NICA live: Rebekka Salomea presents Ray Lozano & Silvan Strauss Soundsystem

NICA live does not only present the music and projects of the NICA artists themselves, it also presents musicians and bands that they appreciate and would like to bring to the attention of a local audience. Singer Rebekka Salomea Ziegler - NICA artist 2022 - has curated a double concert for this summer evening that is entirely to her taste and will bring musicians from Hamburg and Cologne onto the stage of the Green Room.

The Hamburg producer and drummer Silvan Strauss is considered one of the outstanding European drummers of the younger generation, moving effortlessly between improvised music and urban contemporary music. In recent years, he has worked with artists such as Maria João, Soweto Kinch, Omer Klein, Guinga and Farhot. Strauss incorporates the immense musical input into his own project TOYTOY, for which he collaborates with his bandmates on a shared vision of experimental groove music. In 2021, Strauss released his solo debut album "Facing" on Kabul Fire Records. He comes to Cologne as a duo with guitarist Alex Eckert and together they create a modern sound with hints of jazz and hip-hop.

Ray Lozano is a German-Filipino singer, songwriter and producer who was born and raised in Cologne. In her recently released debut album "Pairing Mode", each song (or chapter) moves through a perspective of loneliness. From the longing for love to the feeling of self-loathing to disorientation, only to emerge from this feeling strengthened again. Ray Lozano's honest lyrics, coupled with her vulnerable, polished and brave voice, take you through emotional, dreamy spaces somewhere between heartbreak and hope. Her sound borrows from the style and soul of Solange's "When I Get Home" and some quirkiness á la Tierra Whack can also be found.