A tribute to 80s NYC art/nightlife scene
While the indie-pop duo Sarko Montaug may be new to the music realm, their name is not. Paying tribute to twin pillars of the 80s NYC art/nightlife scene – DJ Anita Sarko and Doorman Haoui Montaug – the group’s focus is on creativity.
Haoui and Anita were instrumental in providing space for artists like Beastie Boys and Madonna to perform when they were unknowns. They had incredible taste and understood the energetic release that can only be experienced in a nightclub full of the right amount of friends, strangers and icons.
The group currently resides in Chicago, but as constant nomads, could be moving on again by the time you read this. “No matter where we live we’ll always be displaced Philadelphians,” say the members (married partners Cristian and Jess Mora). While most connected to new wave and other 80s genres, the group is following their creativity towards whichever musical style calls to it. “We’ll always sound indie, even when we are trying to be pop and we’ll always be trying to modernize the past.”
“Possessive,” their first single, was produced/mixed by Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, Wild Nothing) and addresses the theme of imbalance. Out on 8/13, it aims to be the “dance while setting a reminder to bring up that toxic ex-relationship at your next therapy session” hit of the summer. Musically, the song feels like if Charli XCX was starring in a remake of Desperately Seeking Susan. Their upcoming single, “We Live In The Sky,” was produced and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, Wild Nothing). In it, Elbrecht weaves together stacks of melodies sung by both members of the duo propelled forward by swells of vintage synths. “We let our relationship coast for too long and were faced with the classic timeline of how all tragedies form: gradually, then suddenly. Our personal identities were both so wrapped in the relationship that when it got hit with the trouble we had a lot of personal choices we had to make. When what you thought was a solid structure completely crumbles under you do you crash down with it? Do you jump to try to save yourself? Do you give up or do you stay and learn how to live in a new way?”
https://www.sarkomontaug.com
https://www.instagram.com/sarkomontaug/
