Monolink is an electronic music artist from Germany electronic music artist known for his deep and melodic house with organic textures.

More than just a producer and live act who has played all over the world, he is also a talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose exquisite tracks can be heard on labels such as Stil Vor Talent, Anjunadeep, Sol Selectas and 3000 Grad Records.

Adding to his already impressive catalogue, Monolink just dropped drop a new album on Embassy One called ‘Under Darkening Skies’ that features 12 of his original tracks.

Keen to learn more about Monolink’s new album and some of his passions outside of music, we took the time to have a quick chat with him…

Hi Monolink, it’s great to be talking today. What part of the world are you currently living in, and are you still in lockdown? 

I’m currently in Berlin / Germany and we are just opening back up here, which is an amazing feeling. A lot of energy on the streets and slightly overwhelming crowds of people.

I understand you are also passionate about nature, and I recently read an article about how lockdown has helped some wildlife recover due to reduced human activity. What are your thoughts on this? 

To me it feels like the world is getting ready to catch up with what they missed over COVID lockdowns, so I’m not sure it’s gonna make a big difference. I do see a positive development in how the climate crisis is getting more and more attention worldwide due to Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement though, which is a great thing. World leaders do now seem to slowly take action- still far from where it should be but it’s gotta start somewhere.

Do you have any favourite areas of natural beauty that you visit regularly, and do those locations ever inspire your music? 

Absolutely. Just outside of Berlin there are dozens of beautiful lakes and forests I enjoy going to. In summer this becomes a real paradise and I take a lot of inspiration from there. I always have my little notebook with me so I can write them down when things come to my mind.

Talking of inspiration, I understand you prefer to play live rather than DJ. What’s it been like not playing to an audience the last 12 months, has it had any noticeable impact on the music you make?

I did play a handful of shows, but most of the time I was in my studio recording new music. It was a really good experience in that sense, just to be able to take as much time as I wanted. That also very much changed the music I was making, so did the music I was listening to. Dance music all of a sudden had become a thing of the past and I felt drawn to writing songs again, exploring deeper what’s possible in between those genres.

Talking of your own music, I understand that you have a new album coming out in June. Could you talk a little about that release, and its concept? 

The new album is exactly what I just described. I went back into writing songs on my guitar and my piano, played around with different sounds and production techniques. I really learned a lot during that time being completely free in what I was doing. Now there are 12 songs on the album which I think are very diverse, and none sounds like the other. 

Which label is putting out the album and what made you decide to release it with them? 

Embassy One is the label putting it out, they also released my debut album in 2018. They are a Berlin based indie-label and I really enjoy working with them. They’re good people and put a lot of effort into my project.

Making an album must be quite a draining process, as I’m guessing there were some long hours in the studio. What do you do when you want to unwind and switch off from music? 

I do a lot of rock-climbing, which really helps me get my head clear. I discovered that my creativity is closely tied to my body and me being active. When I don’t move for too long my mind with all its judgements, patterns and analyses grows more dominant and it keeps me from creating new ideas. Rock-climbing pushes you into situations that don’t allow you to be in your head, you have to be present in order to take the right decisions and not hurt yourself. That’s what I love about it.

It’s easy to slip into bad eating habits when working on a big project, do you have any tips for helping maintain a healthy diet? 

Figure out the good places to order food from 🙂

It’s been great talking today, is there a message to fans or anything else you would like to add before we finish? 

I just hope to be able to play again soon and experience that feeling of togetherness that all of us lacked for so long now. Hang in there!

You can pick up a copy of ‘Under Darkening Skies’ from HERE