Austin R&B Duo Nico Medel and Aden Botchway make music reminiscent of something you love, while being something you’ve never heard before.

Wires line the carpet of Nico Medel’s bedroom, leading to various samplers and speakers and mics that soon make up the sound of Lady Monday. The 21-year-old’s room feels like a space where music-making meets chatting, the way 20-somethings do. 

Aden Botchway, 20, makes small talk with me through her mic to ease my nerves and check if the sound is working. Faint feedback quells moments of silence as the three of us sit on low-slung furniture. The duo exudes something familiar yet eccentric in how they speak, perform and create. 

“We’re both Lady Monday collectively, but I am also Lady Monday individually,” said the vocalist, whose middle name, Monday, translated from Ga to English, gives the band its title. 

“My dad is from Ghana, Accra, and he was part of the royal line of tribe…so I am technically a Lady.” 

From childhood family room concerts to the theater and school choir, Botchway says she has a case of “lead singer syndrome.” Self-taught guitarist and pianist Medel, also known as nicocore, found their footing in producing before Botchway, writing songs, and honing their craft and taste through YouTube tutorials and music videos. While Botchway draws inspiration from Lauryn Hill and Ghanaian highlife, Nico leans into Jazz, Amy Winehouse, and daydreams of becoming a femme Daft Punk. 

“I have always been a bedroom artist. GarageBand and my shitty Mac kinda deal,” said Medel. 

Their partnership moves fluidly, allowing space for vulnerability and collaboration in their creative process. Botchway and Medel write some songs independently of each other. The two manage to walk the delicate line between competition and encouragement. 

“I’ll bring a song to Nico and be like, ‘hey, I wrote this. Do you hate it? Do you hate me?” jokes Botchway. 

“We push each other to come up with crazier lines,” said Medel, “and I’m like, ‘hey, can you sing this part a million times until you sing it the way I want you to?” 

Some songs they create together, like the first one they wrote in their senior year of high school. The duo spent two days “twiddling their thumbs” in Botchway’s home, trying to combine her bassline with Medel’s guitar playing. At the time, they named their band “Two Thirds a Bird Fight,” and their first song, which they humbly refer to as “the bass and guitar one,” doesn’t exist in their discography. 

In this experimental stage, Botchway and Medel gained the confidence to improve as artists. Four months later, they produced their first single, Rita’s Oblong Mind, despite being separated after high school. 

“I was in college in Chicago, and Nico was living here. And during this time, we were FaceTiming for approximately 18 hours a day,” said Botchway. 

“I think it was our pushing factor. The like, OK fuck it, we can write songs, we can do this,” said Medel. 

Two years later, both members are in Austin. Rita’s Oblong Mind occupies the seventh spot in their 2024 EP, Collector’s Item, co-produced by Austin singer-songwriter and guitarist Jackie Venson. 

Behind the scenes, Venson and her longtime partner and manager Louie Carr offer Lady Monday structure and industry expertise, not for profit, but out of belief. Medel and Botchway describe the couple as their “adoptive parents,” whose trust and support continue to help the two realize their professional and creative goals. Beyond their expertise, they lend them equipment, such as the Pioneer DJ board, which carries their sound on stage. 

“If that thing ever dies, we have no show,” said Botchway. 

Limited by their budget, the duo relies solely on Medel’s mixing to saturate a space with music. They like it this way; it’s efficient, democratic and diversifies their sound. 

“I’ve kinda always wanted to be a DJ,” said Medel. “It’s been nice to explore that electronica version of myself.”

It’s a balancing act between Botchway’s bold Soul and Medel’s metaphorical Jazz, her directness, and their abstraction. The duet leverages their differences from the writing process to performances, ultimately creating something they both feel connected to. Their voices swim over and under each other, then eventually float in the same current. 

“Their talents complement each other,” said Carr. “They combine music in a way that is unique to them.” 

Such originality stands out in Austin’s concentrated music scene. However, the city is a small world, and “everyone knows everyone’s business,” notes the vocalist. The cuts of failure feel deeper in a town that simultaneously feels like a community and competition. 

“There are so many bands, you kind of get lost in all the noise,” said Medel. 

“Every time we have a gig that goes poorly. It feels like we’re taking a step back,” admits Botchway. 

The two dream of making music their sole source of income and eventually moving out to expand their audience. Despite persistent effort, there is still a long way to go. Carr supplies a crucial safety net, taking the mystique out of building an audience, but vouching for Austin at the same time. 

“There is so much value in building your community. Aden and Nico occupy a demographic we are told is not welcome in this state,” said Carr. 

For the pair, tradition trumps trends, and finding new music means exploring the best of foreign and classic genres to create an individual sound inspired by what they love. Their chaos gets filtered through Venson and Carr’s education and experience, from mentoring the two in high school to now producing their upcoming album. 

“I’ll work for Nico and Aden for as long as they work,” said Carr. ”I really appreciate their taste in music, the way that they approach music. They are not overly locked in with what is trending.” 

In the intimate corners of Medel’s bedroom, Lady Monday feels like it could be larger than Austin. Leftover mood lighting replaces sunlight, and music replaces our conversation. The two assume their positions, just as I first saw them at the 21st Co-Op on Valentine’s Day—Medel behind their machine on the left and Botchway with her mic on the right, both artists transforming silence into a conversation of their own.

~Nirvika Dhanasri

>> I am back y’all! I have not stopped writing or creating things, but its been sooo long since I have posted any writing on my blog. So here goes! Most of my writing in 2025 has been for school. I find it hard to write for myself when I have to write for school. Luckily, I got to write cool shit for my music journalism class…just like this piece. Lady Monday is an amazing band I had the pleasure of interviewing earlier this year. If you are reading this you should totally go listen to their music. I hope you enjoy this piece. Thank you Aden and Nico. ❤