Good morning, friends, and welcome to June! Today, we begin our exploration of everything that makes up the world of Monique Recknagel and the beautiful music she releases through her Sonic Pieces label. I’d like to extend a special and warm welcome to all the new joiners: those becoming members of Headphone Community for a deep dive with Monique, and those just stumbling upon that quiet and intimate corner of the internet, where I hope to share these honest words on honest music. Everything on here is real, very human, carefully and mindfully curated to connect us in these times. Let us begin.
We rewind to 2002, when Monique first moved to Berlin and, shortly after, began working for a community radio station with her show schall + raum, for which she interviewed artists, label owners, and local promoters. As a thank-you for their appearances, Monique gives out CD-Rs of the interviews and creates handmade jackets that plant the seeds for the future packaging of Sonic Pieces.
Here is Monique, in her own words, from our 2014 interview on the origins of the label:
In 2007, I saw Nils Frahm performing in Berlin, and it totally blew my mind. I had no idea who he was, but I needed to find out, so I approached him. Some months later, I invited him to play a show with Library Tapes for which I also made a 3inch CD-R for promotion. Since my radio show was called schall + raum which means sonic + room, I named the promo disc sonic pieces 001 without really thinking about it too much. Then we also made 50 copies with a recording of the concerts, mainly for the artists, and I sold a bunch through Myspace back at that time. All of a sudden I got some demos, which was pretty funny since I wasn’t even aware of the fact that I had started a record label.
There is plenty to be said about Monique’s hand-bound, book-cloth, embossed packaging, and we will surely do a deep dive into the method throughout her residency. Besides being a curator of the Sonic Pieces journey, Monique is also a multidisciplinary publisher and maker who produces art books and exhibits her own visual works. In the coming days, we will attempt to peel back the curtain and take a peek into the space, the process, and, of course, the people who make up the label’s essence. We’ll also virtually spend some time in mi – so, the Berlin shop Monique runs with her partner Erik K Skodvin, where Sonic Pieces and Erik’s Miasmah label share a physical home.
As mentioned in the original announcement, the label’s roster includes celebrated artists and composers such as Nils Frahm, Otto A Totland, Greg Haines, Peter Broderick, Ryan Teague, Rauelsson, Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, Sylvain Chauveau, Deaf Center, F.S. Blumm, Erik K Skodvin, and recent debut Ruth Maine. I am intimately familiar with many of these records, and I’m looking forward to rediscovering them once more, and of course, introducing them again to newly open ears. We won’t be able to cover it all, but we will zoom in on some of my handpicked favorites and even share Bandcamp codes!
When I kicked off the community extension of Headphone Commute, I explicitly wanted to focus all of my time, energy, and most importantly, attention, on a platform dedicated to words, music, and, of course, the people who intentionally put out positive frequencies into the world with which we all resonate. I think this purpose is particularly well aligned with everything Monique has done over the past 20+ years. So you can understand why I would be so happy, excited, and honored to host her. Join a like-minded community and chat with Monique directly on our platform, for as little as $1 a month!
