Miss Monique

Miss Monique is a young Ukrainian DJ/Producer who also runs her own label Siona Records. We sat down with her to discuss how she coped during the lockdown period, her plans for the label for the future, and the rising success of her MiMo weekly podcast streams…

Hey Miss Monique, how are you, what’s good, what’s bad right now with you?

Hey! Thank you DMCWORLD, I’m doing well and glad to talk with you. The good thing is that I’ve got more time for some other things now which I couldn’t do often before or didn’t have time to do. About bad things, of course this is a pandemic. For all of us the last few months were difficult and still are. Despite the fact, that I’ve got some extra time, I would gladly return to the life before Covid-19. Since this is impossible right now, we have to learn to live differently. Anyway, we get an invaluable experience.

Have you been able to make use of all the extra time you’ve had at home this year? What have you done to keep yourself busy?

Of course! The last few months I have spent time on my label “Siona” which I opened a year ago, and we signed a lot of great releases. Also, we have had time to record a few videos in beautiful Ukrainian locations for my YouTube channel. The same time I continued to record my MiMo Weekly Podcast at my home studio, and made some streams chatting with my listeners and working on my own tracks and collaborations with other artists.
I know that the best way to stay positive and keep myself strong is to work, so that’s what I did during the lockdown.

How hard has it been to make dance music without going dancing?

I miss the people and dancing with them at the party, but at the same time I have a good connection with my listeners. It sounds strange but they help me a lot with ideas of the tracks and even with the names 🙂 In the lockdown I shared some unreleased tracks with subscribers and we discussed what they like or not. So basically because of this connection it wasn’t hard for me to work on production without dancing.

You’re based in Ukraine yes? What 3 venues or party brands would you recommend to someone visiting Ukraine?

Yes, I’m based in Ukraine. If you asked me this question at the beginning of the year, it would be difficult for me to answer it, because over the past few years, I have spent most of my time performing overseas. But after being restricted to travel, I had the opportunity to visit several clubs that I can recommend: in the summer season I really liked the Ibiza Beach Club in Odessa, in the winter season you can often meet me in the Kiev Heaven and Skybar clubs.

Siona Records – How would you describe the M.O. for your label?

Siona is that label who doesn’t look at the name, artist’s position, we just listen and search for interesting sounds for us.

What inspired it? What’s the musical aim and vibe?

Since recording my podcasts, I have found a lot of talented producers who have written great production, but these tracks could not be released anywhere. As most labels focus not only on the artist’s work, but also on his name, social networks, sales of past releases, etc. After my radio shows gained wide coverage and at the moment they are listened to by about 500,000 people a month just on YouTube, I realized that I can show cool music of young artists to a wide audience, so the idea came up with opening my own label.
Our main musical aim is to open up interesting releases, young artists and new names to a wide audience for our listeners.

Miss Monique - MiMo Weekly Podcast 022 [Progressive House/Melodic Techno DJ Mix] 4K

Are there any labels you have always looked up to that you would like to emulate?

There are many good labels out there, but a copy can never be better than the original, so we always try to create a unique product.
Will there be albums at all, or label parties, or anything like that?

Since Siona is only one year old, we have many plans. Now it’s too early to talk about album releases, but I think with those first talented artists who come to us, we will definitely bring this idea. We also have to wait with events from the label due to the current situation in the world. So far, our plans are to search for young artists and new sounds.

Miss Monique’s track with Pavel Khvaleev “Silent” is out now on Siona Records  Grab it here – https://www.beatport.com/release/silent/3131123

https://www.facebook.com/MissMoniqueUA
https://soundcloud.com/alesia-arkusha