JARKI MONNO

"NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE"

OUT NOW VIA MARSHALL RECORDS

UNVEILS FOCUS SINGLE "SOMETHING GOOD"

UK TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR NOVEMBER 2025

“I know that Greg James is a fan, loads of us here at Radio 1 are loving what he does.”

Mollie King, BBC Radio 1

"He absolutely killed the BBC Introducing Stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend. It was incredibly emotional."

Jess Iszatt, BBC Introducing on BBC Radio 1

“I love the emotion, Jarki Monno sings with, you really feel every single word”

Maia Beth, BBC Radio 1

“Jarki Monno’s vocals sound like a million dollars.”

Mesmerized

London native singer-songwriter and poet Jarki Monno today unveils his poignant EP Not What It Looks Like via Marshall Records, along with emotional focus track ‘something good’. Listen/stream here. Since his inception in 2019, the rising artist has steadily become synonymous with producing refreshingly vulnerable and heartfelt sonic stories and has found fans in industry vanguards like Elton John, Jo Whiley, Phil Taggart, Greg James, Jodi Bryant and more. In celebration of the release, Jarki has shared a string of exciting tour dates across Manchester, Brighton and London in November - buy tickets here.

The focus track holds a special place in Jarki Monno’s heart. “‘something good’ feels like the light at the end of the tunnel for this EP.” He states. “It feels like the hope when you need it most - like a warm hug on a Sunday evening when you feel alone.”

Monno details that not only was the song was made with his good friend St Luna, but that the video features all of his closest family and friends - “the people that have kept me here, at times when I didn’t wanna do it anymore” - and was filmed in the village hall where a father figure of his, who sadly passed in 2023, trained him in drama. “Not only was he one of my biggest supporters, but he taught me how to be kind to myself. So it feels right to honour him within this project.”

“I’m so proud of this collection of work, for both the music and the journey I’ve been on. How far I’ve come and learning about myself outside of the creative space.” Monno finalises. “I truly hope that if ‘Not What It Looks Like’ can help one person become more comfortable in speaking or telling their story, to whoever they feel, that’s a job well done."

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ‘SOMETHING GOOD’ HERE

LISTEN TO NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE HERE

Jarki Monno, the moniker of London-born singer-songwriter Mark Johnson, has set the tone for reflective pop. A master of producing fresh, genre-defying and soul-bearing tunes, his music’s mission is to create art that truly makes a difference. “I want to be able to help people with my music,” he says. “I want to be unapologetically myself, and never change on that front. Music is what keeps me going, and it helps me navigate through my life.”

On the surface, Jarki Monno was living out his dreams. A young kid from Hemel Hempstead making serious waves in music, his 2024 EP Mother Told Me ‘These Things Happen’ was a breakout moment - his live shows were packed, and the rising force was picked to play BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Underneath it all, however, he was struggling; using the studio as a space to explore his feelings, Jarki Monno emerged, emboldened and renewed with an incredible new EP Not What It Looks Like, and refined sense of purpose.

“It was a year to remember, that’s for sure!” he says, looking back on his rise. Picked out as BBC Radio 1 Introducing’s Track of The Week, playing shows across the UK – and even the continent – he even made his debut TV performance on BBC One News to an audience of millions. As his career accelerated, however, Jarki became unable to process powerful feelings of loss – losing two father figures in quick succession, he found himself sinking. “I started to feel like some kind of a bad omen; that trouble just followed me around,” he says. “I threw a rug over that area of my life. It was difficult to revisit.”

Reconvening with close friends in the studio, he began to open up. Producer FJ Law returned, and the connection with him was “pivotal” for what would follow. Jarki Monno began to hone in on his emotions for the first time, allowing himself space to breathe. “My last EP looked out at the world, but this is more introspective – it’s me discussing what I’ve been through over the past two years. It’s been a rollercoaster, but it’s all played a part in this project.”

“Making this EP was extremely rewarding. I finally feel comfortable in myself,” he adds. “I’ve never been happier with my writing. It's like therapy. I found myself being a lot more honest, both with myself and with the people around me. I didn’t have to hold this façade that everything was OK. I didn’t have to keep this mask on all the time. I started to feel myself relax, and that I could be comfortable telling my own story.”

Starting in a position of self-doubt, his confidence submerged by the waters of grief, the EP rises and falls before finally breaking out into a place of self-realisation and freedom. It’s a cathartic journey, one that shifted Jarki’s outlook in the process. “I don’t come from a place where you talk about your feelings or what you’re going through,” he says. “I’m lucky that I’ve got an outlet and that I can put my thoughts down on paper. Not everyone has that. If you can help just one person, then that’s job done!”

Music is his source of escape, but it’s also a place where he can be finally utterly true to himself. Jarki Monno is able to take those thoughts and feelings and transform them into something universal. “We’re all one and the same, in some shape or form,” he notes.

25/05 - ChippStock Festival, Chipperfield

31/05 - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh*

12/11 - Yes, Manchester

13/11 - Komedia Studio Bar, Brighton

14/11 - The Lower Third, London

*supporting Everyone Says Hi

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