biography
Monokino (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) returns to Europe from China with new song "No Return"
Monokino is the alias for Dutch pop composer George van Wetering who also formed and fronted the band Monokino - once part of the growing roster of foreign acts released by Chinese record company Modern Sky and worked with producer Tony Visconti. JZ Music Shanghai and Zip Records will release the single - valuing the baroque electronic production and the singer's bizarre choice to sing a song in Mandarin Chinese (instead of English). Monokino toured extensively across China, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA (SXSW, NXNE) and frequently participated in China’s growing music festivals (Strawberry Festivals).
The song’s long awaited release is a tribute to Monokino's tours, collaborations and fond memories in China but can also be seen as a final cathartic cleanse of many of the negative emotions and stresses caused by the corona virus: The romantic ballad “No Return” was written when George van Wetering / Monokino was doubting his ability to stay in China and wavering about whether he should return home or not. Sadly, since the pandemic began this decision has been taken out of his hands. The decision to write and sing the song in Mandarin Chinese is a bizarre one, especially considering that the country had opened many doors for him once, closed many of its doors (career wise) currently and considering George does not speak the language fluently. Nevertheless, given the situation, there is certainly a bittersweetness added through the song being sung in Mandarin and we hope listeners feel the same. Monokino hopes the song will empower listeners by directly confronting the struggles and emotions emerging from the pandemic.
The song itself sees George as a person who floats between the multiple worlds between East and West, exclaiming “there is no way back” to a world previously known. In all, the song advocates the fact that we all need to keep moving forward despite being in the midst of the pandemic. Looking to the future, the song surely comes as a precursor to a new album.
