Monya – Straight Ahead (CD Album – Hands)

Genre/Influences: Industrial-techno.

Background/Info: Monya Cperski aka ‘Monya’ is a Polish artist and label owner (Corresponding Positions) based in Berlin. She released a debut full length (cf. “Somatics The Book”) in 2013 on Berlin Consumer Records and has released numerous EP’s. She now joined hands together with Hands to unleash this new opus revealing eleven songs.

Content: Berlin is a kind of ‘Mecca’ when it comes to industrial-techno music. Monya is definitely one of the Goddesses dealing with this kind of music. Her work is a genuine offspring between hard industrial and EBM elements (like a bass line reminding me of Front 242) at one side and pounding industrial grooves at the other side. A few cuts are also more into minimalism while some passages have something pretty transcendental.

+ + + : “Straight Ahead” sounds like a pure sonic electro-fusion; the mix of different styles makes the album exciting from start till finish. I however have a preference for the more elaborated pieces, which are carried by EBM elements. “Schachmatt” is a remarkable composition, which makes me think of an industrial hybrid of Front 242. Another attention grabber is the more into minimalism sounding “Search Of A Compromise”. Last, but not least I’m also fond of “Search Of A Compromise”, which is another minimal exposure, but still one of the most intelligent cuts.

– – – : One of the less inspired cuts is “Benjamin”.

Conclusion: Hands is the right label for this Monya album; this is another artist who’ll conquer industrial- and techno heads, but it also is one of the rare female artists dealing with this kind of music.

Best songs: “Straight Ahead”, “Search Of A Compromise”, “Widerstand Ist Pflicht”, “Nachdenken”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/monya.music

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

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