“The Beauty Of It All” with Monolink live on tour

German multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and producer Monolink (born Steffen Linck), took his latest record, The Beauty Of It All, on a headlining North American tour, stopping by Toronto’s History.

The stage was shaded by a curtain with only some shapes teasing the room in certain light. Monolink, dressed in flowy sheer shirt and white pants, paired, of course, with his signture hat, took a seat behind the keys stage left. As the firs notes of “Call of the Void” filled the room the audince errupted with excitment, following the slow build.

Soon enough, Steffen dissapeared behind the curtain, letting his shadow be the main character for half a song before the curtain dropped revealign the elaborate stage setup. This brand new design, created by Vita Motus and Do LaB, embraces Monolink’s organic, analog-driven approach, presenting each performance as an art piece in its own right. A large decorative piece hung from the ceiling, shaped as a cacoon perhaps, or a … potatoe, worked as an accompaniment. The mass of it would turn, allowing the light to cut through its ripples or work as a projection backdrop.

Monolink greeted the excited room, pressing the hands against his chest. “I hope you are all ready for some dancing,” Steffen added. And dance people did. From the center to the room edge fans were embracing the vibes, some jusdge bopping and swaying, others really giving it their all.

The show went on for over an hour music following ebbs and flows of Monolink’s repertoir, some slow, some fast, and a few stories in between. Steffan played through the The Beauty Of It All in full, wrapping things up with “Father Ocean,” notably made infamous by Ben Böhmer a few years back.

“Isn’t he amazing!” a woman shout whispered into my ear, two-stepping on my left. “He sure is,” I agreed, and for a while we kept each other company in rythm.