The Bird and the Beat

Mathias Modica, better known as Munk, will release his next album in February on his own label, Gomma. Modica is a German artist who splits his time between Marseille and Berlin. His style typically blends indie, house and disco (NME called Gomma "the German version of DFA"), and his method is usually to record everything himself, then call a crew of guest vocalists into the studio. Past records have featured appearances from artists like James Murphy and Nancy Whang to Ed Banger cohort Midnight Mike. On The Bird and the Beat, Modica teams up with more than 12 guest artists, including Lou Hayter of New Young Pony Club, Permanent Vacation artist Pollyester and past collaborator Francy Goertz, plus a 21-year-old "disco princess from Malaysia" named Sarah Ze. All of the music is performed by Modica himself, which includes drum machines and synths as well as live piano, bass, guitar, xylophone and "Asian percussion." Most of the songs on the album are previously unreleased, but a few selections from Munk's 12-inches made the cut as well, including "La Musica," his single from this year that's been reworked by Azari & III and included in Friendly Fires' Bugged Out mix.