Monitors return with their debut album ‘The Madelaine Affair’, marking a major moment for the Paris-based band previously described by Rolling Stone Magazine as “producing an outstanding musical fusion.” Formed in 2017 by members of English, Bosnian, and French backgrounds, the band signed to Manchester label AnalogueTrash in 2021 and have since built a reputation for challenging, life-affirming music and a formidable live presence across France and the UK. The group consists of Emil Balic on bass and composition, Renaud Fumey on guitar, Chris Remick on vocals and lyrics, and Féodor Trotta on drums.
Co-produced at Paris studio La Canopée, ‘The Madelaine Affair’ draws on ideas of memory, loss, and collective resilience, referencing Proust’s reflections on the senses and grief. Emil Balic explains, “In an increasingly harsh world, our music is meant to be a refuge, a shelter against adversity. We remain pacifists, probably utopians, but more than ever, convinced that we must stand together. And even if everything falls apart around us, there will always be moments to stay united together, and to celebrate our love for this music.” Chris Remick adds, “The new album is Marinetti’s manifesto brought to life: sing the love of danger, the habit of energy, the beauty of speed, and motor cars running on machine-gun fire. Beauty exists only in struggle. The Madelaine Affair is a modern cacophony of violent inspiration, angelic epiphanies, and radical transformation.”