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Interview: Miss Monique [Siona Records]

by Shlomi Biton May 30, 2022

Miss Monique is a fast rising Ukrainian DJ/Producer who has really been making a mark over the last 3-4 years. After recently playing Cercle festival, Just before her last show in Israel we spoke to her to find out how excited she is for the shows, and if she has any special memories of the country from past trips…

Q. Hey Miss Monique, how is everything for you right now in 2022? You are of course based usually in Kiev. I’m glad to hear that you and your family are all safe, and our thoughts are with everyone over there 🙏🏻

A. Hey! Thank you. Unfortunately, as for all Ukrainians my life has changed. I’ve never thought and even couldn’t imagine that in our century we will see such an awful and inhumane things, that Russia and their president is doing in my country right now – Ukraine. Everything is hard and complicated, even if me and my family are safe, my country is still under Russian fire.

Q. Where would you say is the most special venue/place you have played so far in your career, and what made it stand out to you?

A. Well, I’m lucky to have a chance to travel and visit a lot of unique and incredible places. It’s hard to choose one but the first, which is on my mind is once we recorded a mix for my YouTube channel in Tulum. It was a roof with an incredible view of the jungle, then the Caribbean Sea from another side and an unforgettable sunset.

Q. And do you have any club/festivals that are high on your bucket list that you would love to play in the foreseeable future?

A. It so happened that all the festivals at which I dreamed of playing are already in my upcoming gigs in the nearest future 🙂

Q. You’ve played in Israel before, do you have many special memories?

A. Of course I have a lot of great memories. Every event in this country is awesome. I love this crowd, they always make for me a warm welcome and I’m happy to be back every time. Also, one of my special memories in Israel is, when we recorded one of the most complicated, but at the same time beautiful mixes in the past years. It was at the Dead Sea, on the super small island and I was supposed to stand in the water during my set but the view was insane. I enjoyed that day a lot.

Q. Tell us some more about your Siona Records label, where did the idea come from?

A. Siona Records was originally conceived as a community of young artists who had great musical material but lacked a platform to showcase their creativity. Through MiMo Weekly and Mind Games, each Siona release was heard by over 500,000 listeners. I think we found a great formula for a collaboration between the artist and the label, and a year and a half after the creation, Siona entered one of the best-selling Progressive House labels on Beatport.
We recently changed our strategy a little, and our label has long-known names in the progressive world, such as Paul Thomas, Fuenka, Local Dialect, Pavel Khvaleev, Kamilo Sanclemente, Touchtalk, Weekend Heroes.

Q. And what do you look for when people are sending new music to you? What makes a demo stand out for you?

A. When we listen to the demo, I expect some unique and original production methods from the artist. Most producers are divided into two categories: the first try to fit into the mainstream and copy the tracks that are popular now, while others play too much with experiments, but all the dynamics and danceability are lost. We are looking for artists who maintain this balance.

Q. What does a regular day consist of for you right now?

A. Hmm..there are just two regular things that I’m doing everyday: breakfast and morning coffee 🙂 One day I can spend searching for new music, then another day we record new video for my YouTube channel. Another day I spend to answer mails, chatting with my listeners and answering to their comments.

Q. Any other exciting plans you’d like to tell us about you have for the rest of 2022?

A. Well, in the next few months I’ll travel a lot and for the first time I’ll join to Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium, Balaton in Hungary, and CRSSD Festival in USA. Also, in the last months I’ve worked on new releases and hope to share some of them in the near future, and of course we have a lot of awesome EPs coming up on Siona Records.

You Can Catch Miss Monique In Tel-Aviv For Her Last Show In Israel at Spoons On 31st May.
https://www.ltf.co.il