Monique Ortiz: Bass, Vocals
As a fine art graduate from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Monique realized early that she'd rather be creating soundscapes than landscapes. Her role in music began as a clarinet player in elementary school, moving on to sax, drums, then bass. Home was always very musical, with her father singing along to Motown and Latin Records, playing Latin percussion, her mother singing Patsy Cline and her brother cranking new wave and punk in the bedroom next door.
Obsessed with the infectious grooves from pop bands like Duran Duran, Josef K, and Roxy Music, along with the ambient and cerebral textures of Japan, Can, and Brian Eno, she took up the bass and played in a string of local bands...all this by the age of 14. At 16 Monique's father bought her first fretless bass... More On Monique