Phil Monsour is an “Australian troubadour who sings songs of hope, humanity, invasion and occupations”. (Limelight Magazine Jan 2009). He is a committed independent singer/songwriter with a history of producing music that travels beyond the mainstream to explore complex issues of identity, solidarity and politics. Phil's songs speak with honesty and insight about people’s lives and personal experiences. He is an accomplished musician on both acoustic and electric guitar and has a strong and passionate voice. Phil’s performance style is both energetic and moving.(download as a PDF)
Based in Brisbane Phil Monsour has extensive performing and recording experience as a solo performer and with his bands, the Phil Monsour Band, the Cutters and Popproperly. Recent releases include Ghosts of Deir Yassin (2012), the Empire’s New Clothes (2008), Live at Ahimsa House (2010), Lies and Silence (2009), and the Smart Bombs EP (2001). With the band Popproperly, Phil released two albums: Popproperly (1999) and Faint Blue Glow (1998), as well as a number of EPs and singles. Renowned for their high energy folk rock performances, Popproperly toured extensively throughout Europe.
Ghosts of Deir Yassin 2012
Phil Monsour Ghosts of Deir Yassin was recorded at Wavelength Recording in Brisbane with the full band which features Jon Lloyd on Drums, Ian Kimber on Bass and Vocals, Graham Jackson on Guitar and vocals and Phil Monsour on Guitar and Lead Vocals. The music that emerged over a period of several months is an upbeat and dynamic vehicle for Phil’s unique lyrical concerns.
In 2010, Phil Monsour travelled to Lebanon and visited the Burj el Barajneh refugee camp. He also travelled to the West Bank in the Occupied Palestine Territories and attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Gaza Strip. Most of the songs on this CD were written during and shortly after this trip. Inspired by a number of actual experiences, the lyrics are serious but have an accessibility grounded in real experiences and the stories of real people.
In early January 2012 Phil returned overseas to film a video clip for the title song of the CD and spent 5 days filming on location in a number of refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. The video will be released in May 2012.
20% of the money from Phil's CD sales are donated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions overseas development agency for projects in the Middle East.
In 2008, with his new band Phil Monsour recorded and released a 13- song CD, The Empire’s New Clothes. The result described by Noel Mengel in the Brisbane Courier mail is “ the most passionate album of his career.....The Empire's New Clothes shows traces of his interest in folk and world music but also rocks with amp-rattling intensity on songs like the blazing One Step and the anthemic Sing Your Song". The album is a bleak and insightful statement, a unique mix of personal and related narratives about ordinary people whose stories and circumstance are ignored or pushed to the edges.
Musically, The Empire’s New Clothes builds on Phil’s acoustic rock style and creates a contemporary and complex musical landscape. For the project, Phil worked with a range of musicians from a wide variety of musical backgrounds to develop arrangements and instruments that best supported the power and passion behind the songs. Musicians included Jon Lloyd on drums, Graham Jackson on guitar and vocals, Lachlan Hurse on bass, Lorne Gerlack on keyboards, Bryan Pearson on piano and organ, and the ever versatile Simon Monsour (Phil’s cousin) as producer engineer and occasional musician.
Phil Monsour continues to perform regularly locally and internationally.
Contact
http://www.philmonsour.com/
phil@philmonsour.com
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