In June 2017 Mounika. unveiled his debut LP “How Are You” that featured the single “Cut My Hair,” which amassed over 75+ million plays throughout the world organically with no promotion behind it. Now three years later, Mounika. returns with a new project on a base he particularly likes, that of electro chill. Discreet by nature and himself surprised by this craze, Mounika. responds to himself by naming this new opus “I Need Space,” as a nod to his previous album “How Are You.” Listening to these 9 tracks, a dialogue is established between the artist and his inner self.
With there being no better way than to start at the beginning, on April 10 Mounika. released the albums’ first offering ‘Intro (I’m Sorry),’ a two and a half minute album foreword naturally aligning itself to infinite visual possibilities. A melancholic, soft and dreamlike atmosphere, a perfect remedy against gloom, for the first time, Mounika. distances himself from his usual creative process: the art of sampling. In “Intro (I m sorry),” it is himself who composes the piano melody and lays his voice on it, then inspired by a track by Chilly Gonzales. The single quickly amassed over one million streams, and landed the #1 spot on the much applauded Hype Machine’s Popular Chart. “Intro (I m sorry)” has been featured in over 3K Spotify playlists (Release Radar + Discover Weekly, Your Daily Mix) and received “Best Release of the week” on Apple, Amazon and other platforms, all organic growth.
Mounika. is seduced by this new way of composing and will even end up sticking to it for all the tracks on “I Need Space”, giving this project a very special flavor. All except the track “Tender Love”. The day after the discovery of Ocie Elliott’s track “I Got You, Honey,” he offered to re-release it. After a few reworked samples of which only Mounika. knows the secret, “Tender Love” became one of the strongest tracks of the “I Need Space” project. Mounika. didn’t hesitate for a second to suggest the track to his long-time friend, the director Louis Faury for the visual. Filmed in 4:3 format, the characters, as caricatural as they are endearing, as well as the photography used, transport us into a timeless sphere, that of love. Watch ‘Tender Love’ below:
In this time of self-isolation, the world has taken to Mounika.’s soothing, lo-fi hip hop beats for comfort. ‘Tender Love’ has surpassed over 1.1 Million plays, again claimed the #1 Spot On HypeM’s Popular Chart and has been featured on Amazon ‘Best New Music’ , Apple ‘New Music Daily, ‘ Spotify’s Electric Posé Discoveries , Spotify Summer Vibes 2020, Deezer ‘New Music Friday’ and ‘Chill Relax’.
Like a humble celebration in Mounika’s own style, this dreamlike odyssey that is “I Need Space” ends smoothly on “Roadsky” and “Soft You,” with a tempo flirting with deep house. He then sees in “I Need Space” a “transition” project towards other musical possibilities.
This Opus is a nostalgic, introspective and intense journey, taking us on a memory stroll, between happy memories and unfinished dreams…
In one image, Mounika’s musical universe would be a rainy cloud which, between two rain showers, lets a summer sun shine through.
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