Monique DiMattina’s emotional Tides, born out of Melbourne’s lockdown [VIDEO]

Does Monique Di Mattina really need an introduction? A pillar of the Melbourne jazz scene, she has been combining trad jazz with contemporary composition and the singer-songwriter tradition with equally marvellous outcome. Now she’s back with a new solo piano album, her third one. It’s called Tides — which is, of course, a metaphor for feelings. Here’s Monique sharing the album’s backstory — and performing a piece from the album, ‘Serafina Lucid Dreamer’. 

“All songs have to do with Tides and emotions rolling in and out and finding our balance and equilibrium in the face of all the waves that keep crashing on our shores. ‘Lily on stilts’ is all about that balance.”

 

Born out of the long, hard Melbourne lockdown, Tides is a beautiful collection of cinematic soundscapes, created with the artist thinking of everyone at home. “I wanted it to be accessible for others to play from home – that was in my mind when I composed,” Monique says. “Lots of people picked up their instruments that had been sitting in their homes for years. and musical instrument sales went through the roof apparently. I was thinking about that and connecting with audiences in a different ways, seen that there were no gigs.”

Now that gigs have picked up, we can finally go and enjoy Monique performing live — and express our gratitude for this gift she made for us. 

Monique Di Mattina launches Tides on Saturday 27 March at the Jazz Lab – followed by a performance by her new Trad Jazz outfit, Monique and the Dopamine. 

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