Premiere: Monica Aben Shares New Single 'Made of You'
New EP Everything I've ever known Released on July 26th
May 10, 2024
Photo by Brenna Weeks
California-based singer/songwriter Monica Aben has spent the past few years crafting a mesmerizing, naturalistic style of folk and indie pop, debuting with her 2019 LP, In Your Universefollowed by the 2021 EP, Card Postal. She returned last year with a string of new singles and has continued her steady stream of new releases this year, teasing her next EP, Everything I've ever known.
Aben describes the EP as a chronicle of her own growth, saying “I've been in a constant state of change, growth and reinvention for three years. I questioned everything that went against my intuition (which was basically EVERYTHING) and it cost me friendships and opportunities I thought I wanted, etc. However, now that I'm on the other side, I've never felt more at peace. self-love, kindness and synchronicity.”
The EP is out on July 26th, and Aben has already shared the record's first single, “Force of Nature.” Today, Aben returns with her latest single, “Made of You,” premiering on Under the Radar.
“Made of You” finds Aben settling into a soft, meditative sprawl, driven by swirling keys, chilly synth percussion and strands of guitar melody. The resulting track is spacious and shimmering, with Aben evoking both the resonance of a folk confessional and the dreamy glow of indie pop. Meanwhile, the track's lyrics explore themes of joy, sadness and family bonding. Aben moves between English and Spanish throughout the track, reflecting on how loved ones who have passed on continue to live on in those whose lives they touched.
Aben says of the track, “'Made of You' is a love letter to my great-grandmother, my Nana. I've been told I'm a lot like her in certain ways, but she had a stroke when I was 10 and we cared for her in our home until she died when I was 16. It took me years to process the impact of it all, but in 2022 I reached out to my dear friend, Ali Stone, and asked her to help me piece together fragmented lyrics and chorus ideas. We are both Latinas, close to our families, and Ali knows my family well. It's amazing we didn't cry while writing it together. We knew we had captured something eternal. It's really about realizing that when you lose someone who raised you (in any capacity)…they never leave you.”
“This is a song for anyone who has taken a long time to process their grief. For anyone who has said he looks like a loved one he only knew as a child. I felt called to write this song only after realizing that my great-grandmother, my Nana, completely shaped my family's life through her influence when she was grounded, and the signs I believe she has sent us ever since. We wouldn't have the life we had had she not made some choices in her youth or endured everything she did. She was a strong, family-oriented, spiritual, but very fiery woman. She loved tamales, oranges, gardening and had two parrots with colorful personalities. Can you see the similarities? At least I only have one parrot!'
Check out the song below. The Everything I've ever known The EP is out on July 26th.
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