John Monkman Returns with ‘Signal’ on Vapour Records
landing on Australian imprint Vapour Records on February 27, 2026. The release arrives in the lead-up to his appearance at Rainbow Spirit Festival on March 7, positioning the track as part of a wider live narrative rather than a disconnected studio statement.
Instead of treating Signal as an isolated drop, Monkman frames it within the arc of his forthcoming performance. The track is designed to exist on a system, in context, in motion. Its rollout aligns with a growing wave of underground energy coming out of Australia, something the UK artist was keen to tap into directly.
“This release is about connection. Not in a strategic sense, but in terms of feeling part of a scene rather than orbiting around it. There’s a lot of really strong music coming out of Australia right now, especially in the underground, and this felt like the right moment to place something there.”
At the core of Signal is the Moog Voyager, whose analogue circuitry drives the track’s tone and propulsion. Monkman built the record around raw hardware manipulation, looping the synth’s output back into itself to create organic distortion from the instrument rather than introducing digital saturation later in the chain. The result is dense but controlled, textured yet precise.
“The core sounds come from the Moog Voyager, mainly using sync. I wanted to get the purest possible tone from the synth before doing anything else.”
The structure of the track developed through performance-led recording sessions rather than a rigid arrangement grid. Multiple takes were captured, with key passages extracted and refined into the final cut. The pacing leans into restraint. Pressure accumulates gradually, with Monkman paying particular attention to the closing section to ensure the track sustains tension rather than offering an immediate exit point.
“Signal is tough, but it’s also deep. It’s not designed to deliver everything instantly. I spent a lot of time on the ending because I wanted people to stay with it rather than mix straight out.”
With Signal, Monkman delivers a piece that prioritises tone, patience and system impact, aligning analogue craftsmanship with a specific moment on the festival calendar.
