Any fans of MONIKA ROSCHER BIG BAND?

[adap2it]

The latest release OF MONSTERS AND BIRDS is awesome! She is such a talent.

https://monikaroscher.bandcamp.com/a...ters-and-birds

[Baribrotzer]

I had never heard of them, or of her. This will not remain the case.

She's like, I don't know, the other St. Vincent (Annie Clark) - the difference being that Annie has now moved toward Big Time Pop, whereas Monika is eccentrically herself. Fine guitarist, excellent composer, decent singer, beautiful lady. Her music is a strange combination of contemporary indie rock and equally contemporary large-ensemble compositional jazz - a combination that (to me) doesn't always seem to mesh perfectly - and I can't think of anybody it sounds like. (Maybe David Bowie's "Sue"?) Odd that her German accent sounds awkward to me, yet I'm perfectly OK with Dagmar's - maybe it's a matter of her musical idiom being more "personal" as opposed to Dagmar's theatrical bent. Definitely small-p progressive, and not Big-P Prog at all.

[thedunno]

Sound interesting!

[winkersnufs]

Thanks for this thread Dave Sr.

Liking it a LOT. Interesting combination... the vocal *style* with the 'big band' mixture.

Carry On
Chris Buckley

[adap2it]

Thanks for this thread Dave Sr.

Liking it a LOT. Interesting combination... the vocal *style* with the 'big band' mixture.

Carry On
Chris Buckley

Yes you have to love those ladies with the great voices!! The big band sound is a perfect match for her. Sounds like a Cunieform release....and all those fans of the label will love this!

[thedunno]

Bought it from Bandcamp and enjoying it right now. Indeed this sounds like a Cuneiform release.

Loving the vocals and the guitarplaying. Wish there was a bit more guitar though.

[adap2it]

Bought it from Bandcamp and enjoying it right now. Indeed this sounds like a Cuneiform release.

Loving the vocals and the guitarplaying. Wish there was a bit more guitar though.

More guitar and more vocals! but with all those musicians...it IS worthy of laudation!

[Levgan]

Wow, wicked stuff. I'll be buying this with the next salary, songs that are available for free streaming on Bandcamp are really great. Thanks for the heads-up!

[TCC]

Thanks Dave Sr for the H.U.!
Like it! - my cup of tea!

[LASERCD]

Music is excellent but I can't past her vocals. She shouldn't be singing.

[Baribrotzer]

Music is excellent but I can't past her vocals. She shouldn't be singing.

However, she is singing in tune and in time, not screeching, and not yelping. She just doesn't have all that powerful a voice - more small and breathy, like the typical indie-rock "girl next door" sound. Which she then not-quite-easily couples with some very expert composition, of the sort that usually involves a far stronger vocalist. Kind of like her material - the song parts almost sound like something she's been doing since she was fifteen, and has carefully kept stylistically the same as she did when she started out, with relatively basic chord progressions and poppy melodies. Whereas the arrangements, orchestrations, and instrumental bridges and extensions come from what she learned in music school, and are far more sophisticated. By which I don't mean that her schooled music is less genuine, but they do sound like two different styles butted together.

I have the feeling that after a certain amount of listening, it might sound less strange.

[Levgan]

typical indie-rock "girl next door" sound

This – or, more precisely, a combination of this vocal approach with the advanced compositions and arrangements – is exactly what grabbed me. Sounds like Emiliana Torrini fronting FES – in other words, unique and wonderful.

[thedunno]

This – or, more precisely, a combination of this vocal approach with the advanced compositions and arrangements – is exactly what grabbed me. Sounds like Emiliana Torrini fronting FES – in other words, unique and wonderful.

This is really a nice discovery. I hope i can catch them live at one point.

Big thumbs up to the OP.[emoji106]

[LASERCD]

However, she is singing in tune and in time, not screeching, and not yelping. She just doesn't have all that powerful a voice - more small and breathy, like the typical indie-rock "girl next door" sound. Which she then not-quite-easily couples with some very expert composition, of the sort that usually involves a far stronger vocalist. Kind of like her material - the song parts almost sound like something she's been doing since she was fifteen, and has carefully kept stylistically the same as she did when she started out, with relatively basic chord progressions and poppy melodies. Whereas the arrangements, orchestrations, and instrumental bridges and extensions come from what she learned in music school, and are far more sophisticated. By which I don't mean that her schooled music is less genuine, but they do sound like two different styles butted together.

I have the feeling that after a certain amount of listening, it might sound less strange.

Umm OK. She shouldn't be singing.

[adap2it]

Music is excellent but I can't past her vocals. She shouldn't be singing.

Monika's voice was the FIRST thing to grab me, I am really into female voices and she is a very welcome addition to my collection. I'm really not qualified to judge whether someone should be singing or not, however, I do feel that most vocalists "sing within their means" and generally deliver a unique sound, which is what I'm looking for.

[adap2it]

This is really a nice discovery. I hope i can catch them live at one point.

Big thumbs up to the OP.[emoji106]

Well you have a much better chance of catching them live if you live in Europe. I dont believe that they have played this side of the pond. It would be NICE!

[Steve F.]

Sounds like a Cunieform release...!

It sounds exactly like a 'Cunieform' release....I suppose....

[Baribrotzer]

Monika's voice was the FIRST thing to grab me, I am really into female voices and she is a very welcome addition to my collection. I'm really not qualified to judge whether someone should be singing or not, however, I do feel that most vocalists "sing within their means" and generally deliver a unique sound, which is what I'm looking for.

Dave: I know exactly what you mean. I'm that kind of singer myself - a gravelly undistinguished bass-baritone, not a great sound, would be out of my depth on almost any cover tunes, but a decent interpreter of my own material. Like Dylan, say, or Elvis Costello. But some people just love great voices, strongly prefer to hear them, and have trouble with singers who don't have a "real voice" and yet persist in singing. It's a bit like my disinterest in music that's harmonically square - not something that can be fruitfully argued with.

[adap2it]

Dave: I know exactly what you mean. I'm that kind of singer myself - a gravelly undistinguished bass-baritone, not a great sound, would be out of my depth on almost any cover tunes, but a decent interpreter of my own material. Like Dylan, say, or Elvis Costello. But some people just love great voices, strongly prefer to hear them, and have trouble with singers who don't have a "real voice" and yet persist in singing. It's a bit like my disinterest in music that's harmonically square - not something that can be fruitfully argued with.

Just to quote an example of this...I remember Denis Gagne of The Musical Box attending one of our gatherings. He could do a great Peter Gabriel, but getting up on stage to do Stairway to heaven, he was totally lost. I feel that Monika has the right voice for for the application and I love it. Whenever I read something like "couldn't get past the vocals" there is a very good chance that it's something I want to listen to.

[Baribrotzer]

'm really not qualified to judge whether someone should be singing or not, however, I do feel that most vocalists "sing within their means"......

That's an interesting point. And, specifically to something close to your heart, I don't think that anyone who listened to Simon Dupree and the Big Sound would say that Derek Shulman was anything but an excellent singer, with a big, booming R&B voice. The many criticisms of him in GG, I think, come from him having to NOT sing within his means - from Kerry giving him vocal lines with large jumps, embedded key changes, chromatic conflicts with the band, and often considerably above his comfortable range.

[adap2it]

That's an interesting point. And, specifically to something close to your heart, I don't think that anyone who listened to Simon Dupree and the Big Sound would say that Derek Shulman was anything but an excellent singer, with a big, booming R&B voice. The many criticisms of him in GG, I think, come from him having to NOT sing within his means - from Kerry giving him vocal lines with large jumps, embedded key changes, chromatic conflicts with the band, and often considerably above his comfortable range.

Very true about Derek, although he did much of the vocal writing, so it may have been a way of challenging his capacity. Many fans of prog were not a lover of Derek's vocal contribution and stayed away from them. I think that Monika is more of a "voice" than a vocalist. listen to this earlier killer track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh2M...gNUrh2dlolv2DC

[winkersnufs]

...and a Sunday Good Morning!

The more I listen to the music of, watch video of, and absorb what this artist has to 'say'.... In days were I am not nearly as turned on by new stuff as much as in the past - I am so VERY enthusiastic about what I am hearing! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

- quite interesting, via video, where I observe Roscher 'conducting' the musicians playing the music around her. Channeling FZappa perhaps?

Carry On
Chris Buckley

[Baribrotzer]

It just hit me that she does remind me of somebody - Jaga Jazzist. Not in her exact sound, which isn't terribly similar, so much as in an aesthetic of combining modern electronic European pop music with large-group jazz. In her case, the pop is poppier, the jazz is jazzier, and the stylistic seams sometimes show, whereas JJ have more integrated everything into one cohesive sound.

[winkersnufs]

Good Friday Evening Folks!

Let's bring this thread up again... received today 'of Monsters and Birds' by Monika Roscher and gave it a full listen this evening. Roscher seems to be a fairly young woman and I'd sure be interested to hear where she picked up her influences. What did her parents listen to, her mates at school, musical studies contributors, and what are some of her personal listening favorites? My ears tend to like the overall sound that was part of my early listening years. When things get, for me, a bit too 'modern sounding' I turn away 'some'. That was an initial thought regarding the first two tracks of this release. Then I had this thought... What was someone listening to, or being inspired by, when first hearing some of Frank Zappas earlier work? These people I speak were perhaps the age that I am now. 56 Years. What sounded good to their ears, and coupled with the more modern sound of Franks music, being appealing...perhaps was a bit 'too modern' to them. Still - It was well liked! So, that example? was me while listening to this Roscher release. Just a thought and I moved on to enjoying this release tremendously.

I think that Roscher is an 'important' new artist and definitely needs to be watched for her contribution to the progress of music! There... I said it!

That voice - personally I really like the way she used it in the overall compositions. I'm not so sure I would be able to find the background of influence(s) she chose when adding the voice the way she did. But I heard a '2017' way the voice was added to Roschers Big Band sound and presentation.

Many who visit PE NEED to listen to this release. Would like to add more, and maybe I will after more listens, for now I will state that I don't use the 'F' word much BUT -

This listener thinks that 'of Monsters and Birds' is a very significant release! Thanks again Dave Sr.

Carry On
Chris Buckley

[thedunno]

Good Friday Evening Folks!


I think that Roscher is an 'important' new artist and definitely needs to be watched for her contribution to the progress of music! There... I said it!

This listener thinks that 'of Monsters and Birds' is a very significant release! Thanks again Dave Sr.

Carry On
Chris Buckley

I Kinda feel the same way. This is probably the new release I listened to the most over the last year.
The debut ''Failure in wonderland" is also pretty good by I prefer 'Monsters'. It has more variation.

This is a cool video btw: