Sophia Kennedy / Die Vögel

The American/Hamburg pop wonder combines elegant songwriting skills with postmodern chanson.

At the moment, Sophia Kennedy might be the most versatile musician in Germany. From celebratory doowop to breathy late-night jazz to futuristic RnB, her songwriting talent acknowledges the history of pop while always remaining in the now. After her first recordings with Carsten »Erobique« Meyer and appearances as theater musician, Kennedy, who originally moved to Hamburg from Baltimore to study film, has now created her first solo album, the self-titled »Sophia Kennedy.« Simplified arrangements blend with electronic textures and combine with her voice to create the kind of dense maelstrom that only great music can. Her work has consistently been released on DJ Koze’s Pampa label, which regularly transcends tedious genre limitations to reinvent pop with the tools of club music. The album was produced with the help of labelmate Mense Reents, who will also perform that night (with Jakobus Sibels) as part of his Dadaist brass-house project Die Vögel.