KOSCHKA - Pop Noir

In the organizer's words:

Berlin-based singer, composer and producer KOSCHKA fronted the German-Dutch indie band NAUSICA until the end of 2019. Under contract with the Dutch booking agency Friendly Fire, she conquered stages across Europe and played as support for Son Lux, Miya Follick and Polica, among others. Since 2020, the German-Polish artist, whose real name is Edita Karkoschka, has been fully dedicated to her solo project.

Vocal Crush: With a distinctive timbre that alternates between rough, dark depths and clear, emotional highs, KOSCHKA creates an extraordinary combination of intimacy and intensity. Her sound is minimalist and at the same time characterized by timeless elegance - carried by spartan instrumentation that gives her haunting voice space.

Her eagerly awaited solo debut album, released on March 29, 2024 on the Berlin label St.Vladimir, combines her own English-language songs with new interpretations of German songs from the Romantic period (Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann). The album opens with the song "Liebst du Liebe", inspired by Clara Schumann's "Liebst du um Schönheit". Other tracks, such as the album's centerpiece "You Can't Bear My Love", captivate with a mixture of cinematic alt-pop, slow-core indie anthems influenced by blues and soul and engagingly melancholic lyrics.

The self-titled debut album was largely produced in their home studio in Berlin, mixed at Studio Zodiaque (including Dota) and finally mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood (including David Bowie) in New York. With finely curated facets in the production, KOSCHKA invited guest musicians such as the band The Still, baritone saxophonist Oleg Hollmann (Bobby Rausch), as well as co-producer and synth wizard Anneli Bentler (Queen Alaska) into the studio and created a total work of art as a veritable solo artist that goes far beyond classic pop structures. With the desire to slow down, KOSCHKA writes and performs intuitively - this is often how the first song sketches were created. The record button was pressed and songs were invented, sometimes so coherently that they were then adopted exactly as they were, regardless of whether they defied all norms or conformed to musical clichés.

With her first single "The Flood" in 2018, the artist gained international attention right from the start and laid the foundation for her solo album with the 7-minute track. KOSCHKA's live performances inspire with an incomparable stage presence. She intuitively moves between the soundscapes of romanticism and pop noir, inspired by artists such as PJ Harvey and Fever Ray. With her haunting voice, a muted piano and targeted use of synthesizers and effects, she touches the audience in a simple but impressive way. KOSCHKA will be touring Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries again in 2025.