Apollo Monroe is a queer electro-pop artist and songwriter based in Dublin. He is a graduate of BIMM Dublin, with both a BA in Vocals and Performance and an MA in Popular Music Practice and Research.
Monroe grew up in Donaghmede, Dublin, and had an enormous interest in video games and music growing up. During his childhood, it was a combination of The Sims Superstar and Gwen Stefani’s music video for “What You Waiting For” that made him aspire to be a Popstar, and through his love of music and Pop Culture, he found a love for fashion.
Monroe began writing songs as a teen and began vocal training at 15. Whilst he studied music in secondary school, it wasn’t until college did he find his footing in the industry. He studied vocal performance in BIMM Dublin and from that incited a synth-pop band that went by the name of Apollo 6. Monroe was the front-man and sole songwriter of the band, and whilst they gigged in known places such as the Tivoli, Drop Dead Twice, and Crowbar, it wasn’t until they broke up that Monroe began to record and release music.
In 2018, Monroe started listening to experimental pop artists such as SOPHIE, Charli XCX, A.G. Cook, and once Spotify curated the Hyperpop playlist they were introduced to a world of whacky, experimental pop that framed their solo music vision going forward.
He released soda pop, his experimental debut single which fellow queer pop artist Viscose produced, back in February of 2021, intending to innovate and push the boundaries within the Dublin music scene. This track was met with critical acclaim from a multitude of Irish music publications, including the likes of Hot Press Magazine and Nialler 9.
His follow-up singles included collaborations with English hyperpop-produced OLD PUP which resulted in placement on Apple Music and Spotify curated playlists such as Glitch and Hyperpop.
Sweet Tooth is an electro-pop track written by Apollo Monroe and produced by OLD PUP. The track combines influences of dance-pop, hyperpop, trap, and EDM. Thematically, the song is about being romantically aloof, where the protagonist has no intention of ever being tied down.
Monroe’s vision of the track’s production was that of a 90s boy band meets 2099 and wanted to incorporate attitude, backing vocals, and harmonies reminiscent of those bands and combine them with auto-tune and vocoders to give it a futuristic edge.
