CHRIS SETEL / MONIKA – split

(7“, gracetone)

About the music contained on the first gracetone-split 7“ released about a year ago I wrote that it is „way too big for a seven inch single“ and the same is true for the second release on that adventure called gracetone recordings. Starting a label to release seven inches by virtually unknown artists gets a big load of respect from me, especially when the taste in music is so good. I know that most labels are looking for artists and musicians that have a name that people already know, so they see some sales potential, but somebody has got to give those young and starting musicians a helping hand, right? If so, then you, the listeners and buyers of music, should give those young and starting musicians a helping hand by buying their music. I know, that this sounds like a very straightforward and not at all subtle plug, but that is what it is meant to be. If you say you are interested in fringe music (and what would you do within these reviews if you weren’t?) then it is your goddamn duty to share some of your hard earned money with some hard working artists and the people that run the labels that release them. If you want to download for free then choose Metallica or Coldplay or something. Oh, I worked myself up a little here, I realize. Let’s get back to the second release on the fine label gracetone recordings from Greece and the two tracks by two young artists on it, both of which are also from Greece and both having their debut releases here.

Chris Setel focuses on a wide variety of styles ranging from electronica to ambient to post rock and lo-fi recordings. On „regardless“ he burns these elements into a dreamy-eyed, melancholic folk song with little electronic influences. The asthetic is reminding of Avia Gardner’s backporch acoustic guitar and computer folk, but the overall atmosphere is a little more straightforward and the synths are more like Nick Drake would have liked them. If you want to think Akron Family now you are free to do so, but this is none of the so-called „freak folk“ (or whatever it is called at the moment), but a deep, heartfelt and emotional winding down of a special moment. I especially like the way the song dissolves into a laid back, almost Seventies like easy listening diminuendo at the end, la la la’s included. „She said she’ll love me regardless the distance that seperates us, that’s what she promised“ are the first words of this track. Do I have to explain in more detail what the song is about? Of couse, it doesn’t work out, because „promises are meant to be broken“. So what’s left to do but hum to yourself until all of this has dissolved and lies behind you.

The young singer/songwriter Monika is just as ephemeral in her sway but also as gripping. First difference is that she strums her guitar tightly, but the song „Are you coming with us?“ also has a big amount of melancholia and nostalgia in it. It is actually drenched in a feeling of loss and distraction, but with an optimistic undertone. The punched piano and hobbling rhythms underline that feeling and hints at love, searching for it, holding it and losing it. Over and over again, in an endless, multilayered and shifting stream of sound, like the structure of this song. But the most intriguing feature is Monika’s voice, which should gain a lot of attention in a time when Joanne Newsom hits all the covers of the relevant music magazines, and people swarm all around her singing style as well. Me, personally, I prefer Frida Hyvonnen (but who ever asks me?) and Monika is right up there with her. She also misses a lot of the superficial artsyness of Coco Rosie, which is a bonus in my book. A lot of people who hear this will become a fan of this exceptional songwriter and singer.