"... Gudrun Gut has a proven track record of successfully connecting with like-minded artists on unusual paths of creativity. She's an outstanding example of someone who refuses to compromise their artistic vision. And now she is ready to present one of her most ambitious projects ever: Monika Werkstatt -- a loose collective of female artists set up to enable each of them to achieve new goals through collaboration. Monika Werkstatt will ensure that their artistic output gains visibility in an art context still too dominated by men. Monika Werkstatt has its origins in collective workshops and in shared interactions. By sharing their own challenges and achievements later on with an audience, this opened a gateway to a further feedback and creative dialogue. . . .

History has a weakness for coincidences, and the release of Monika Werkstatt happily falls on the 20th anniversary of Monika Enterprises. A fantastic landmark and a means of celebrating such a tremendously talented collective that Gudrun Gut has orchestrated. So what is this release really about? Gudrun's fellow Monika members -- AGF, Beate Bartel, Lucrecia Dalt, Danielle De Picciotto, Islaja, Barbara Morgenstern, Sonae, Pilocka Krach, Natalie Beridze -- travelled from Berlin and assembled in the creative oasis of Uckermark. The goal was to create and record without any of the usual pressures and distractions that you'd anticipate in a group context. To keep the focus, Mo Loscheider cooked, Manon Pepita assisted with the day-to-day and Lupe was filming. . . .

Between recording and jamming, their days were filled with music, eating, short walks in the fields and forests resounding with inspiring talks and discussions. Without any restraint or rules, they opened up new forms of interaction and creative dialogue which found themselves falling into a process without any clear beginnings or ends. . . .

Once the recordings were completed, representatives of the group were delegated roles for a finished production -- some sequenced and mixed the recordings into their own tracks, while others built their own from the material recorded. The results succeed in showcasing the community as a group, as well as portraying singular pieces of art derived from a collective process."

Tracklist:

A1 Barbara Morgenstern + Werkstatt Grow 4:28
A2 Natalie Beridze + Werkstatt Doodle 3:40
A3 Gudrun Gut + Werkstatt Green Rain 4:54
A4 Lucrecia Dalt* + Werkstatt Blindholes 2:50
A5 Beate Bartel + Werkstatt Feuerland 4:20
A6 Pilocka Krach + Werkstatt Sternhagen 2:08
B1 Sonae + Werkstatt Between Two Worlds 3:58
B2 Danielle De Picciotto + Werkstatt Ikarus 4:30
B3 Gudrun Gut + Werkstatt Repetition 3:54
B4 Beate Bartel + Werkstatt M B T 3:32
B5 Pilocka Krach + Werkstatt Who's Afraid of Justin Bieber? 4:35
B6 Islaja + Werkstatt Sappho's Gifts 1:05
C1 Natalie Beridze + Werkstatt Hit Bottom 4:14
C2 AGF + Werkstatt Ninjaness 3:42
C3 Danielle De Picciotto + Werkstatt Desert Fruit 4:31
C4 Islaja + Werkstatt Lainaa Lause 5:02
C5 Sonae + Werkstatt Witchcraft 5:03
D1 Werkstatt Workshop 2:22
D2 Werkstatt Ninjaness 3:42
D3 Werkstatt Tag1 2:17
D4 Werkstatt Schrei 2:42
D5 Werkstatt 555minimal 2:19
D6 Werkstatt Limited Blue 3:11
D7 Werkstatt Invisible 3:48
D8 Werkstatt Beginning 3:29