EXPRESS YOUR LIFE Album&Tour - From the Pygmies to Riverside

With “Express Your Life” I engross important stages in my life from my childhood in Cameroon and Niger to studying jazz singing in Berlin to concerts and workshops in Germany, France, Senegal, Cameroon and South Africa. I love bringing people together with completely different backgrounds, learning from each other and creating new things, while building bridges to other worlds.

Some songs tell of the life of the pygmies whom I visited with an ethnologist in the rainforest between Congo and Cameroon. I was particularly impressed by the Baka Pygmy people and to this day I am fascinated by their polyrhythmic and polyphonic songs. I visited them again and since then have been working on - what I call my life's work - my 3rd album and taking it on tour.
I incorporated their chants into some of my songs, which now meander through the jazzy arrangements like loops.
In addition to my own compositions, I am recording new arrangements of well-known songs from my idols.

In honor of my favorite South African singer Miriam Makeba, I sing Malaika and the famous Click Song in Khosa. Self-written songs talk about the love of life, the love for a person and the craziness that comes with it.
Some jazz standards come in a new guise; I paired Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy with a Nature Girl. Either way, it talks about love as the greatest joy in life. Curtis Mayfield's Move on up, made famous by Angélique Kidjo's interpretation, encourages us to keep getting up and keep going, to have faith, because if there is something in life that just belongs to you, you won't lose it, says Abbey Lincoln's Throw it away. Finally, I would like to thank life with a Gracias a la vida, Mercedes Sosa's cult song in a surprising arrangement, and to my parents, who gave me not only the inspiration Latin America...

My songs have been recorded with international musicians from Senegal, Mali, South Africa, Latin America and of course Germany.
For me, Express your life also means incorporating the many multi-faceted life experiences into my music and performing them with all the expressions that I have as a human being. It is a call to each of us to let his/her different talents shine.

I ask for your support to realize this large project.
Of course not for nothing, take a look at my rewards and “thank you's” and you sure find something among them for you.
But above all, of course, to bring this immense production to the stage and on tour with my intl. Musicians and a group of Baka pygmies.

Thank you very much for your support.
You can find out what you get in return and how funds are used in the project details.

My goal is not just the release of my new album or the release concert; Above all, I want to continue my intercultural mission building artistic bridges between the worlds
and bring this project on a tour with my intl. musicians and a group of Baka pygmies living in France.

With regards to my musical style, I am addressing all people, musically at least lovers of jazz, world music, Afro pop and Latin - of course also concert locations and festivals for jazz, African and world music.

so I can pre-finance the extensive production and promotional work and pay all of my international musicians properly
to bring another big production on stage and a concert tour (including live streaming) with my band of international musicians and a group of Baka pygmies living in France.

Finalizing production, album release (CD, Vinyl, digital) and release-concert with LIVE-streaming, all artist fees, travel expenses musicians and singers.
A part of the expenses has been pre-financed. All rewards and "thank-you's" will be delivered to your doorstep.

With successfully achieving my crowdfunding goals, I will primarily manage the promotion of album and concerts and getting the band together in order to go on tour with a big stage production.
Amounts above the funding goal go directly to artists' fees and the organization of further workshops and work with young musical talents.

Expenses
4.000€ Studio days & production
2.500€ Mixing
1.500€ Mastering
900€ Artwork
3.100€ CD/Vinyl Release & Gema
5.000€ Artists and fees
3.500€ Promotion, Marketing
2.000€ Video production
22.500€ Total

Income
tba from Crowdfunding, CD/Vinyl and ticket sales