Monokino

"'Baby' is hard-hitting psychedelic garage rock perfection, melded with swirling 80s synth-pop — it’s explosive and incredibly catchy."
- Glide

" 'Baby' dispenses almost entirely with the lush and/or provocative and/or atmospheric synth foundations that have frequently underscored their previous work and plunges with near-abandon into a full-out rock-based assault (with proper pop touches, mind)."
- StereoEmbers

Monokino is the work of enigmatic Dutch pop composer and visual artist George van Wetering who currently resides between Nanjing, Shanghai and Amsterdam. His sound is an exhilarating, eccentric explosion of driving alternative-rock guitars, off-kilter electronica, and devilishly unadulterated POP! 

Stylised new earworm Baby is another illustration of Monokino’s distinctive, quirky approach to song writing and his technicoloured imagination. The infectious, high-octane track is on a high-speed acceleration throughout with a rush of hyper-fast beats and infectious rapid fire guitar riffs laced with van Wetering’s distinctive transatlantic drawl. 

The song’s energy and attitude wholly embodies the imagery in van Wetering’s head whilst he composed the track, as he explains…“I saw myself driving a racing car, singing ‘Baby’ in this Billy Idol kind of way,” with the lyrics  loosely inspired by a personal experience of a one-sided relationship and the universally relatable regret at staying too long in a bad situation. As van Wetering expands:

 “I was never enough for someone who claimed that I was her one and only. She often wanted to be alone, but when I was gone, it was not good either. Some days I was too feminine, other days just too masculine. People like Billy - in a speeding car - would have let go a long time ago already for sure.”

Baby’s accompanying visual, created by van Wetering, is made entirely of ASCII characters and has a stylistic kind of retro-futurism perfectly befitting of Monokino’s sound. 

Monokino has previously released two long-players, Fake Virtue (2013) and Human Error (2009) winning fans across Asia, Europe and North America, with Monokino releasing music via China’s largest independent label Modern Sky and Zip Records in the USA/the Netherlands. He has also collaborated with renowned American record producer and artist Tony Visconti and the artist Kristeen Young on their most popular track New Kid, alongside Dutch artist/producer Jacco Gardner. 

Monokino has extensively toured the USA, Canada, China and the Netherlands and played huge international festivals from Strawberry Festival, Beijing and World Expo in Shanghai, to South by Southwest, Texas.

Baby follows the 2021 singles No Return, Bend or Break and Your Underground, all taken from Monokino’s forthcoming third album (expected later in 2022). All singles received attention from blogs worldwide, with plays from the late Janice Long on BBC Radio and all major Netherlands’ stations. 

“A woozy fusion of alternative-rock and off-kilter electronics that certainly deserves your attention.” The Vinyl District

"Energetic, stylish alternative pop sitting somewhere between the new romantic sound of 80s and Gary Numan." MXDWN

" Monokino has a knack for quirky, but engaging songwriting." Fame Magazine

“Monokino takes no prisoners as electro is formidably melded with rock-style guitar.” Fortitude Magazine

"If Adam Curtis made music instead of documentaries Monokino would be the sound. Magnificent.” Yack Magazine