Luisteren met Monique Recknagel
Fluister presents a column on this website: ‘luisteren met’ (listening with)…
While ‘Fluisteren met’ (Whispering with) features interviews with artists, ‘Luisteren met’, we ask artists to share 5 songs with us
This time we were curious to know which 5 songs inspired Monique Recknagel.
Monique Recknagel, the creative force behind the ‘Sonic Pieces’ label, has been the heart and soul of every release, carefully curating and handcrafting each one with unmatched dedication. This year, Sonic Pieces proudly celebrates its 15th anniversary, a significant milestone marked by a series of special showcases (dates listed below). Over the past decade and a half, Sonic Pieces has introduced around 50 releases that seamlessly blend contemporary classical music with avant-garde sounds.A look through the label’s catalog reveals an impressive roster of artists, many of whom have also performed at the Fluister Series—names like Greg Haines, Rauelsson, Otto A. Totland, and Christopher Berg, to name a few.
As Sonic Pieces gears up for its upcoming showcases, it felt like the perfect moment to ask Monique to share five tracks with us, reflecting the shared passion for music.
1. Björk – Human Behaviour
This was Björk’s (solo) debut single. It reminds me of my teenage years, when I used to watch Music Television. The video to “Human Behaviour” was one of my favourites and had quite an impact on me. It’s still stuck in my mind until today.
2. Moloko – Sing It Back
This track dates back to my early 20s. I enjoyed going dancing, and the remix of “Sing It Back” by Boris Dlugosch was playing all over the clubs at that time. It also made me discover Moloko’s music. I became a big fan of the band and still listen to some of their albums once in a while.
3. Jocelyn Pook – Masked Ball
This piece underlines one of the key scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”. Even if the film didn’t impress me at first, it became an absolute favourite. I can still discover something new every time I watch it, and I think it’s a significant film that became even more relevant to me within the past couple of years. I only wish I could ever see it with the ending Kubrick had intended for it.
4. Vashti Bunyan – 17 Pink Sugar Elephants
One of the few songs I know the entire lyrics of by heart and I used to sing along to. It’s sort of a children’s song and connects to a fairytale world I like to imagine when the real one is getting too much for me sometimes.
5. Sumie – Fortune
Sandra Sumie Nagano is a friend from Gothenburg, Sweden, who’s been on my mind a lot during the past year. “Fortune” is the opening song from her last full-length album “Lost In Light”. I could listen to this piece over and over again. It’s just incredibly beautiful. And it also comes with a wonderful video.