a host of Irish artists in a star-studded line-up. Most of the acts will be kept under wraps until they hit the stage, but RedBull have revealed that Kneecap - a lively trio from Belfast - will be performing on the night.
Surprise acts aside, Aby and Monjola say that their chemistry will be the essential ingredient to winning the crowd over.
"I like to chant," says Monjola. "I like to get the audience involved. It's fun when you're watching someone perform but I'm not an art exhibition that you just watch, I want to get people involved in it. I always have call and responses and chants - that's how I feed off the energy of the crowd."
"I'm not somebody who chants, necessarily," adds Aby, laughing.
"You have a crazy voice though, you're the exhibition," insists Monjola. "We complement each other."
"We're so close because we work together a lot so we have that chemistry and that energy that we can bring on the night," she agrees.
When it comes to how the two artists met, the details get slippery. Somebody slid into the someone's DMs but the two refuse to agree on who made the first move. One thing they can agree on, however, is that the resulting friendship has been golden.
In 2019, alongside producer and label mate Moyo, the two created a collective agency called Chamomile Club (previously Chamomile Records), and have been collaborating on songs and projects ever since.
Working well as co-writers over the years, and having released their single Where U At in 2021, the two say the future is looking bright.
"I feel like before I started making music, I used to put on the radio and I would always say there weren't enough new Irish artists being supported. It was always Niall Horan, Hozier, Picture This, The Script - it was all white Irish men or boybands," Aby explains. "I wasn't hearing enough diversity, but it's changed so much. The quality of Irish music is so good."
"It's definitely come a long way," agrees Monjola, "but there is a long way to go. In terms of infrastructure, it's not that sustainable for us to stay in Dublin. Me and Aby have to go to London a lot, our whole team is not in Ireland, you know? But we've come a long way. It's only up from here. We're making progress."
As well as battling it out in the RDS, the two have big plans for the coming months - both individually and with the collective.
"We've got new music that we've been working on for a while, I think people will like it," says Monjola. "Chamomile Club are back hosting events and we're building the team so there's definitely exciting stuff coming up."
"Next year, definitely, there's going to be a lot coming from us," agrees Aby.
Wrapping up the Zoom chat, Monjola couldn't sign off before sharing some final words for Mango and Mathman: "It's all from love... but we are coming for them."
The Red Bull SoundClash takes place on Friday, October 21. Click here for more info.
