You know, sometimes a song hits you in a way that feels almost too personal, like it was written just for you, or at least about you. That’s exactly what happens when you listen to Monet & Christian’s latest single. It’s like a postcard from the road, but instead of a simple ‘Wish you were here,’ it’s a full-on narrative of the endless highways, the small towns, and those quiet moments of introspection when you’re somewhere between where you’ve been and where you’re going. Since their debut, Monet & Christian have come a long way, both literally and musically. Their first EP was more of an experiment, a way to find their footing as a duo. But now, with each new release, it’s clear they’ve discovered who they are as artists. Catching up with Monet & Christian to chat about their new single, upcoming shows, and what’s next on their journey was an absolute thrill. There’s just something about sitting across from artists who wear their passion on their sleeves—every detail feels like a peek behind the curtain of their creative process. If you’re curious about the backstory of “Homestead Heart,” the magic of their live performances, and what the future holds for this dynamic duo, you’re in for a treat.

photo by @monetandchristianmusic

Hi, guys! Your new single ‘Homestead Heart’ definitely sounds like something special, as if you’ve infused a piece of every place you’ve been into it. The song feels so personal—there must be vivid memories behind it. Could you share if there was a particular moment or encounter during your travels that especially inspired the creation of ‘Homestead Heart?’

There’s no one specific memory, rather a collection of memories. While we do travel a lot and have found ourselves in many different countries over the last two years, the song was inspired by the constant trips we make between the province of Ontario (where Christian is originally from) and New Brunswick (where Monet is originally from). The drive often sparks conversations about where we would want to set down roots if we could. Somewhere bustling like Toronto? Somewhere quieter like rural New Brunswick? And more importantly, do we WANT to set down roots, or just continue our somewhat nomadic lifestyle. Travelling and placing small roots in many different places can lead to a strong want for permanence, but also raise the question of “how do I know that the next place won’t be even better?” It’s a 14-hour drive from Ontario to New Brunswick, and we’ve discussed these questions a lot. So far, the best we’ve come up with is this song.

How did the work on “Homestead Heart” begin? Was it one of those tracks that came together quickly, or did it take a while to refine?

Like a lot of our songs, it started with Monet penning some lyrics, then handing it to Christian to write the bones of the tune. Once we sat down to arrange the piece, the song in its initial form came together in about an hour, but we played it at all our live shows for over a month before we finally recorded it. Lots of minor tweaks happened in that time that led to the song sounding like it does now.

Working together, you’ve probably found a unique rhythm. Do you have any rituals or traditions that help you stay in sync?

It’s funny, we don’t necessarily have any specific rituals. Aside from being work partners, we are also a couple, so between work and personal life we pretty much spend every waking moment together, which certainly helps us to stay tuned in to each other during the writing process and especially the performance process. We can almost always guess each other’s next move.

Your studio sessions with George Rondina and Joey Assad must have been something like magic. What new things did you learn about making music this time around? Were there moments when things didn’t go as planned but ended up turning out for the better?

There were a few moments like this. One that sticks out – there is a line early in the song where Monet sings with her own voice layered in harmony over her. This was actually an accident. Monet had been recording an alternate melody to sing in that section, and when we went back to listen to it, we forgot to mute her original line, so the two lines played in tandem. We haven’t gone back since! 

Your creative journey has been very dynamic. What changes in your style or approach to music have you noticed since the release of your debut album ‘Monet & Christian?’

There have been so many changes since the EP. In a lot of ways, “Monet & Christian” was an experiment more than anything else. We discovered that we could write songs together rather suddenly, and the EP is really a collection of the songs that we used to teach ourselves how to write through. Since then, I think we’ve really discovered who we want to be as musicians, and I think that is coming through a lot clearer in our new music.

photo by @monetandchristianmusic

Your tour is in full swing and runs all the way through October, so each day must bring something new. How do you keep your energy and inspiration up while constantly on the move?

It’s a funny thing, because while it is tiring travelling around, the travel is also what inspires so much of our work, so it’s a bit self-feeding in that way. Travelling and seeing new things is a big passion for us (we just returned from a contract on a cruise ship that went from Australia to Singapore), and because of this, there’s a good chance that if we decided to just drop the whole music thing, you’d very likely still find us on a summer road trip anyway just for our own enjoyment!

There must be stops on your tour that you’re especially excited about. Are there any specific cities or places you’re particularly looking forward to visiting?

We have two shows coming up in Alberta that we are very excited about. Alberta is a province we’ve never been to before, so we are very excited to explore it. One show is at a festival called Vibestown (in Yellowhead County, AB, west of Edmonton) on August 24, and one look at their line up of events makes it seem like one of the coolest and most unique events we’ve ever been a part of. The other is a show at The Attic in Calgary on August 23, and we are looking forward to it because we will be sharing the stage with the band The Sunstrokes, which was formed by some very talented friends of ours from our college years. We are so looking forward to seeing and finally getting to work with them again!

I just have to ask: are you by any chance working on a new album? With all the inspiration and energy you’ve poured into “Homestead Heart,” it feels like the next step is almost inevitable!

There are certainly lots of new songs in the works. Some of them are recorded, some are semi-recorded, and some can currently only be heard at our live shows! Our goal is a new album, hopefully in the new year, but nothing is set in stone yet.

What recent moment made you just stop and think, “This is what makes it all worth it”?

We recently played a show down by the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, and we were playing one of our unrecorded new songs called “Check Engine Light.” It’s a song that is definitely special to both of us, but we hadn’t been sure if it’s something that would really reach anyone else, but we had a whole crowd around us just absolutely loving it! We consider ourselves storytellers first, and it was so rewarding to see that our stories were able to touch the audience in the way we had hoped it would.

What are your plans after the tour ends? Is there a place you dream of just relaxing and recharging?

We often dream (as I’m sure many people do) of completely disconnecting and escaping to a secluded cabin in the woods somewhere, but in reality, we would probably go stir-crazy in about two days. We will be gigging through until the end of October, at which point we will be bringing our music to another cruise ship – the Carnival Legend. The ship will start in Europe, and do a transatlantic cruise to Tampa, Florida, where it will then do cruises to the Caribbean. Our contract will last until the beginning of February 2025, and what happens after that is anyone’s guess!

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*This interview was made possible by GET THE MESSAGE Publicity