Monika

Monika Christodoulou has been writing and performing her original songs on the Athens, Greece music scene since she was a teenager. After early breakout success with a string of deeply emotional self-recorded tracks posted online, Monika’s 2008 debut LP was a platinum seller in her homeland, and she quickly became a major concert draw across Greece and Cyprus, headlining all the major festivals. Her second LP, released in 2010, continued Monika’s success at home, but she was already becoming restless, for a different sound and a new direction. On a trip to New York in 2012, Monika made a pilgrimage to Daptone Records’ Brooklyn headquarters, to see where some of her favorite artists recorded — from Sharon Jones to Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. Almost on a whim, Monika knocked on the door, and Homer Steinweiss (founding member of the Dap-Kings & Menahan Street Band) answered. Soon she was playing demos she had on her phone for Homer and Thomas Brenneck (MSB, Budos Band, etc). The connection was immediate, and the next stage of Monika’s career began.