Losing And Finding Music After Brain Surgery | TOKiMONSTA
After being diagnosed with a rare, potentially fatal brain condition known as Moyamoya, Jennifer Lee was forced to face her own mortality and consider the things in life she held most precious. For the electronic producer known as TOKiMONSTA, that was music. The artist came up in the L.A. music scene collaborating with the likes of Anderson .Paak and Flying Lotus, and has released music through Brainfeeder. But, two brain surgeries later, she had lost her ability to understand music. The brain trauma had morphed sound into noise. Through recovery, she discovered a new approach to life, and with time, hope and perseverance, music found its way back to her. Now, Lee is back with her Grammy-nominated album “Lune Rouge.” This is the fascinating story of the power of music and the power of the mind, and one woman’s inspiring tale of triumph over adversity.
On Great Big Story’s first episode of “Soundwave,” we break down the life, the inspiration and the surprising techniques that go into creating TOKiMONSTA’s song, “Rose’s Thorn.”