From her beginnings as one of Greece's most acclaimed indie artists to her work for the theater, Monika made a name for herself as a boundary-breaking artist.
Born Monika Christodoulou, she began playing in her brother's rock band at age 17 and struck out on her own a few years later. Writing confessional songs inspired by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Ennio
Morricone, and the Arcade Fire, she put her music on MySpace; the word of mouth surrounding tracks such as "Over the Hill" ultimately led to the release of her debut album, Avatar, in 2008 via the indie label Archangel. Produced by Ottomo and featuring strings and trumpet arrangements by Calexico's Martin Wenk, Avatar was a critical and commercial success, achieving platinum sales in Greece and tipping Monika as one of the country's most promising new talents.
She worked with Ottomo again on 2010's Exit, a set of songs informed by opera, French chanson, and her homeland's traditional music. The following year, Monika expanded her horizons to the stage, penning original music for Angela Brouskou's 2011 show Mom -- Life Is Wildly Incredible. In 2012, Monika visited Daptone Records' headquarters while in New York, and met the Dap-Kings and
Menahan Street Band's Homer Steinweiss. After she played some of her demos for him and Thomas Brenneck, they planned to work together. Monika spent 2013 performing songs from Avatar and Exit as part of the multimedia concert series Primal and wrote the score for a version of Sophocles' Antigone that debuted at the Benaki Museum Atrium, then began work with Steinweiss and Brenneck on her third album in 2014. Featuring members of the Menahan Street Band, the Dap-Kings and Antibalas, Secret in the Dark found Monika exploring disco, art-pop, and more when it was released in October 2015 on Other Music Records.
Η Μόνικα Χριστοδούλου (26 Μαΐου 1985), γνωστή ως Μόνικα ή Monika, είναι Ελληνίδα
τραγουδίστρια-τραγουδοποιός. Τραγουδάει και παίζει πιάνο, κιθάρα, σαξόφωνο, ακορντεόν και τύμπανα.
Το πρώτο άλμπουμ της “Avatar” κυκλοφόρησε το 2008 και το δεύτερο “Exit” ακολούθησε το 2010. Και τα δύο άλμπουμ έγιναν πλατινένια. Έχει δώσει πολλές sold out συναυλίες σε σημαντικούς
χώρους όπως το μικρό θέατρο της Αρχαίας Επιδαύρου, το Θέατρο Βράχων, το Θέατρο Λυκαβηττού, καθώς και το ARK Festival της Αθήνας και της Θεσσαλονίκης για δύο συνεχόμενες χρονιές (2010 και 2011 – τη δεύτερη χρονιά ως headliner). Τα δύο άλμπουμ της γνώρισαν μεγάλη κριτική και εμπορική αποδοχή, με την πλειοψηφία των ελληνικών μέσων να την ανακηρύσσουν τη νέα ελπίδα της ελληνικής μουσικής σκηνής. Ανήκει στο δυναμικό της Panik Entertainment Group, στο label της Panik Oxygen.
Monika – Exit
Label: Archangel Music – 520032 250037 9
Format: CD, Album
Country: Greece
Released: May 10, 2010
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Alternative
TRACKS
01. Ça Commence Bien 4:55
Backing Vocals – Stamatella Spinoula
Harmonica – Monika
Voice [French Voices] – Benoit Durandin, Giannis Giaxas, Katerina Chrisanthopoulou
02. Never 5:06
Backing Vocals – Martin Wenk
03. Yes I Do 3:28
Violin – Stamatella Spinoula
04. Away From My Land 4:41
Bouzouki, Mandolin – Monika
Clarinet – James Scanell
05. Not Enough 5:04
French Horn – Martin Wenk
Percussion, Programmed By [Loop Programming] – Nikos Angloupas
Soprano Vocals – Filli Georgiadou
Synthesizer [Moog] – Guy Sternberg
06. Take A Little Bit Of Me 4:16
Backing Vocals – Stamatella Spinoula
Electric Guitar – Nikos Angloupas
07. Our Love Or How We Lost It 7:28
Guitar [Classical] – Manos Paterakis
Trumpet – Martin Wenk
08. Show Me, Come On 4:37
Backing Vocals – Martin Wenk, Maro Mpaveli, Stamatella Spinoula
Clarinet – James Scanell
Percussion – Nikos Angloupas
Trumpet – Martin Wenk
09. Studio House 3:02
Backing Vocals – Maro Mpaveli
Tenor Saxophone – Monika
10. Run To Ruin 3:56
Clarinet – James Scanell
Percussion – Nikos Angloupas
11. Stars Won't Shine 2:43
12. Exit 4:49
Alto Saxophone – James Scanell
Trumpet – Martin Wenk
Recorded in Berlin.
MP3 @ 320 Size: 124 MB
Flac Size: 334 MB
Chris Setel and Monika: Split Single 2006 on Urban Aspirines HERE