Manual is the performing name of

electronic musician ''Electronic Musician'' is a monthly magazine published by Future US featuring articles on synthesizers, music production and electronic musicians. History and profile ''Electronic Musician'' began as ''Polyphony'' magazine in 1975, publis ...

Jonas Munk Jensen, (born 1981 or 1982), from

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 2 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. He makes music in the style of ambient

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

and

indietronica Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produce ...

. His sound tends to contain a mix of software synthesizers, guitars (sometimes sampled or heavily processed), and various digital signal processing effects. Mixing elements of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as amon ...

, and

indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

, Manual is compared to artists ranging from IDM artists, such as Boards of Canada, as well as

shoegazer Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with " dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming v ...

groups like

Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993 ...

. Munk's output as Manual is strongly associated with the aesthetic of

Morr Music Morr Music is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1999 by Thomas Morr. Most artists on the label fall into the categories of intelligent dance music, electronica and dreampop, but all reflect Thomas Morr's pers ...

, the label that released his first two albums. He also is featured on the Morr Music compilation ''Blue Skied an' Clear'', which was a

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on d ...

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

. In 2004 he joined the American label Darla. Simultaneously, Munk started a psychedelic band called

Causa Sui ''Causa sui'' (; ) is a Latin term that denotes something that is generated within itself. Used in relation to the purpose that objects can assign to themselves, the concept was central to the works of Baruch Spinoza, Sigmund Freud, Jean-Paul Sar ...

, and they released their self-titled debut album in December 2005. He composed the soundtrack for the 2012 Danish-American road trip film ''Searching for Bill''.

Influences

In an interview with

Pitchforkmedia ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, Munk mentions some of his sources of musical inspiration. They include:

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " S ...

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for " Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United S ...

, Japan,

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instru ...

, U2,

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

, Coil, Jimi Hendrix and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

.Manual
Pitchfork.com

Discography

Albums

*''Until Tomorrow'' (2001) *''Ascend'' (2002) *''Into Forever'' (2003) (collaboration with Icebreaker International) *''The North Shore'' (2004) *''Golden Sun'' (2004) * ''Azure Vista'' (2005) *''Bajamar'' (2006) *''Lost Days, Open Skies and Streaming Tides'' (2007) *''Confluence'' (2008) *''Drowned In Light'' (2010) *''Epic'' (2010) (collaboration with

Ulrich Schnauss Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020. Biography Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...

) *''Ulrich Schnauss and Jonas Munk'' (2011) (collaboration with

) *''Awash'' (2012) *''Pan'' (2013) (as Jonas Munk)

Singles

*''Resort EP'' (2000) *''Dry Moods Warm Nights'' (2001) * ''Isares'' (2003)

Compilations

* ''Blue Skied an' Clear'' ( Morr Music's

tribute album) (2002)

References

External links

Manual:Pitchforkmedia Interview 2002Manual on Discogs.com
* {{Authority control Danish electronic musicians People from Odense Morr Music artists Darla Records artists