Sunmonks is a Sacramento-region art-pop project built around the duo of Geoffrey CK (vocals, guitar) and Alexandra Steele (vocals), who came up out of the close-knit musical community of Auburn, California.[1][2] Their genre-resistant sound blends pop, choral, West African highlife, samba, math rock and jazz, often layered with horn arrangements and intertwined harmonies.[2] Geoffrey CK's full surname is Knecht — he is Geoffrey C. Knecht.[3] The duo began performing at house parties in California before being urged to move to public venues.[3] By 2021 Sunmonks had relocated to Los Angeles,[4] where the project remains active as of 2025.[5]
At a glance
- Core duo: Geoffrey C. Knecht and Alexandra Steele; the two met in 2005 in the Auburn-area music scene.[1][3]
- Settled on their shared musical direction around 2012, after years of writing together without an intentional path.[1]
- Debut EP In a Desert of Plenty released Oct. 28, 2014, via Crossbill Records.[1]
- 2-track EP Summertime Hi released May 25, 2016, recorded at The Dock (Sacramento, CA) and Panoramic House (West Marin, CA).[6]
- Album Two Play (11 tracks) released June 15, 2017, on Digisquad Records.[2][3][7]
- EP/single DarkNet Acid released February 2, 2021, tagged to Los Angeles.[4]
- Single Saturday Morning released June 15, 2025; current base is Los Angeles, CA.[5]
- Producer John Baccigaluppi (Tape Op publisher) mixed In a Desert of Plenty at Panoramic House studios in Stinson Beach.[1]
- Topped Submerge's Top 30 Albums of 2014 list at No. 1.[8]
Origin and members
Geoffrey CK (full name: Geoffrey C. Knecht[3]) and Alexandra Steele met in 2005, both embedded in the tight musical community in and around Auburn, California; they became friends first and only gradually began performing together when Steele sang parts in bands CK played in.[1] According to Hold My Ticket, the two began performing at house parties in California and were quickly urged to begin performing in public venues.[3] Both came from families where religion and music were intertwined—Steele from the Church of the Nazarene and CK from a Mormon background—and both received musical training from an early age.[2] CK has framed this as part of a "hill folk mentality" of Nevada County, where people "breathe music and art as a part of themselves."[2]
Although the pair had written and sung together for years, it wasn't until around 2012 that they settled on a deliberate direction as a musical entity.[1] For live and recorded work the duo has expanded to a fuller band; by the 2014 EP the lineup also included Julian Loy on drums and Dave Middleton on bass.[1]
Local status
Sunmonks is a local (Greater Sacramento region) act by origin. Submerge describes them as "Sacramento's Sunmonks,"[1] and recounts that the duo "grew together out of the close-knit musical community of Auburn"—Auburn and Nevada County being part of the Sierra Nevada foothills within the greater Sacramento region.[2] One 2015 write-up calls them "regional groovers,"[9] consistent with a foothills origin rather than a touring act passing through. Confidence: high.
By 2021 the project had relocated to Los Angeles, California,[4] and as of June 2025 Sunmonks remains active there.[5]
Sound and approach
CK builds songs as demos using a loop station, stacking parts over acoustic guitar with melodies and harmonies between himself and Steele; bandmate Dave Middleton noted that taking a looped composition and playing it out organically produces "unique moments of chaos" and human imperfection.[1] CK cites David Byrne and Fela Kuti as touchstones and describes songwriting as more a "religious experience" than a "scientific" one, favoring a primal, anti-paint-by-numbers approach.[1] The band's stated arranging rule is to use instruments "not how [they're] supposed to be used"—treating everything, in effect, like a drum.[1]
Their influences span pop, choral music, West African highlife, samba, math rock and jazz, which has made them hard to categorize; labels have struggled to place them, sometimes billing them as "world music" (a label CK rejects, citing Tony Allen's critique of the term) or alongside straight guitar-bass-drums rock bands.[2] CK and Steele develop material in front of live audiences rather than retreating to record first—"We develop everything in public," CK says—choosing songs based on the chemistry between performer and viewer.[2] As of 2025 the duo describes their sound as "dance-y alternative indie rock funk."[5]
Releases
- In a Desert of Plenty (EP, 4 songs) — released Oct. 28, 2014, on Crossbill Records; its tracks are sequenced from most recent song written to oldest, reflecting that the material was written and recorded over long periods in different locations. Mixed at Panoramic House studios in Stinson Beach by producer (and Tape Op publisher) John Baccigaluppi. Notable tracks include the title track (built on Afro-beat progressions with cymbals deliberately eliminated), "The Deaf" and "Golden Words."[1] The EP took the No. 1 slot on Submerge's Top 30 Albums of 2014.[8]
- Summertime Hi (EP, 2 tracks) — released May 25, 2016. Tracks: "Summertime Hi" and "How Are You?" Recorded and mixed by John Baccigaluppi at The Dock (Sacramento, CA) and Panoramic House (West Marin, CA).[6]
- Two Play (LP, 11 tracks) — released June 15, 2017, on Digisquad Records;[3][7] cataloging the band's artistic evolution over several years. The opening track is "The Monk," and the record was accompanied by a "very Jodorowskian" video for "Cannibal Wit." For the brass parts the band worked with multi-instrumentalist Jacob Gleason after two brass ensembles balked at the technically demanding charts.[2] The album features Gabe Nelson and Mike Urbano of Sacramento band CAKE.[3]
- DarkNet Acid (EP/single) — released February 2, 2021, tagged to Los Angeles, California; the first documented release following the band's move south.[4]
- Saturday Morning (single) — released June 15, 2025; the band's most recent documented release as of the archive date, recorded and released from Los Angeles.[5]
A 2014 interview indicated an LP was planned for 2015 to capture "where they are now," in contrast to the EP being a record of "where they've been"[1]; the next full-length documented in the corpus, Two Play, arrived in 2017.[2]
Scene relationships
Geoffrey CK guested as a vocalist on Sea of Bees' (Julie Ann Baenziger) 2015 album Build A Boat to the Sun, which—like the Sunmonks EP—was produced by John Baccigaluppi.[10] CK has pointed to Daniel Trudeau of Pregnant as a fellow Nevada County-area artist of the same "breathe music as part of themselves" lineage.[2]
Notable shows
- Vinyl release show for In a Desert of Plenty at LowBrau (1050 20th Street), Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014.[1]
- Old Ironsides (1901 10th Street) as part of Lipstick's annual New Year's Eve party, Dec. 31, 2014.[1]
- Concerts in the Park (Cesar Chavez Plaza), July 17, 2015, on a bill with From Indian Lakes, Xochitl and Dusty Brown.[11]
- THIS Midtown Block Party at the MARRS Building Block (20th Street between J and K), Aug. 8, 2015, with Trails and Ways, Tiaras and Young Aundee.[9]
- R Street Block Party and Maker's Mart, June 24, 2017, alongside Doombird, Salt Wizard and Rituals of Mine (DJ set).[2]
- Free show at Golden Bear (2326 K Street), July 13, 2017, with Seattle's Headwaves.[2]