NEWS 2021 – MONA MUR Re-Issue on Playloud ! Pre-Order here
In summer 1987 Mona Mur met legendary “Stranglers” musicians J.J. Burnel and Dave Greenfield on their compound in beautiful and enchanted East-Anglia to create her first full album “MONA MUR”. The synth pop gem with Dave Greenfield’s signature and unique keyboard arpeggios and Burnel’s brutal and elegant bass lines strongly influencing the production sound was released 1988 by RCA and was celebrated by filmmakers Monika Treut and Elfi Mikesch in their movie “Die Jungfrauenmaschine” – which contains a MM live performance of the song”Ritz”. The Official “Ritz” video was shot by Edward Oleschak in Vienna on Heldenplatz and Hofburg and in Palais Saurau in the City of Graz, Austria. The album also features a special re-recording of “Surabaya Johnny” using tracks by FM Einheit, Alex Hacke, Nikko Weidemann, Thomas Stern and Siewert Johannsen (the 2nd Mona Mur Band line up) with additional drum tracks by Dave Larcombe (“The Bible”).
The 2021 re-reissue is remastered by Mona Mur’s long time collegue EN ESCH (KMFDM, Pigface), comes in a new running order with a special version of “Jealous” and a bonus track, “Venus 2020”, featured as credits’s song of the upcoming Monika Treut movie “Genderation” (2021). The ’88 MONA MUR LP with JJ Burnel and Dave Greenfield will be re-released on Vinyl on Playloud!
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MONA MUR is known for her unique voice and intense live performance as well as for her soundtracks for games and movies. In the 80s punk explosion, she hooked up with FM Einheit, Mark Chung, Alexander Hacke (“Einstürzende Neubauten”) and Gode B. (“Front”) to release the seminal 12 “Single “Jeszcze Polska” immediately claiming the “Single of the Week” slot of NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS. In a second MONA MUR BAND line-up, Gode B. and Chung dropped out, organist and keyboarder Nikko Weidemann (“Moka Efti Orchestra”), Thomas Stern (“Crime & The City Solution” ) and Siewert Johannsen (“Stricher”) joined the group.
Together with sound engineer Raymond “Nainz” Watts (who later became “PIG”) the band played acclaimed concerts at festivals in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands (“Pandora’s Box Festival”) and Germany, did live sessions in German major radio stations and recorded underground anthems like “Eintagsfliegen”, “Snake” and “120 Tage”. They also got notorious for their unforgiving Brecht/Weill interpretations of “Surabaya Johnny” and “The Ballad of the Drowned Girl” in guitar tempests and morbid slow beat chic. Nonetheless, they disbanded in 1986. MONA MUR embarked on a solo carreer. Dieter Meier (“Yello”) became a strong supporter of her art, arranging for a production with Jean-Jaques Burnel and Dave Greenfield (“Stranglers”) in the UK for her first solo album. It was also Dieter who brought Mona to Poland in 1989, where she met rockstar Grzegorz Ciechowski and the best polish musicians to record the concept album “Warsaw”, including a 64-piece symphony orchestra.
In the 90s, Mona Mur travels frequently to India, deeply attracted by its unique culture and music. In Berlin, she meets up with keyboardist, drummer and medaevist Christian St. Claire, creating a bunch of spheric electronic art songs like the acclaimed “EDEN” . She starts studying the Martial Art of Taekwon Do which she practises until today, achieving the 3rd DAN grade. Since 2007, Mona Mur has frequently toured the US, Canada and Europe together with multiinstrumentalist, performer and producer EN ESCH of “KMFDM” fame with whom she released three albums. Another strong bond exists with lifelong artistic friend photographer Ilse Ruppert who captured and helped create her iconic image. Featuring a violent electronic-orchestral sound of darkest shades, Mona Mur songs are to be found in movies such as Fatih Akin’s drama “Head On/Gegen die Wand””.
In 1999 Mona joined the Computer Games industry as audio artist. In her Berlin KATANA STUDIO, she creates unique, eerie and haunting electronic music and sound FX for game titles such as “Kane & Lynch2: Dog Days” (EIDOS/SQUARE ENIX), “Velvet Assassin” (SoftPeak/UbiSoft Japan) or “Ballance” (ATARI USA/Japan). For her groundbreaking work on KL2, she was invited to GDC San Francisco 2012, EA DICE, Stockholm, MIGS Montreal, HTW University of Applied Sciences Berlin and many more.
Recent works include her solo album “DELINQUENT” (2019) written and produced together with Ralf GOLDKIND (Lucilectric, Fantastische 4) featuring an illustrous host of guest musicians such as Anja Huwe (“Xmal Deutschland”), Bettina Koster (“Malaria!”), Annika Line Trost (“Cobra Killer”), guitarists Rudy Nielson (“Nena”, “Alphaville”), Gary Schmalzl (Thurston Moore, “Die Ärzte”), Kristof Hahn (“Swans”) and En Esch. Another core release: “THOSE DAYS ARE OVER” (2018), a collection of 15 Music Poems written by “Radical Eye” photographer and author Miron Zownir for Mona Mur who produced the soundscapes and her spoken word performance. “THOSE DAYS…” have so far been performed in London, Glasgow and Berlin.
In fall 2019, Mona was part of the successfull concert show “Znikajace miasto – The Vanishing City” at the festival “Łódź Czterech Kultur”. The show will go on tour in Poland in 2022. MONA MUR is also composer and producer of “HENKER AND JÄGER – On Hate as Collective Obsession”. Funded by German Ministry of Culture and Media, it features FM Einheit, star soprano Simone Kermes, En Esch and Mona Mur in a song recital evening which premiered at Muffatwerk München in December 2019, its fulminant artwork being provided by Berlin-based art directors FIRMA FREIMAUER.
2020, MOKA EFTI ORCHESTRA from Babylon Berlin TV series has covered the MONA MUR song “Snake” with singer Severija.
In 2021, Mona Mur engages in writing and producing music for films such as director Monika Treut’s upcoming “Genderation” as well as for the narrative Sci-Fi game “FERMI PARADOX”. She has also started a collaboration with Berlin-based arthouse label Playloud! .
“Her dark, dramatic voice lets our blood flow backwards.”
VIDEOS
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LIVE / STREAMS and other dates 2021 in planning – stay tuned.
(Mona Mur & En Esch live @ Don Hill’s, NYC, photo: Fred George)
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– DISCOGRAPHY –
MONA MUR “Delinquent” FREIBANK RECORDINGS 2019
MONA MUR & MIRON ZOWNIR “Those Days Are Over” FREIBANK RECORDINGS 2018
MONA MUR “Warsaw” Mystic Productions Poland 1990/ 2015
EINHEIT, ESCH & MUR: “Terre Haute” Rustblade Records, Italy, Red Vinyl 2015
MONA MUR & EN ESCH “Do With Me What You Want” Artoffact Canda 2011
MONA MUR & EN ESCH “120 Tage – The Fine Art of Beauty and Violence” Pale Music 2009
MONA MUR & EN ESCH on iTunes
MONA MUR “Into Your Eye” CD Alice in… / Dark Dimensions 2004
MONA MUR & DIE MIETER “Jeszcze Polska”, 12″ Supermax 1982 with FM Einheit, Mark Chung, Alex Hacke, Gode B.
– GAMES –
Music and Sound FX for “FERMI PARADOX” Anomaly Games 2021 (in progress)
Music for “All Walls Must Fall” InBetweenGames 2019
Ambient Music for “Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days” IO Interactive/ Eidos/Square Enix 2010
Music for “Velvet Assassin” Replay Studios/Southpeak Interactive 2009, UbiSoft Japan 2010
PC Music and Sound FX for “Ballance” Cyparade / ATARI 2004
– MOVIES –
Music for “Genderation” by Monika Treut 2021
Music for “L.A. Tango” by Elfi Mikesch 2021 Music for “Citizen Animal ” “Root Republic”, “Little Big Family” by Oliver Kyr 2018/20
Score for TV Documentary “Täuschung – Die Methode Reagan” Direction: Dirk Pohlmann, ARTE / ZDF 2015
Score for TV Documentary “Dienstbereit – Nazis und Faschisten im Auftrag der CIA” Direction: Dirk Pohlmann, ARTE / ZDF 2013
Score for TV Documentary “Die Atombombe im Vorgarten” Direction: Rudolph Herzog, ARTE / ZDF 2013
Score for TV Documentary “Israel and the Bomb” Direction: Dirk Pohlmann, ARTE / ZDF 2012
Score for TV Documentary “I didn’t want to get up any more” Direction: Dirk Pohlmann, ARTE / ZDF 2008
3 Songs in “Head On / Gegen die Wand” Direction: Fatih Akin (Golden Bear Berlin Film Festival 2004)
Title song “Axensprung” Direction: Monika Treut (2004)
Appearance in “Ballhaus Barmbek – Let’s kiss and say good-bye” feat. Nico, Zazie de Paris and more D.:Christl Buschmann (1989)
“Die Jungfrauenmaschine” Direction: Monika Treut (1988)
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Mona Mur c/o S. M. Bredy Friedelstraße 41 — D-12047 Berlin
Phone: +49.030.62 98 89 63
E-mail: info(at)monamur.com
USt-IdNr.: 16/240/00247
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Photography: Sebastian Rohde – FIRMA FREIMAUER – Bartosz Kuśmierski
Design: rolandmdesign
Coding: BASE-Marketing
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