05/26/18
MONIQUE
Monique Maion is a Brazilian singer and songwriter from São Paulo. She currently lives in Venice, CA and is working on her upcoming record. Monique participated as the musical act in Lenita’s Space 15 Twenty pop-up at Urban Outfitters.
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Monique Maion
Musician / Pirituba, Brazil
Fun fact:
I love the right ratio of CBD and THC. Also, I'm a shapeshifter.
Painho, one of your recent singles, was released at Lenita’s Urban Outfitters Space 15 Twenty pop-up. Does it represent the direction of your new album?
Indeed, Painho leads the way. It’s my story when I was living on the road and practicing detachment of every achievement, failure and divorce, gypsing in search of a Taoist life. Freeing the spirit is a rocky road; 'the walls made of bones,' like I say in Painho. Death is a constant theme, as I understand that I need to kill my old self in order to reinvent my music, poetry and self. Being away from everything that defines you is so disturbingly good for the art.
You’re a Sao Paulo girl but Venice is now your home. What are a few places to hear the best underground music in the city?
Tuesday nights there’s "Live from Venice" at Del Monte Speakeasy and Thursdays 5-11pm there is live music at The Truck Stop LA in Culver City. I always head to East LA for the rock ’n roll scene. I dig Monday residencies at The Echo and you can find me frequently at Zebulon because they have a dope line-up. In DTLA, I spot great bands at The Redwood Bar. In Hollywood, I love the bar Harvard & Stone. I’m playing June 25th at The Love Song Bar, another awesome spot in LA.
You host a radio show called Tropicali on Venice 99.1 FM.
In the era of streaming, do you find it refreshing to still be curating music using a communication format that started back in the 1920s?
Ha! Yes, it is so refreshing to be analog. Can you believe I am a singer that actually uses my voice instead of machines? And play piano, study opera and baroque? Rodrigo Moreno plays upright bass, I guess I’m very old school. I’m always looking for my next marriage, you know, I’m a romantic lady. I’m catching up with technology though and trying the online dating thing.
Soon you’ll be releasing a track titled ‘Free the Nipple.’ Is that a response to the women’s movement we’re seeing or does it go beyond that?
The nipple is just the surface. The nipple is actually talking about the system. I wrote the words because I am a gender free person and prefer calling myself 'two spirited,' as the indigenous would say. I don’t believe in a “women’s movement.” I think it’s corrupted, as I believe more in a “people with good values movement.” I got in an argument with someone I used to call my friend when she stated that transgender people are mentally ill. It really broke my heart to witness such an ignorant, false feminist preaching homophobia. I invested everything in moving from a third world country to work in glorious California, only to find out America is in it's own state of emergency. Unattended mentally ill people with guns, homelessness rising, criminalization of the poor and that's what Free the Nipple is about.
What’s your favorite part of Venice?
The ocean. The way to the beach is filled with dirty needles in the sand but I find peace on the horizon. People shop a lot on Abbot Kinney and I personally dislike that area now. I only enjoy shopping when it’s free. What I love about Venice is the old spirit of “the more you know, the less you need.” I cultivate natural abundance and I walk around to pick flowers for my home, herbs for my food and I enjoy gardening at the Venice Learning Garden. Growing your own food is the revolution that won't be televised. I have a simple life.
Open ended: Leave Lenita a poem, a song, a few sentences, a thought.
Lenita Lenita, tão bonita,
Rosa é sua cor
Rosa é a flor desse
Bouquet on Wheels
Flores of LENITA ︎
Monique’s Instagram ︎
︎
Monique Maion
Musician / Pirituba, Brazil
Fun fact:
I love the right ratio of CBD and THC. Also, I'm a shapeshifter.
Painho, one of your recent singles, was released at Lenita’s Urban Outfitters Space 15 Twenty pop-up. Does it represent the direction of your new album?
Indeed, Painho leads the way. It’s my story when I was living on the road and practicing detachment of every achievement, failure and divorce, gypsing in search of a Taoist life. Freeing the spirit is a rocky road; 'the walls made of bones,' like I say in Painho. Death is a constant theme, as I understand that I need to kill my old self in order to reinvent my music, poetry and self. Being away from everything that defines you is so disturbingly good for the art.
You’re a Sao Paulo girl but Venice is now your home. What are a few places to hear the best underground music in the city?
Tuesday nights there’s "Live from Venice" at Del Monte Speakeasy and Thursdays 5-11pm there is live music at The Truck Stop LA in Culver City. I always head to East LA for the rock ’n roll scene. I dig Monday residencies at The Echo and you can find me frequently at Zebulon because they have a dope line-up. In DTLA, I spot great bands at The Redwood Bar. In Hollywood, I love the bar Harvard & Stone. I’m playing June 25th at The Love Song Bar, another awesome spot in LA.
You host a radio show called Tropicali on Venice 99.1 FM.
In the era of streaming, do you find it refreshing to still be curating music using a communication format that started back in the 1920s?
Ha! Yes, it is so refreshing to be analog. Can you believe I am a singer that actually uses my voice instead of machines? And play piano, study opera and baroque? Rodrigo Moreno plays upright bass, I guess I’m very old school. I’m always looking for my next marriage, you know, I’m a romantic lady. I’m catching up with technology though and trying the online dating thing.
Soon you’ll be releasing a track titled ‘Free the Nipple.’ Is that a response to the women’s movement we’re seeing or does it go beyond that?
The nipple is just the surface. The nipple is actually talking about the system. I wrote the words because I am a gender free person and prefer calling myself 'two spirited,' as the indigenous would say. I don’t believe in a “women’s movement.” I think it’s corrupted, as I believe more in a “people with good values movement.” I got in an argument with someone I used to call my friend when she stated that transgender people are mentally ill. It really broke my heart to witness such an ignorant, false feminist preaching homophobia. I invested everything in moving from a third world country to work in glorious California, only to find out America is in it's own state of emergency. Unattended mentally ill people with guns, homelessness rising, criminalization of the poor and that's what Free the Nipple is about.
What’s your favorite part of Venice?
The ocean. The way to the beach is filled with dirty needles in the sand but I find peace on the horizon. People shop a lot on Abbot Kinney and I personally dislike that area now. I only enjoy shopping when it’s free. What I love about Venice is the old spirit of “the more you know, the less you need.” I cultivate natural abundance and I walk around to pick flowers for my home, herbs for my food and I enjoy gardening at the Venice Learning Garden. Growing your own food is the revolution that won't be televised. I have a simple life.
Open ended: Leave Lenita a poem, a song, a few sentences, a thought.
Lenita Lenita, tão bonita,
Rosa é sua cor
Rosa é a flor desse
Bouquet on Wheels
Flores of LENITA ︎
Monique’s Instagram ︎