Joy Denalane & Max Herre

In the organizer's words:

We can agree on that right away: Love is both the greatest mystery and the most beautiful human emotion of all. We all know the great break-up albums of pop, "Here, my Dear" by Marvin Gaye or "Blood on the Tracks" by Bob Dylan, for example.

We know heartbreak albums like "Tapestry" by Carole King, conceptual albums about love like "Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean and, of course, we know "Everything is Love" by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. One thing should be clear: Nothing has been sung about as often as love in all its facets. But never before has a story been told like the one Joy Denalane and Max Herre tell in the songs on "Alles Liebe". Because no one else has experienced this story.

Max Herre and Joy Denalane are two of the most important and successful German musicians of the past 25 years. Denalane is the great overwhelming soul singer, with groundbreaking, autofictional albums such as "Mamani", "Let Yourself Be Loved" and most recently "Willpower", she has set standards. Max Herre, on the other hand, has established a completely new narrative form and musicality in German hip-hop and rap with his band Freundeskreis, their debut "Quadratur des Kreises" and his solo albums such as "Hallo Welt" and "ATHEN".

Together they have been awarded numerous gold and platinum albums, won prizes and played grandiose tours. This is the public side of the Denalane/Herre duo. But the private side was also public from the very beginning: their very first hit together, "Mit Dir", was also so special because you instinctively felt how fundamentally there was a spark between these two people at the time.

You can't translate being in love into music more intensely and emotionally than in this song. Now, 25 years later, they do this for an entire album. Sometimes with the maturity and serenity of years, then again in the midst of the frenzy of emotions, reflected, hurt, angry, jealous, lonely, but mostly: happy. From the very first chords of the first single "Alles Liebe", you're right back in the heart of this music and this story: a jubilant piano opening to a weightlessly gliding gospel, a yearning melody by Joy Denalane, and finally the thoughtful flow of Max Herre. In this song, it seems to be 1999 and 2024 at the same time, yesterday, the day before yesterday, today, the day after tomorrow.

"Our story, your perspective, what I have for you, but don't forbid myself," raps Max, "the deepest bond and the highest principle, you know there's nothing greater." - "The first step into the unknown and hopefully the last thing we have left," Joy sings in a powerful chorus. "We had thought about making an album together from time to time over the years, but in a more playful way," says Joy about "Alles Liebe". "Because we have a permanent artistic line to each other anyway and work together on all our albums - in one way or another - our need for a joint album wasn't so pronounced until now."

It was only when the two grown-up sons moved out of the house that this changed: "We asked ourselves: 'Are we going on a big trip around the world now, or are we going into the studio? Denalane and Herre left familiar paths, worked with a wide variety of producers and musicians and rediscovered themselves as a couple and as artists, so to speak. "After the first three days, we already had eight sketches," says Max. "It was magical from the start and a lot of fun." "With these new impressions and people, we were also able to find ourselves as a couple in an incredibly creative dynamic, which was immediately apparent," adds Joy.

On their joint debut, Denalane and Herre succeed in telling old stories for today from the new: this is also what "Alles Liebe" is all about. Because, as Max Herre says: "There are a thousand forms of love. Ours is one of them - and the album is now our view of it." With the announcement of "Alles Liebe", we are entering a special "Max Herre and Joy Denalane year": Joy can be seen on "Sing meinen Song" and her back catalog will be released on vinyl. "Mit Dir" and the album "Esperanto" will be 25 years old, the duet "1ste Liebe" from the solo debut album "Max Herre" will be 20 years old. Both singles and the albums will also be re-released on vinyl.

There will be lots of new music, pictures and films - and in the fall, Max Herre and Joy Denalane will finally go on a big "Alles Liebe" tour. It's something we've always wished for, and now it's come true. Alles Liebe! The album "Alles Liebe" will be released on 1.11.2024. The single of the same name will be released on 26.04.