“At first we didn’t even like each other.”
The duo formed by Alison Manicourt and Shervin Hejazi launches, from their base of operations in Barcelona, “Radical Romance Of Mind” (Mushroom Pillow, 26), which is his disturbing and addictive long-form debut.
Mona et Toi is the project of the French singer-songwriter Alison Manicourt and the British-Iranian composer and producer Shervin Hejazi, a duo that establishes its base of operations in Barcelona. The first question was, therefore, predictable… and Shervin answers it, laughing. “We met in Barcelona ten years ago, working in the same company. At first we didn’t even like each other very much. A year later we started playing together and ended up dating, which got us fired. We moved to England and returned to Barcelona four years later. Then the project began to take shape”. Alison, for her part, points to the artistic virtues of each of the two members. “Shervin is an incredible songwriter and producer, and he has a special talent for making a song memorable. I’m good at creating emotionally connecting lyrics, stories, and vocal melodies.”
“We were trying to understand the tension between insecurity and ego”
In this way, both creative personalities come together, giving rise to Mona et Toi. “There are certain similarities between the harmonic language of French and Iranian music. We came from different musical worlds, although both were very marked by the nineties and the two thousand and we are the same age. Our music is contemporary, but it is born from a time that marked us both musically and emotionally.”
The result is “Radical Romance Of Mind”a rough, intense and current album, endowed with a darkness capable of dragging the listener. “We make better songs when, at first, we leave our minds a little aside. After starting several songs, we often realize where our minds are at that moment, without having previously intellectualized it. We like to preserve that spontaneity, but we were clear that we didn’t want the album to sound too clean at a production level. “It quickly became a kind of love letter to imperfect minds.”
“Radical Romance Of Mind” It is an album that also plays with different intensities and speeds. “We wanted the album to feel closer to the way the mind actually moves rather than a perfectly linear listening experience. The album speaks of introspection, self-healing, desire and contradiction. Contrasts that arose as we tried to understand our own vulnerabilities and the tension between insecurity and ego.”
As for influences, there are several palpable throughout this “Radical Romance Of Mind”from Siouxsie to Garbage, through The Raveonettes or Sleater-Kinney, highlighting, among all of them, the two most accused. “We love The Kills’ own sound, raw and at the same time polished. And PJ Harvey has also been a reference, especially his older albums. In addition, there would be Radiohead, Placebo or more contemporary artists like Sorry, Porches or St. Vincent.” To finish, it is necessary to investigate about the concerts of Mona et Toi. “We like to take advantage of that naked format that being a duo gives us to create a larger atmosphere, but one that reflects the duality of our personalities.”
