The Chicago-born singer and songwriter grew up in rural Wisconsin, mostly waiting for Billie Holiday videos to load on back country dial up or making trips in a busted Geo Metro to watch punk shows in Milwaukee. She was surrounded by her father’s beloved soul music and the folk music that permeated the Midwest, learning to expand her musical boundaries from very early on. Trained as a hairdresser, she didn’t have musical plans beyond joke singing harmonies over the radio though. She fronted the acclaimed experimental folk pop sextet, PHOX, formed just outside Madison, WI but eventually moved to LA because “Wisconsin is cold as f*ck”. She found herself a little periwinkle casita and is feeling freer than ever in the city of misfits.
Monica is presently at work putting melodies to her “explorations in romantic f*ckery” with lowkey pop songs with blue note whispers, some golden-era Hollywood dramatics, and psychedelic flickers courtesy of a theremin. Look for more from her in the coming months, including a feature on James Blake’s track “Show Me” from his upcoming album, Friends That Break Your Heart, out October 8.
