In today’s age, technology has flooded our lives with content. Caught in the mire are modern musicians who champion an art form that’s more widely distributed than any other throughout human history. And we, more often than not, overlook the music created by unfamiliar faces because it’s challenging. We’d rather have an easy listen, a known quantity to skim through while we think about something else.
Hearing is easy, but listening is difficult. Welcome to “Why We Like It”, where we rebuke the trends in favor of thoughtful analysis and underknown sounds.
“Dynamite 2.0” — Voice Monet
Listen On:
How We Found It
New Orleans emcee and Cafe owner Voice Monet has been active in the music industry for almost two decades. Therefore, it was an honour to see her latest single, “Dynamite 2.0” pop up in our SubmitHub inbox. This track is the follow up to a string of recent singles such as “Last Tango” and “Message in a Bottle.”
Why We Like It
It seems ironic that a lyricist would write about the struggle to communicate, but “Dynamite 2.0” is a testament to the intricacies and mysteries of language. A musical aid can break down barriers, having your feelings spill out from your chest in a verbalised form. These notes and chords connect with something fundamental within us all and can wordlessly express things that no language, alone or combined, could communicate.
However, in the throes of regular conversation, it can be a point of suffering to lack the ability of realising your internal abstractions. On “Dynamite 2.0,” Voice Monet struggles to find the words that will bring serenity to her relationship, lamenting her inability to communicate but eventually expressing her desire for her partner to simply find happiness. Monet’s exploration of the relationship on this song is genius, pulling from such vibrant imagery to fit the theme of vocalising the ephemeral.
Broke ain’t always worth fixing / Opposites only blend / When they’re consistently shaken / But stop putting in the work / And see which one is floating” – Voice Monet, “Dynamite 2.0”
If art is the pursuit of truth, then Voice Monet has found it with poetic brutality. Her tone is purposeful, her word choice eclectic yet subtle. This, along with a textured instrumental of gorgeous guitar chords, gives the song a duality. Monet seems caught between knowing she must accept the cold, hard truth of the relationship but cannot help looking at the relationship with regret.
I should have waited / Insure we both could be satiated / He claimed he was Atlas / Could magically support the both of us / Like those bras strapless / But there’s always strings attached / The distant harmony seemed a perfect match / But proximity reveals cracks” – Voice Monet, “Dynamite 2.0”
We all have pieces of art which express our feelings better than we ever could and it is common for an artist to feel that way about their own work. Sometimes you have no idea how you feel until you are grasped by the inspiration to create and your emotions come to the surface. “Dynamite 2.0” exemplifies that the relationship between art and emotion is symbiotic, that art needs emotion in order to exist, and without art, emotion would remain forever misunderstood.
From Voice Monet
I definitely find it easier to express feelings through music (and art) because I’m not forced to just rely on words. Verbal communication isn’t everyone’s love language. Music alone can set a mood before the first word is ever spoken, and boy do I wish I could have that atmospheric soundtrack in real life priming every lover’s ear. In a relationship I try to be as transparent as possible and aim to express in the love languages that best resonate with my lover. This is all a newer and wiser me speaking, at the time I wrote “Dynamite 2.0” I still relied heavily on words to take the lead in crucial moments where I should’ve just followed my intuition and heart. I do love that creating and releasing music provides opportunities to not only clarify my own expression, but also articulate for the listener what they weren’t able to put into words for themself. I get a lot of DMs from people who not only love the music, but more importantly they relate.” – Voice Monet for CentralSauce
More From Voice Monet
If you enjoyed “Dynamite 2.0,” follow Voice Monet on Twitter @VoiceMonet to ensure that you never miss a release. It is also worth your time to dive into her earlier work. Linked below is her 2012 album Voice Presents Cutz.
More to Discover
Subscribe to the CentralSauce mailing list so you never miss out on the freshest sauce. Check out this continuously updated playlist of songs Ryan has added to our Discovery section! Each track or artist has been featured in our “Why We Like It” section, so be sure to check out the page here on the site.
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