Becoming Himself, Mon Rovîa Helps Us All on Our Journeys of Becoming
My interview with the Afro-Appalachian folk singer Mon Rovîa is live on The Bluegrass Situation now.
Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes, it takes completely different forms.
Mon Rovîa has kind eyes. Unassuming and watchful, he’s spent a lifetime reading the room and taking the temperature of the situations he’s found himself in. As a child, he was quiet. These days, he exudes calm. When he speaks or sings, people listen closely. If his eyes are kind, his voice is empathetic. Soft and soothing, it embraces the listener like a warm hug from somebody who knows how it feels to be lonesome and wouldn’t wish it on another. Only a fool would take this kindness for weakness. It’s a vulnerable strength, tempered over time in the fires of resilience.
By now, Mon Rovîa’s backstory almost feels etched into stone. Born in Liberia, on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa, he was adopted by Christian missionaries during the violent bloodshed of the Second Liberian Civil War. He traveled with his new family through the Bahamas, Montana, and Florida, before settling by the grandeur of the Appalachian Mountains in East Tennessee. From a young age, he has lived in complexity, contrast, and displacement, a questing soul searching for meaning, purpose, and his place in this world.
As he reveals in our Cover Story interview, he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for. However, through music, Mon Rovîa has uncovered a trail to walk along. In recent years, his distinctive Afro-Appalachian folk music sensibilities have earned him a devoted audience through social media, regular releases, and touring.
Across his debut album, Bloodline, he offers memoir and testimony, sharing yet more chapters from his remarkable story. Written and recorded in Los Angeles with producer Cooper Holzman, the album crystallizes his early promise into something timeless, sublime, and deeply needed. In late December, he made some time to reconnect with BGS. You can read the full feature here.
BONUS: MIXMAG ANZ: MACHINE BEATS - EXPLORING THE SOUNDS OF ‘80S CLUB MUSIC IN AOTEAROA
At the dawn of the ‘80s, the futuristic sounds of synthesisers, drum machines, and vocoders were making their way into soundscapes of nightclubs, radio stations and record stores up and down Aotearoa/New Zealand. By this stage, the classical composer Douglas Lilburn and his academic peers had been tinkering away at Victoria University of Wellington’s Electronic Music Studios for over a decade. During that time, the spacey sounds of Moog synthesisers were showing up on local prog rock records, and records by Donna Summer, Kraftwerk, and Gary Numan made an impression on local audiences. Hairstyles, fashion and music were changing rapidly. A new era was arriving.
In my latest for Mixmag ANZ, I looked into the home baked and high-gloss sounds of ‘80s club culture in Aotearoa New Zealand. You can read the full feature here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
Los Angeles producer Chris Cubbison aka Cubbi, serves up his latest release, Heaven Knows The Pit I’m In. Opening with the hyper-anxious (Uncut Gems type beat?) sensibilities of ‘Descension (Amnesia)’, the album quickly unfolds into a journey through sound which emphasises sound design, field recordings, hard-edged post-cyberpunk textures, and strident rhythm styles straight out of the original Blade soundtrack. It’s a heavy, heady listen, featuring contributions from artists and friends including Cubbison’s 23 Bees partner John Warlick, Josh Menashe (Frankie and the Witch Fingers), Seena Ratcliffe, and Michael Christy.
Man like James Alexander Bright and the London-based neo-soul artist Faye Meana team up for two slices of Valentine’s Day magic for Athens of The North. The A-side, ‘Baby’, a hefty chunk of hot-buttered boogie. Over on the flip, they dial things down slightly for the more understated, but oddly psychedelic ‘Take It Slow’. One for the DJs and the lovers.
Lovers Rock Summer is far from over.
FIN.