Having met in Boston, the four friends found home in Brooklyn and formed Mon Khmer, following a summer of session work that included Hammarsing (vocalist/guitarist) joining Albert Hammond Jr. on a world tour.
Assembled from a wide range of backgrounds, the band shirks identification with any one genre. Some have made attempts, like Death and Taxes who wrote “You can easily parse out an influence of Battles in their sound for it was breezy and punchy, and their pool of effects pedals kept people’s ears perked up throughout.” While Brooklyn Vegan suggests “an otherworldly feel.”
Dave Cole (drums) and Mathew Scheiner (bass/keys/vocals) draw heavily from Motown Records, Shuggie Otis and Steely Dan. The band is complemented with Elias Meister’s (Guitar) jazz upbringings as well Hammarsing’s, Durutti Column, George Harrison and David Bowie songwriting influences.
Praise has indeed been high for the band's live shows, slowly captivating listeners sending them into a groove/trance/dance mode that is legitimately hard to resist. Being around for slightly over a year, Mon Khmer has shared stages with prodigious and unconventional Micachu & The Shapes, Esben & The Witch, Bear in Heaven, Secret Machines, Tony Castles, Beach Fossils, Deradoorian.