"Benjamin" by MUNYA

 
The French-Canadian producer, singer, songwriter, and performer Josie Boivin, aka MUNYA, is creating beautiful psychedelic modern synth-pop that feels timeless. She’s already released two EPs and is set to release her third titled ‘Blue Pine’ on March 8th. 
She just dropped the second single, ‘Benjamin.’ Benjamin is both a continuation of what we’ve heard from MUNYA as well as a step forward. Breathy vocals lamenting a broken heart? Check. Swelling synths? Check. The song is both a call-back to French singers of the 1960’s (think: France Gall) and a nod to contemporary American indie rock (think: new Toro Y Moi album.) 
Photo by Luminelle Recordings

Photo by Luminelle Recordings

‘Benjamin’ is also her first ever bilingual track—she sings in both English and French in the three minute tune. Being interviewed by Brightest Young Things, MUNYA said she’s never sure how the song will come out: “I don’t think about it when I write music, it’s just natural. And tomorrow I might make a song, and I can’t say if it’s going to be in English or French until I create it. Words come to me, and sometimes it’s in French, sometimes it’s in English, and sometimes it’s both. It’s very spur the moment, never planned in advance. I’m a very spontaneous person as well. And the reality of being a French Canadian is that your day to day life is half in English, half in French. I wish I could speak Spanish and write lyrics in Spanish, but I can’t. I write lyrics in French in English because my reality is both languages.” This bilingual quality adds a depth to the music. 
Benjamin is light, playful, even deceivingly simple but with a melancholy lying beneath. It’s surely a sign of beautiful music to come. 
*Header Photo by Jeremy Dabrowski