Fresh off the release of her newest EP “100%,” I sat down with Jen Hirsh, the voice behind MONOGEM, to discuss her sound, her name and her music video for her song "WILD." The indie singer song writer’s sophomore EP, fittingly named “100%,” was deemed by Hirsh as “so right.” She continued, saying “listeners will be able to tell it’s still me. I have a lot of vocal characteristics that are carried over, but a lot of the production has definitely changed. We’ve been so lucky to explore and we’ve experimented with more vocal effects, and we're having more fun expressing ourselves musically. [Personally,] the new EP, while some characteristics have carried over from the first one, is a bit more elevated. It’s a bit more honest, a bit more real; it just feels so right and that’s why I chose “100%” as the title.”
The EP is following up the release of the music video for "WILD." The video showcases two youngsters as they have a night in. The video itself, though fun and imaginative, pushes against gender stereotypes, while creating a relatable scene for young people. When asked about the creative process that went into the video itself, Hirsh raved about the young actors who played the role of exploring teenagers. The videos production time was short, taking only about a day because of the excitement of everyone involved. Hirsh was able to be incredibly present in the making of this video. “I worked really closely and I was very involved and present for the whole shoot. I was there for the editing process and worked closely with the director and I knew that I wanted a picture that highlighted innocence and that sort of carefree child-like spirit that we all have, or had as children. A spirit that, as we got older, we suppressed. I thought it would be a really beautiful thing to see this video with these two young actors and I’m so proud of how the look was achieved”. Since Jen was able to be such a large part of the videos creative process it made the translation between the music and the visual elements completely organic to what MONOGEM is all about.
I, of course, had to ask why MONOGEM was the name Jen chose to be her stage name. “Visually I had this lunar vision in my head and a lot of the visual references for the project sort of touch on it, but also we have a kind of a throwback 80’s retro vibe, and a lot of those sounds triggered those visuals. So when I discovered what a monogem ring was, and read about it, and read that the largest one studied was found between the Gemini and Cancer constellations, which is actually a supernova reference, I thought it was the perfect name. It rang true and I’ve been rolling with it ever since.” With musical and style influences from artists like Jesse Ware, Solange, and even Prince, MONOGEM is definitely on the way to becoming the music that sets the tone for young people everywhere.
