The following is an excerpt from an ongoing conversation with Monique Recknagel and her label, Sonic Pieces, which is currently featured on Headphone Community. So far this month, we have been talking about the birth of the imprint, revisiting some of the essential records from the likes of Nils Frahm, Erik K Skodvin, Hauschka & Hildur Guðnadóttir, Moon Ate the Dark and many more to come (plus there is a generous giveaway of Bandcamp codes for some of these albums!), on what it takes to build a label that lasts throughout all of the difficulties of 17+ years, on all the work behind the scenes, including, of course, the handmade packaging and what it means to hold and appreciate a physical object, and much more! And we’re not even halfway through Monique’s residency! Join us for an intimate experience of getting to know this magnificent imprint! Below is just a small selection so far. Enjoy!
Hi, Monique. For readers meeting Sonic Pieces for the first time: if you had to describe the label not by genre but by the feeling you want someone to have when they hold one of your records, how would you put it?
I would hope that people can get a sense of authenticity and wholeness when holding a Sonic Pieces record, that it feels more like an object where music and packaging go hand in hand. And I hope the same can be seen for the entire catalogue, that the label is not just about putting out single releases, but that there is a connection between them, and that they are all part of something bigger. It’s a lot about trying to create something collectable, something people like to own, something that stands out without being loud.
The label has lived through the vinyl revival, the streaming flood, and now an era where physical music is almost a luxury good. Which of those shifts forced the deepest rethink of what Sonic Pieces is for?
There’s no doubt that circumstances have changed a lot since I started the label in 2009, and it is certainly a challenge to adapt accordingly and keep up with the speed of development, both within the music industry and in our world at large. However, I wouldn’t say that changed anything about what Sonic Pieces stands for. My core values are still the same, and if anything, they have only become stronger. For me, they’re an anchor to hold onto, something that keeps me grounded as everything around me becomes increasingly unstable.
Many small labels from our generation have either scaled up or quietly shut down. I am happy that Sonic Pieces has done neither. Was staying small a decision you made once, or one you have to keep re-making?
It was quite clear to me from the very beginning that Sonic Pieces would always remain, first and foremost, a one-person venture, which inevitably means staying small. If you want to grow a business, you eventually have to hire staff, which entails a significant increase in responsibility and bureaucracy. I was always concerned that this might shift my work in a way that I wouldn’t be doing what I enjoy doing anymore. I’m also very particular about many things and simply prefer to handle most tasks myself.
After seventeen years, what still genuinely excites you about putting out a record, and what has become the part you’d happily hand to someone else?
It’s still incredibly exciting to receive music that moves me, to work closely with artists, to exchange ideas, to envision a final product, and to see all the single parts of a release slowly come together. And I always find it deeply enriching to spend time with the people I work with. But as mentioned before, I’m quite particular about how things are done, and I prefer to handle most tasks myself, even the rather boring stuff. Nevertheless, there are certain tasks that are outsourced to people I trust, such as mastering, graphic design for my releases, and distribution. But this has always been the case, so it hasn’t changed much over the years.
Sonic Pieces covers have been handmade objects from the start. For someone who’s never held one, what would you say is the difference between owning one of your records and owning the same music as a file?
In the end, I believe this comes down to an individual choice or preference. Personally, I feel strongly drawn to beautiful objects, to high-quality materials, and a pleasant tactile feel. At home, I very rarely listen to music as digital files, except for demos or projects that are still in progress. I just really enjoy the ritual of taking a record out of its sleeve and putting it on. It feels somehow more real to me.
How much of a cover is decided before you’ve finished hearing the record, and how much emerges only once the music is fully in your hands?
In most cases, I listen to the music first, and if the artist and I agree on a release, we start discussing the design. However, there are a few exceptions in which the colour of the cover was decided before the record was finished, or even before I had heard any of the music at all. The latter would rather happen with an artist I have worked with before and whom I fully trust. Choosing the colour for the cover material is one of the very first steps in a long process, and making that decision early on can help speed things up a bit.
So much of your craft is done by hand, alone. Is that solitary, repetitive, making a burden you tolerate for the result, or is it something closer to where you actually feel most yourself?
Crafting the covers for the Sonic Pieces records is certainly one of the tasks I enjoy the most. For me, it is a meditative process, and seeing the finished result at the end of the day is deeply satisfying. It gives me so much more than sitting in front of a computer all day.
The mi-so editions began in 2023 with Erik’s ‘Nothing left but silence’. What made the moment right to start a book series alongside the label, and what did making books let you say that a record sleeve never quite could?
I don’t know if the moment was right or wrong. Just like with the start of the label, it was something I hadn’t really planned too much. As said, things happened more or less intuitively. Publishing books is a great opportunity to show more of the visual works I like. Since some of the artists are also musicians with whom I have already released records, it’s a nice way to present another facet of their work, or to expand on a musical release by building a visual world around it, just as I did with Erik’s two books or Raúl’s “Limestone Gravitas”. But at the same time, it also gives me the chance to collaborate with people I like who aren’t actually musicians.
You were once called “the multidisciplinary publisher.” Does the word “publisher”, rather than “label-owner,” feel truer to you now than it once did?
People can call me whatever they want. I don’t mind, and I don’t know if one of these labels is more accurate than the other.
