Cologne has a strong musical tradition and it’s been a hub for experimental music since the 1960s. The city continues to attract a stream of young musicians from a wide range of genres, looking to showcase their talent. Cologne’s music scene is synonymous with innovation and avantgardism, drawing on local and international artists on a quest for new forms of expression. If you’re into experimental ideas, cross-genre concepts and unconventional performances, look no further. We’ve put together five acts for you that are currently writing the city’s soundtrack.
Jenny Thiele – rebellion of a gentle-sounding kind
Jenny Thiele has been living in Cologne for more than 11 years. The singer works with alternative, experimental pop sounds, taking inspiration from the city’s dance and theatre scene. She incorporates the freedom of dance into her music and is always on the lookout for new influences and ideas that she can turn into clear, gentle musical stories. If expressive style is your thing, keep an eye on Jenny: she’s going places.
“Time and again, I’m impressed and inspired by how much theatre and performance art in Cologne happens under the radar.”
Jenny Thiele
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IUMA – urban pop trap
Cologne singer IUMA writes autobiographical songs with cleverly crafted sound combinations full of feeling – an emotional outlet for herself and her listeners. IUMA’s German lyrics sit upon an accompaniment of American-style R & B, soul and hip-hop sounds. She takes her audience on a transparent journey to the centre of her being, embarking on an emotional dialogue with herself. Her music is intended as a safe space for her and others, a place where the “Best Newcomer 2020” can truly bare her soul.
“I’m looking for more space for vulnerability, self-healing processes and feminist content in German pop. I want to pass on those values with a certain lightness through my music to create a safe space for myself and others.”
IUMA
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Keshavara – global sounds from Cologne
Keshavara is a music project originally conceived by German-Indian musician Keshav Purushotham and now involving multiple musicians. The urban sounds play with listeners’ expectations. Visually and aurally, Keshavara is a mixture of psychedelic experience and surreal magic. The sound experiments with different perspectives, resulting in a surprising blend of altered rap, new swing parodies and Dadaistic indie pop that takes you on an opulent journey to foreign worlds.
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Brenda Blitz – exciting, bolshy and a tad trashy
Brenda Blitz wrote her first song aged eight. Influenced by Joy Division and Talking Heads, the German pop reformer’s current work has a cool new wave sound to it, merging melancholy with joie de vivre. Her music is about fairness and justice, open-mindedness and breaking down antiquated structures. Musically, she knows no taboos and ignores the rulebook. In her live performances, Brenda blurs the boundaries between the stage and the audience and sets out to get people thinking.
“I don’t care whether a song turns out to be 7 minutes or 00:43 seconds long.”
Brenda Blitz
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Wahnschaffe – future-oriented positivity
Music has always played an important part in Wahnschaffe‘s life. Her alternative German soul/rock/pop explores new ways of thinking and new avenues. Her work is a constant confrontation with herself, combined with emotional and technical finesse and buoyed by the familiar sound of the 90s with a crisp, fresh-sounding makeover.
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“Loud, grimy, chilled, warm-hearted, international. My home.”
Sophia Wahnschaffe on what makes Cologne Cologne
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