page_title: Monica Lionheart
section_title: Zigmat
hierarchical_section_title: Monica Lionheart / Zigmat
caption_attribution_description: English: It was taken in 2010 before The Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona
context_page_description: Monica Ginestre, better known by her stage name Monica Lionheart, is an American electro-acoustic, singer-songwriter, producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist. She began her music career as a member of Iluminada, is the founder of the electronic rock band Zigmat, and collaborated in Pacha Massive before forming her own solo project in 2012.
context_section_description: While in New York, Lionheart formed the electronic rock band Zigmat.  The band became known as an explosive electro-rock band from New York City. The mixture of electronics, live rock, and Latin dance beats were often compared to the Brazilian Girls, Metric, Daft Punk, and the  Yeah Yeah Yeah's. Lionheart's bilingual lyrics, unpredictable light shows, and audience interaction combined and produced an exhilarating and multi-faceted performance. Zigmat began playing around New York City's East Village in clubs such as Piano's and  Nublu, garnering a reputation as an unforgettable high-energy outfit. After selling out the well-known Mercury Lounge, they were invited to participate in rock festivals CMJ and LAMC. Their debut self-titled album was released in 2007 and became the first stepping stone for the band in the US.  From there, Zigmat (Monica Lionheart) was asked to perform for a television commercial starring Gisele Bundchen. The commercial featured the song "So Sure".
  Zigmat was later joined by various top musicians while touring in Mexico, Brazil and the US, in between playing notable venues in New York City. Such sold-out performances were held at venues such as the Canal Room, Highline Ballroom and Joe's Pub. Zigmat has also performed for the LAMC Festival and was chosen as the best emerging artist of LAMC in 2009, also participating at the CMJ festival and SXSW.
  In May 2009, Zigmat released Sounds of Machines, their second full-length album in the US. The first music video to be featured from that album was "Machine." The album consists of nine tracks, each showing a different aspect of Lionheart's vocal agility, which Billboard called “the band’s secret weapon.” Four of the tracks deal with the pains, wants and frustrations of love: the album opens with the introspective, electro-ballad "Whisper" that describes longing and regret, then moves into the attitude of anger and abandonment with the track "Decide", demanding the lover to “shut up” in both English and Spanish. "Light of the Moon" paints a dark picture of pseudo-sadistic lust while the track "So Sure" depicts an unrequited love. Monica uses poetic lyrics in the tracks "Watch The World", "Between Bullets", and "Fire," each one displaying Lionheart's upper registers with a hushed seraphic quality. "Don't Tire" is the album's other Span-glish track, and "Machine" closes out the album with the band's signature haunting riffs.
  Billboard 's review about the album, “the band’s debut release blends cultures and enigmatic styles…[and it] kneads in a dash of rock and pop flair and has already inspired comparisons to such established trip-hop acts as Massive Attack, Air and Goldfrapp.” The Improper Magazine says, “the electronic sounds they make forged with [Lionheart’s] out-of-this-world vocals and tantalizing effects make Zigmat one extremely arresting and sensual musical concoction.”
  Zigmat's music has been featured in the film Backseat (by Bruce Van Dusen) and has garnered local television appearances in New York City (Hit Records Nightlife Videos) and Philadelphia (NBC's The 10! Show) as well as national TV appearances on Fox's Fearless Music TV, Blender and on SiTV in Los Angeles. Radio broadcasts include Batanga Radio, KPFA in Los Angeles, and KCRW's The Morning Becomes Eclectic.
  In 2009, Zigmat signed with Spanish label Actua Musica and began touring for much of that year, performing at Europe's Sonar Festival held in Barcelona, Spain whose appearances also included Radiohead, Air and Sigur Ros. Broadcasts on Radio Nacional de Espana, Radio 3 and performances at the Circulo de Bellas Artes all ushered Zigmat into the European music circuit, as well as features in Vanity Fair, Blender and Billboard Magazine in American, European and Brazilian editions.
  “Zigmat’s music is edgy, rockin’, melodic and dreamy. It's a wonderful fusion that makes for great energy in their recordings and on stage.” — DJ Raul Campos, KCRW
caption: Monica Lionheart in 2010 before The Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona
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