Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sylkie Monoff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sylkie, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I grew up in Germany in a household where no one was really involved with music too much, apart from us listening to the radio + buying records once in a while.
But still, when I look back on my childhood, I think I’ve always come up with melodies + lyrics in my head. I was always humming + singing to myself + felt it was the most blissful sensation being filled + flooded with melodies coming to me all the time.
I remember standing on our balcony – I must have been not older than 4, because I was not yet tall enough to look over the railing – it was a sunny day + I sang to the trees behind the house + the clouds + the sun + I felt such a profound joy like my heart was beaming!
Before I even went to school + knew how to write or read + hadn’t yet learned about scores + notation, I tried to memorize + archive my songs/melodies by drawing staircases with a pencil on paper going up + down in small or large steps, according to the notes I felt moving up + down when I was singing. Today I think that it was a quite amazing accomplishment for a little girl with no formal music education (yet) to develop her own notation system.
Later on, when I started to attend school, I “wrote” a song every time on my walk back home from school, where I would perform it for my mom before lunch. One day she started paying me a quarter for my new piece of music – and that was it! I ran to the candy-store across the street thinking: “This is the greatest job in the world! Doing what is so much fun + getting candy treats on top!”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Singer, songwriter, producer SYLKIE MONOFF may have been born in Germany, but her heart and soul have always had a strong connection to the USA. As a teen, influenced by performers such as Emmylou Harris, James Taylor and Neil Young, SYLKIE performed throughout Germany with regional country-rock bands. She recorded and released her first record for Teldec before she even turned 20. After marginal success, she decided to sharpen her writing skills and therefore focused on producing songs in her studio. Shortly thereafter, she was accepted to attend the Pop Music Program at the prestigious Hamburg Academy of Music and Theater.
After completing her studies in Hamburg, SYLKIE single-handedly landed a recording contract with BMG Ariola
Munich (Sony BMG). Her debut EP consisted of 3 original compositions. This was followed by the recording of her album HARBOR IN THE NIGHT (1993). She not only composed 10 of the 11 tracks, but also co-produced the album. The first single DON’T landed in the German airplay charts and became a radio hit and two more singles followed. In the late 1990s, SYLKIE’s composition ALL THE PLACES, recorded by the British duo BND, charted in the German Top 100 sales charts. It was released world-wide and went gold before its release date.
SYLKIE has toured throughout Europe and parts of the US, playing support to artists such as Ian Matthews (Plainsong) and Supercharge. She has performed with Grammy winner Albert Lee, Rock’n’Roll legend Spencer Davis, Melissa Etheridge, Julian Dawson, Peter Bursch, Jürgen Drews and more. For about 10 years, she spent part of the year in Nashville performing, recording and co-writing with various renowned staff writers, such as Curtis Lance (Don’t happen twice, Kenny Chesney), Gilles Godard (Patty Loveless, Tracy Byrd, Ricky Skaggs, Blackhawk), Grammy winner Don Rollins (It’s 5 o’clock somewhere/Alan Jackson + Jimmy Buffett), Charley Stefl (The Fool, LeeAnn Womack), Alex Call (Huey Lewis), Brent Baxter (Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum) and more. Some of her songs have been added to the Warner Brothers and Universal Music Nashville publishing catalogs.
SYLKIE’s CD “Genuine” (2010), consisting of 13 solo-written songs which she also produced herself, features some of Nashville’s top session players, such as drummer legend Eddie Bayers and first-call guitarist Brent Mason. The critically acclaimed album climbed to the top positions of various European Country Radio Charts (#1 in Austria, #2 in Norway and Top 20 in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Italy, Sweden and more). „GENUINE“ as well jumped into the Top10 of the True Country + Roots Country categories of the Roots Music Report USA, the number one independent music chart for roots music in the world, which is based merely on radio playlists and actual airplay.
In 2012, with her first US radio single „STEAL YOUR CROWN“ at #1 in the IMN Country Charts for an entire 13 weeks, SYLKIE received the IMN Country Award as „Best International Artist“ with nominations in 4 categories.
Since SYLKIE made her permanent move to Music City USA in 2015, she has had several releases, such as the singles „Like Rain“ and „The Puzzle“ (produced by Mark Schulman, drummer of Pink, Cher, Billy Idol and more) as well as the digital re-release of her Sony album „HARBOR IN THE NIGHT“, which ranked in the Top 50 of the Apple Music Charts for Country Music in Germany in 2022. SYLKIE continues working on new music, cowriting, writing, producing and pitching songs and instrumental music for film and TV. One of her compositional collaborations for a TV commercial resulted in an Emmy nomination in 2018. Her single „Still Believe In You“ was listed on the Grammy Nomination Ballots in 2022/23 in the two categories „Best Country Song“ and „Best Country Solo Performance“. Monoff wrote and produced the track. It was released on her own label SYWA Nashville.
During the first half of 2024, SYLKIE has already had 2 album releases she collaborated on and her own new single release „Love Don’t Need A Reason Why“. She is currently working on several new projects, an album of her own songs as well as a series of instrumental music.
Apart from her diverse musical work, SYLKIE conducts music business workshops and is a well-respected vocal coach (Musiker Akademie Düsseldorf, Drummers Institute, Eurorock Duisburg/Germany, Pop Academy Linz/Austria and others). She is an active member of the Recording Academy, Nashville Chapter / Songwriters & Composers Wing, and has mentored young talent for the Academy’s GrammyU® program. In addition, she has just been elected to serve as a Delegate for the Group of Composers of Germany’s only Performing Rights Organization GEMA.
“Music is my life. To watch a song being born + then help craft it into something other people can relate to + fall in love with is one of the most rewarding joys I can imagine. I feel so blessed to have this gift + share it with the world.”
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
About 95% of the time when pitching our music + trying to find our unique path, artists are faced with rejection. The word “No” can be so crippling that this nasty, nagging voice of insecurity + negativity takes over the narrative + our brain tries to protect us from harm by talking us into the flight, fight or freeze mode.
I’ve always been faced with my own personal obstacles: Writing in English when making music in Germany was very atypical when I got started + made it hard to get on the radio; also being a female producer, writer, manager + artist all in one package was not liked + supported by everyone I worked with either.
I remember how it took me years to work my way into the music industry. I read every book I could get about publishing + copyright + record deals + production + the respective companies playing in the big league. I took every chance I could get to meet + network with the so-called gate keepers at conferences, trade shows and so forth – which was long before the internet made it easier to connect with the world. There were many moments when I felt drained + was close to giving up. But then, the next day I would get up + I would stubbornly refuse to give up my dreams because someone I did not care about did not get my music. There were lots of other business people to turn to instead! And so I continued doing my thing…
Over time, this kind of handling rejection became a habit: I developed a healthy self-confidence, which allowed me to even negotiate with major labels + publishers all by myself until I single-handedly landed a contract with Sony BMG at a fairly young age. Which changed everything, mostly how I viewed myself + who I was at an artist because my brain stored this achievement as a huge rewarding result of course! This one YES made me forget all the many NOs from before.
In fact, today I strongly embrace rejection because I know it can even polish your profile + self-esteem. In my experience, the stronger the wind is blowing in my face, the closer I know I am to my goal or next chapter on the journey.
I have learned how to be two people, the vulnerable artist, on the one hand, who of course is sad if something does not work out as expected, but refuses to lay down + die from it + instead, takes it in as a valuable lesson to get better, adjust a little or realize that the team or situation I approached was simply not the right one for me then and there. On the other hand, I can be the more detached manager or agent, who is aware that “Sylkie” is a product in a market where competition is real + rejection not meant to insult her personally. This has always protected me from emotional + psychological harm.
What helps to develop + maintain this two-fold approach is definitely a healthy lifestyle, enough sleep, time to relax, time to focus on other things we care about that can recharge us, like family, hobbies, or simply making music for the fun of it + to remind ourselves of the original reason why we ever started to make music. Mindfulness, meditation, physical activities, good food, good company…Jump off the endless hamster wheel of pursuing success, whatever that is. Understand that success is that you’re still making music! It’s a gift to cherish every day of your life!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
What has never ceased to amaze me is the fact that musical ideas seem to appear out of nowhere, finding their way through me + into the world. It’s like artists have their antennas tuned to a creative force expressing itself through us, like we’re a channel allowing it to materialize. Writing connects me to the universe, makes me feel one with everything around me. I’m not a thinking body anymore, but almost floating in the room. This creative process is an exhilarating time of bliss, total freedom, awe like a child, excitement + deep pleasure + satisfaction.
When a song is finished + written, recorded + maybe released, it is so rewarding to have brought something beautiful to life which did not exist before. Just imagine. Being a creator – that’s magic! And if I can touch somebody else’s heart out there with my music, my melodies, my stories, my voice, move someone, make them laugh, cry or dance – to me, that is the best aspect of being an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sylkiemonoff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sylkiemonoff/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SylkieMonoffMusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylkie-monoff-55914431
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SylkieMonoff
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AG5eXOKvEiBa6XF9GbEPt?si=40X_KxyKTDm65rIBIm2rGg Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sylkie-monoff/301414805 itunes: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sylkie-monoff/301414805 Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/2EWjvxdhUHxbgNfx5 Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/h7gzh2oIEJb Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/artists/B001O4M1KS/sylkie-monoff?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_GJrSfNWX1SCB95e5AP5ZXxfbP Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylkie_Monoff
Image Credits
Personal Photo by Manni Pollert Photography Photos 5 + 8 by Manni Pollert Photography