DOPPELKONZERT: Faira. Experimental Folk // Annie Blochs

In the organizer's words:

Faira is Sophia Spies' experimental folk project. The songs of the 32-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter from Cologne are quiet yet powerful. Faira's pieces repeatedly break out of classic song structures and thus challenge the usual listening experience. The half-Japanese singer's lyrics deal with family, vulnerability and hope. With her sometimes soft and fragile, then again dark and evocative voice, she finds her way out of the human heaviness of existence with enchanting ease. Her fascinatingly complex, highly melodic songs radiate a musical boldness and are at the same time incredibly touching because they are so disarmingly close to life. Faira has undoubtedly added unimagined colors and facets to the folk genre. Sophia Spies is currently working on a new album, which will be divided into three EPs and released one after the other between June 2024 and January 2025 on the Cologne-based indie label Papercup Records. At asphalt, she will perform as a duo with singer and guitarist Johanna Klein.

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Annie Bloch writes orchestral yet delicate compositions for the large line-up of her project I DEPEND - ten musicians, including strings and wind instruments. The voice of the singer-songwriter from Cologne soars to great heights with ease and bears comparison with Priscilla Ahn and the young Fiona Apple. The acoustic instruments become the breeding ground for her songs, appearing rhythmically varied, sometimes melodically leading, sometimes only recognizable as puzzle pieces in the larger sound picture. The project title speaks to this interweaving: I DEPEND deals with the individual in the societal, social structure and focuses on the interdependence of the individual instruments and vocals in the music. And yet every musician is visible in the floating soundscapes. In her artful urban folk songs, Annie Bloch combines raw yet warm instrumentation with personal, intimate and poetic lyrics that tell of the impossible reconciliation of inside and outside.

Price information:

VVK: 11€ reduced // 22€ regular B.O.: 13€ reduced // 26€ regular