Sonic Pieces

Sonic Pieces is a German record label from Berlin. It was formed in 2008 by Monique Recknagel. The back catalogue of Sonic pieces include: Hauschka, Kreng, Nils Frahm, Dustin O’Halloran, F. S. Blumm, Simon Scott, Erik K. Skodvin, Otto A. Totland and Jasmine Guffond. At first glance this may appear small, however at home here are the who-is-who of experimental compositions. The founder Monique Recknagel does not want to canvas their names. For her, it is simply about music and appropriate editing. This then gets garnished by the finishing touches of Torsten Posselt of design studio FELD, amongst others. For Monique Recknagel the artist’s own input is the most important thing, which for Sonic Pieces is not only about the musical output, but also about voicing the visual idea. “Because nowadays just about everything is available in digital form, the packaging and artwork always plays a bigger roll. I will even go so far to say, that in addition to the analogue sound of the vinyl, the packaging provides the main reason for why the people still buy physical releases.” explains Recknagel to the online magazine Sounds of a Tired City about the creative approach of Sonic Pieces.
During the first releases by Sonic Pieces they still appeared on CD; thus paving the career path for Nils Frahm and others. In the meanwhile Monique Recknagel increasingly invested in vinyl. The clear, yet delicate design language of Sonic Pieces’ releases continues in conceptual series like the ‘Patterns’ series. She stresses that she wants to avoid at any cost the increases in expenses. But the music? Hard to say, finds Recknagel. The majority of publications rely on piano and/or strings as the main tone generator, but the results vary greatly. Sonic Pieces releases sound roughly what they look like: lovingly arranged, atmospherically harmonious and are characterised by unpretentious self will.