Monos by Nick Panoutsos

μόνος (monos): alone

In 2019, I began writing music for solo bass. Over the 2020 lockdown, I experimented more with it, partly to fill the void I and most other musicians felt from not playing with a band. During this time, I worked out techniques to play a melody and bass notes in a way that supported each other to tell a story.

Around the same time, I began digging deeper into Greek folk music. This music not only helped me reconnect to formative family memories, but influenced my approach to writing melodies from different scales and using different meters. What stood out to me most was how simple and honest these folk melodies felt, yet they could be heartrendingly bittersweet.

The sound of acoustic bass by itself has been a symbol of sanctuary, focus, and clarity to me for many years. Writing and recording the music of Monos provided a chance to capture these feelings and share them with the world.

-Nick Panoutsos

Bassist and composer in Brooklyn with roots in the SF Bay Area