contact: info@monikah.com
Buy CD!!..Wayside Music , DMG
Available in Chicago at Jazz Record Mart
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Concert Reviews
"It’s extraordinary stuff — the band is airtight, running great sprawling sounds through what only seem to be wide-open structures, with such unusual techniques as rolling two separate guitar solos at the same time, right over the vocals. At times it was hard to believe they were pulling off the tripped-out licks with only an ordinary guitar and bass."-Nuvo (Indianapolis), 1/30/2008
"(Translation) Those fond of conventional music were
horrified by the band's spontaneous, unpredictable potpourri style of music;
others, however, were dazzled by the group's creativity and originality. The
young Monika Heidemann who recently had an album debut, is an interesting,
attractive personage who, one day, will perhaps become one of "Vilnius
Jazz" celebrities. "- "Rytas", Vilnius, Lithuania, 10/16/2007
About the debut CD, "Bright", released June 4, 2006
"...MONIKA HEIDEMANN’s self-released Bright is the jazz-vocal debut of the year . . . make that the jazz debut of the year . . . make that the debut of the year." -Boston Phoenix, 9/28/06 read here
"...this recent release by this talented NYC based
vocalist describes the future of the experimental/indie scene that surrounds
us today. Many vocalists come forth and want the world to hear their dissimilar
approach, but not many of them are actually giving us anything different.
Monika Heidemann is one that clearly stands above the rest. " Inside
Connection, Oct. 2006
"Something this non-trite and non-cliche should be every musicians' final hope for any creative project's outcome. Bright is a conceptual venture that reveals an understanding of where songs come from." Jazz Improv Magazine NY, Nov. 2006 read here
"The instrumentals are weaved seamlessly with the lyrics and provide beautiful textures that you can peel back endlessly. Keep your ears open for Monika H. (Heidemann) because you are going to be hearing a lot of good music from her in the days ahead." -JazzReview, 8/24/06 read here
"Outstanding...treasure from this great new singer and her incredible band." -Downtown Music Gallery, 11/11/05 read here.
"Heidemann is busy creating her own totally engrossing musical world that must be heard rather than read about. Bright might just be the beginning of a new jazz genre in search of a name. Highly recommended." -All about Jazz, 12/5/05 read here.
" Buena banda, buenos temas y Monika...que es...que es una...una...cantante revelacion!" - El Intruso, 11/28/05 read here.
"On her debut CD, Bright, Monika Heidemann gracefully and clearly delivers her deliciously off-kilter prosody. She has cultivated her own unique style with such conviction that more than one jazz writer has proclaimed the discovery of a new genre." -New Music Box, 2/22/06 read here.
"... an access to her private musical garden. A record
to discover." -Musiqualite, 9/26/06 read here
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Concert Reviews:
Dec. 14th, 2005 at the 55 Bar, NYC, All About Jazz
Feb. 9, 2005 at Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC, James Darcy Argue
June 20, 2006 at Sweet Rhythm (cd release show), NYC, AAJ
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Interviews:
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More Quotes:
"Possessed of a very fine voice and an original style,
I consider Monika one of the most promising and talented young musicians that
I know.”
- Steve Lacy, jazz saxophone
"pre-intermission highlights included
Monika Heidemann's chant-like rendering of Brion Gysin's lyrics on Somebody
Special."
- Bill Beuttler, Boston Globe, October 12, 2004
Biography
A fiercely independent, exhilaratingly eclectic artist trying to make her
way through a sea of bland, single genre performers, New York based singer/songwriter
Monika H. (Monika Heidemann) is setting trends in her hometown and throughout
Europe by having no specific response to the quirky open-ended question: "So
what do you call this music anyway?"
Her critically acclaimed 2006 indie debut Bright, which was chosen one of
the Top Ten albums of the year by the Boston Phoenix, earned her praise from
many corners of the indie music community, but she has long preferred to think
compositionally in forms and shapes rather than styles. Plus, she's always
evolving, always digging deeper into her upbringing that also included folk
and classical music. All of which brings us to Disguised As Umbrella, We Slept,
her latest project whose cryptic title adds to the mystery of a collection
of tracks we can tentatively call bizarre rock. Or avant-garde rock. Even
dreamy psychedelic avant rock with jazz fringes. Someone once described the
sensation of listening to Heidemann's music as being perched on a high cliff
at a perfect angle of repose, where the fall is visible but not inevitable,
sitting just outside of dissonance, barely safe from chaos.
Adjective groping aside, the emotionally compelling 11-track collection recorded
and mixed by Joel Hamilton (Book of Knots, Giraffes, Dub Trio, Sleepytime
Gorilla Museum) at Studio G in Brooklyn boasts a darker sound than Heidemann's
first album. Good thing, too because her prosey, deeply poetic lyrics are
deeper and heavier too. "I wrote most of the songs on Disguised As Umbrellas
in New York, and the way they unfolded lent itself to a moodier and edgier
feeling once I took them into the studio and began vibing with Joel,"
she says. "Many of them are highly emotional pieces that deal with relationships
and the pain that comes out of searching for yourself. But they're not completely
gloomy—there's a lot of humor and playful sexuality in the mix as well."
No matter how the critics or listeners peg her music, Heidemann has become
an across the board (and, more significantly, across the Pond) sensation these
past few years. In NYC, she's performed at hotspots like Roulette Intermedium,
Luna Lounge, Zebulon, Cornelia Street, Barbes, Tonic, Makor and Bam. In addition
to playing the U.K., the singer toured twice in 2007 in Spain and Portugal—where
she played rock and jazz clubs--and won a grant from the Meet The Composer
organization to play the Vilnius Jazz Festival in Lithuania's capital city;
her tour also included shows in Latvia.
Consistent with her blessed ADD-driven approach to making and performing music,
the singer is no longer working with the guys she made her album with. The
good news is, she's assembled a dream team of her favorite players she's so
enamored with that she dubbed her early 2008 Midwestern tour (Chicago, Indiana,
Nashville, Ashville, New Orleans) "Love Tour '08." Booking gigs
in the U.S. and Europe (she's hitting Spain and Sweden in October) as "The
Monika H. Band," her stellar lineup includes drummer Simon Lott (also
currently with famed jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter's trio), bassist Rob Jost
(whose credits include Tony Scher, Imogen Heap and Bjork), guitarist Gray
McMurray; and keyboardists Erik Deutsch (who also plays with Hunter) and Jason
Linder (Me'Shell Ndegeocello).
Even though she made an acid trippy, psycho-psychedelic video for her dreamy
and hypnotic "Your Doom" to describe a dark, confusing and nightmarish
place, Heidemann often prefers that her numerous fans and listeners decide
what her songs are ultimately about. Still, there are a few favorites on Disguised
As Umbrellas, We Slept that she enjoys talking about, including the hard crunching,
industrial rock flavored, emotionally explosive (and sexually charged) "Fun
To Be Had If You Let It"; the sensual, ambient "Foodstamping"
(about the whirlwind that goes through someone's mind when he or she is about
to lose everything); and the scorching rock blast through "Night Spray,"
a facetious look at people on the subway who consume your senses with their
perfume.
"My recent shift from a jazzier vibe to a more eclectic, electric rock
sound happened simply because I'm changing all the time as a person,"
Heidemann says, "and life evolves on so many different levels every day.
Starting with the album title, a lot of the music and lyrics start with dreams
I have that are so interesting to interpret and then develop. As much as I
enjoy the writing and recording process, I really love being out there onstage,
connecting with the audience. I love being able to put the songs in their
present moment of performance and have that direct contact and shared energy
with the crowd. Anyone with good material can pump out a strong CD, but when
you go hear a band live, that's when you hear what their music is all about."
Monika and her band have played NYC stages such as Roulette Intermedium, Luna Lounge, Zebulon, Cornelia Street, Barbes, Tonic, Makor, Sweet Rhythm and BAM (to name a few) , She has toured the UK, Europe and the US with her various projects. She resides in NYC where she collaborates with many wonderful musicians in projects such as Sam Sadigursky’s “The Words Project” (2007-New Amsterdam Records).
for more information please e-mail info@monikah.com
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