MONKyMAN Crafts a Global Folk of Electronic Pop on 'What About Love'

MONKyMAN’s 'What About Love' is the work of an artist unafraid to navigate the intersections of memory, emotion, and rhythm. The Berlin-based electronic pop producer, originally from Stuttgart and shaped by formative years in Namibia, has long demonstrated a capacity to craft music that feels both intimate and expansive. With this album, that duality reaches a new clarity.

The record’s lead single, “Hambelela,” featuring Vaudeni, is a luminous highlight. Anchored by organic percussion and layered with afro-inflected rhythms, the track is both a celebration and a meditation. Vaudeni’s vocals, sung in Oshiwambo, ripple through the arrangement with a warmth that feels lived-in and deeply personal — a tribute to MONKyMAN’s Namibian roots, yet framed in the polished, cosmopolitan textures of contemporary electronic pop. It’s a song that balances reverence with accessibility, demonstrating his ability to make the specific feel universal.

Across the album, MONKyMAN melds dreamy vocal lines with jazzy instrumentation and atmospheric production, creating a soundscape that is as reflective as it is energising. Influences from André 3000, Frank Ocean, and Sun Ra surface in playful harmonies and inventive arrangements, while the spiritual weight of figures like Nina Simone and Bob Marley underpins the record’s thematic core: self-love, awakening, and resilience.

What sets What About Love apart is MONKyMAN’s approach to rhythm and narrative. Each track carries a sense of movement — a pulse that feels both bodily and emotional — guiding listeners through moments of introspection and exultation. His work on festival stages from Paris to Cape Town, alongside artists like ARTBAT and Monolink, translates seamlessly into the studio: expansive yet nuanced, celebratory yet contemplative.

In What About Love, MONKyMAN has delivered an album that is both a homage to his roots and a vision for the future of electronic pop — soulful, intricate, and utterly alive.

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