Never been to Africa
When Paul Klös and Seb Thieme played together for the first time in 2015, they had the intention of composing Afrobeat music. Then a Syrian violinist, a Palestinian percussionist and flutist, as well as two Brazilians joined the group and immersed this music in Middle Eastern and Brazilian rhythms. Never been to Africa is influenced by West-African Afro-funk from the 1970s and calls on the audience to get up and dance, through its genuinely innocent outlook and deep love for the pulse of Africa.

www.sebthieme.com

Line up: 
Aeman Hlal: Violin
Manolo Marin: Guitar
Paul Klös: Guitar
Leo Barreto: Bass
Seb Thieme: Drums, keyboard
Romio Natur: Percussion, Arab flute
Ronan Bonagamba: Percussion

Leléka is Ukrainian for stork – this animal is a symbol of spring and new luck in the Ukraine. And this is also what the band wants to give to the old Ukrainian songs.
They focus on the themes of work, war, love or of wives who sell their husbands at the market. A large variety of different musical structures are built around the melodies that shine new light on the songs. However, these frameworks are never constructed in too much detail, so that enough scope always remains for spontaneity and creativity in the band.

www.facebook.com/pg/lelekaberlin

Line up:
Robert Wienröder: Piano
Thomas Kolarczyk: Double bass
Jakob Hegner: Drums
Viktoria Anton: Vocals

Django Lassi 
To simply categorize the style of this Berlin–based sextet as "gypsy swing" would not do them justice. Although the tradition of Jazz Manouche underlies the foundation for many of their original songs, Django Lassi keeps their tonal horizon open in many directions, extending well beyond Reinhardt-esque compositions, to wild poetic balkan dances, to electro-swing trance with freestyled lyrics. The bands diverse influences fuse into an irresistibly danceable experience.

Line up:
Roland Satterwhite: Violin + vocals
Jonas Müller: Accordion + trumpet
Laurent Humeau: Electric guitar
Yasir Hamdan: Acoustic guitar
Yatziv Caspi: Drums + percussion
Klark: Electric bass
 

Joel Holmes & The Green House Expansion

The Green House Expansion is an electronic project founded by Joel Holmes, Kuba Gudz and Martin Buhl. The three musicians met at Joel Holmes’ weekly jam sessions at the Greenhouse artist house in Tempelhof. They come from different backgrounds as well as different environments: Brooklyn, Posen and Odense. In their music, you’ll find improvisations paying their respects to the jazz tradition, hip hop beats inspired by jazz and soul, and philosophical as well as socially-aware lyrics.

www.joelholmesmusic.com

Line up:
Ian Lawrence: Vocals
Joel Holmes: Piano
Martin Buhl: Bass
Kuba Guelz: Drums
 

Projekt Guzu is a postmodern rejection of any identities along geographical lines. Traditional Persian rhythms blend with Brazilian jazz harmonies and melancholic French chansons – driven by the deep beat of Berlin’s pulse. With the power of words, even when they are not understood, and the sounds, even if they break with old habits, the musicians want to make music heard that simultaneously knows no and every homeland. Projekt Guzu is a protest against feeling foreign, against appropriation and a homage to all and everything.

www.projektguzu.de

Line up:
Elmira Bahrami: Vocals
Stephan Garin: Guitar, piano
Sven Werner: Bass
Jacob Przemus: Drums
Dona Assisi: Tombak, daf

 

Bernard Mayo Trio 

Bernard Mayo is a musician, painter and illustrator. He was born in Kisangani in Congo and has been a permanent fixture in Berlin’s local music scene since 1994.
The Bernard Mayo Trio performs a mixture of traditional Congolese rhythms, Afro-pop and chansons, with elements of kumba, the mother of today’s rumba, and soukous.

www.bmayo.de

Line up:
Bernard Mayo: Guitar, vocals
Nana Bababoutilabo: Bass
Felix Kerkhoff: Drums, percussion
 

Berlinskie Samovary was founded by the singer Svetlana Silina and bayan accordion player Nikolai Fomin. All the musicians in the band come from various parts of the former Soviet Union. With their original and provocative songs, they challenge traditional musical stereotypes. They convey honest folk messages with emotions ranging from melancholy to euphoria and give traditional Russian songs a new sound, through the styles of swing, polka, blues, ska and reggae.

www.berlinskiesamovary.de

Line up:
Nikolai Fomin: Vocals, accordion
Svetlana Silina: Vocals, percussion
Vladimir Miller: Saxophone, clarinet, balalaika
Eugen Miller: Bass, vocals
Mark Shmelkin: Drums