Experimental musician and soul-funk visionary MonoNeon has always pushed boundaries with his music — but his latest release, “3 Hours Gone,” takes a deeply personal turn. The track, featuring vocals from his Grandma Liz, tells a funny but touching narrative about her battle with dementia and a moment of fear and love that shook their family… the time she walked out of the house early morning and was lost for three hours.

“3 Hours Gone” blends MonoNeon’s signature quirky funk with comedic emotional depth. Over a minimal production, slightly warped groove, the song unfolds like a diary entry. Liz’s voice — southern-soul filled with a Baptist church warmth and twang— drifts in and out, singing fragments of memory, confusion, and clarity. Grandma Liz’s verse written by MonoNeon is so funky, “talking to the trees, asking God does he know Japanese”… is a line that needed to be written! MonoNeon weaves in his bass like a heartbeat, bouncing under his lyrics that paint the fear of those three lost hours, and the quiet blissfulness of her safe return.

In a recent interview, MonoNeon said, “The music I create with my grandma is my only way of dealing her dementia. It’s about honoring the parts of my grandma that are still here and mourning the parts that fade every day.” The raw vulnerability of the track is amplified by homemade recordings produced and mixed by MonoNeon. 

“3 Hours Gone” is not just about memory loss — it’s about connection, resilience, and love. In bringing Grandma Liz into the crusty neon studio, MonoNeon has given her a voice in her own story, and created a song that’s as strange and beautiful as life itself.

“3 Hours Gone” lyric video on YouTube:

The track is available now on all streaming platforms: https://dywanethomasjr.bandcamp.com/track/3-hours-gone-feat-grandma-liz