This being the last Kiezsalon of 2017, we’re thrilled to say that for this occasion, we decided to book someone very special: Hamburg-based songwriter Sophia Kennedy as well as the premiere of ‘Sun Dreaming’, a collaboration by Laraaji & Carlos Niño
Elegant, melancholic, sometimes menacing, with smoldering piano melodies, desolately whistling organs, and a jaunty jaw’s harp loop; kissed by the golden Californian sun, or shrouded in gloomy, dreary fog: Sophia Kennedy is currently the most versatile composer in German pop music – not to mention the greatest singer. Her debut album “Sophia Kennedy” reveals her as a dramatic romanticist and distanced diseuse, as a deft lyricist and master of melody. In her eleven songs, she travels from doo-wop to dubstep, from classic crooning to breathless R’n’B, from Frank Sinatra to Beyoncé.
Kennedy’s lyrics – dreams, impressions, observations – often concrete but hardly banal, offer a surrealistic account of metropolitan malaise. Her debut was praised by national and international media, pop music specialists (Pitchfork, Spex and co.) as well as the feuilleton. High praise aside, we really think that the future will herald Sophia Kennedy as one of the defining voices of the decade.
Sun Dreaming is a new performance featuring New York based new age pioneer Laraaji and LA renaissance man Carlos Niño, two deep questing musicians who explore the outer reaches of ambient music. In this special extended set both musicians will perform solo as well as together in an intuitive flow of improvisation, song form and open-eared collaboration.
Laraaji is a musician, mystic and laughter meditation practitioner based in New York City. He began playing music on the streets in the 1970s, improvising trance-inducing jams on a modified autoharp processed through various electronic effects. Brian Eno saw him playing one night in Washington Square Park and invited him to record an album for his seminal Ambient series (Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance, released 1980). Laraaji went on to release a prolific series of albums for a wide variety of labels, many of which he recorded himself at home and sold as cassettes during his street performances. In September 2017 All Saints release a stunning pair of LPs of new studio recordings by the celestial music pioneer.
Los Angeles-bred Carlos Niño is the revered producer, composer, percussionist, DJ, ensemble orchestrator and mentor who has traversed the multitude of music scenes the city has birthed within the last two decades. Host of the influential Spaceways Radio (1995-2015) on KPFK LA, co-founder of key web radio portal Dublab and producer of epic chamber music tribute to Jay Dilla Suite For Ma Duke, Carlos’s curational activities run in complete parallel to his original compositions and collaborations.
Sophia Kennedy (USA/DE) & Laraaji & Carlos Niño (US) present ‘Sun Dreaming’
Wednesday, 8th November 2017 | Doors 20:00 | Start 20:30 CET
Musikbrauerei | Greifswalder Strasse 23a in 10407 Berlin/Prenzlauer Berg
Photo by Roland Owsnitzki.
There is limited capacity to the salon. Tickets only available at the door. Please be on time.
