Karl Neukauf, Krazy & U.T.A.

In the organizer's words:

U.T.A.

Blues * Loops * Heart & Soul

Sometimes loud, sometimes tender. Never without soul: NO MORE NO LESS. The current album is U.T.A.'s third album. With this album, the Düsseldorfer-by-choice plays "a little bit through the cities" - always solo; always armed with electric & western guitar, loop station and her unmistakable compositions; high level, always very different, German and English: from intimate singer/songwriter numbers to laid-back country/folk to creaky blues & rock'n'roll. And, yes, funk & soul.

U.T.A. has it all in her blood. And especially in her charismatic voice, which switches warmly and occasionally roughened between jazz, blues & soul, between mumbling, grunting and whispering in a wonderful way that you don't get to hear every day. Sparsely orchestrated, her songs gain additional appeal. However, it is difficult to assign the multi-talented U.T.A. /aka Uta Holst-Ziegeler to one musical genre due to her enormous versatility - or is it incredibly exciting to assign her to a genre?

KRAZY

We've seen this face before, haven't we? I think we have. Isn't that the crazy woman who was always on the road with Danny Dziuk recently? Yes, exactly... on the percussion - but did she also hit the strings and sing? She did.

KRAZY is a singer, songwriter, bohemian. Based in Cologne, at home in words, on the road in music. Inspired by a Bob Dylan biography, her training began on the street in 1993, where she acquired her stage name and a wealth of experience in over 15 years of professional practice. The stage apprenticeship with Peter Sarach (RAUSCH) was followed by band & theater projects. From 2010 onwards, KRAZY caught the attention of an audience interested in German songs that are more committed to the spirit than the pleasantness as a solo artist, with linguistic precision and edgy perspectives:

"Such a daring mixture of coolness, outrageously precise and succinct lyrics and an almost imperious seriousness - and in German, without coming across as embarrassing, pretentious or put-on... I hadn't come across anything like this in a long time. It had little to do with songwriting (...) No detours, no prisoners, no back doors. (...) This was "Three chords and the truth" à la Johnny Cash. The restrained punk and rock'n'roll of a strangely unabashed poète maudit," is Danny Dziuk's verdict.

But also KARL NEUKAUF

We've seen this guy before, haven't we? I think we have. And that unique, deep voice sounds so familiar... - wasn't he always on the road with Danny Dziuk recently? He was!

Karl Neukauf has a big heart and a deep voice. He's nostalgic, but he doesn't ramble. A wistful advocate of objectivity. A clear-sighted chronicler in dark times. Despite his busy career, he still prefers to play on small stages, in smoky pubs, in old churches and crooked barns. In places with names like Sandhatten or Tröchtelborn. Where you can still get into conversation with your audience. Where you can hear what moves people. There's hardly a concert after which Neukauf doesn't get involved in a dispute at the bar: Do so many refugees really need to come? Should Germany supply weapons to Ukraine? Can we still believe what we read in the papers? And can we still have a glass of red wine? Neukauf is a good listener, he engages with everyone, even the difficult ones, the troublemakers, the cranks. But he never succumbs to the temptation to find overly easy answers to complicated questions.

He has written theater and film scores and works as a multi-instrumentalist and singer, lyricist and composer, arranger and producer in the studio and at concerts with such illustrious artists as Lana del Rey, Lüül, Wiglaf Droste, Hansa Czypionka, Judith Hoersch, Elke Brauweiler and Danny Dziuk. Caterina Lobenstein sums him up: "Once you hear his voice, you won't forget it: warm and rough, political and laconic. Karl Neukauf comes from Berlin. Not from the Berlin of hipsters and vegans, but from the Berlin of smokers and poets. He makes music for adults. Music that doesn't taste like milk foam, but like black coffee."