German Songstress--Joy Denalane

photo courtesy of The New Black Magazine

Cruising through the worldwide superhighway I discovered Joy Denalane. Have you heard of her? I’m sure some of you have, but I was taken aback by this woman’s voice. You know what that means, right? I had to dig further.

Joy is known for her mixture of African folk music, soul, and R & B (lyrics in both English and German), was born to a German mother and a South African father in 1973. At age 16 she set out to pursue music and joined reggae and soul bands Culture Roots and Family Affair. Struggling to come into her owe, throughout her youth she continuously performed with various local bands. Signed to a major label at age 19, Denalane and her management were at odds about the direction of her music and what her image should be like; she soon asked for release.

After a short streak of bad luck, Joy moved to Stuttgart, where she met already established producers DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz; her first chart topper was born, a single called “Music”. This led to her meeting and taking part in a duet with Max Herre, lead singer for hip-hop group Freundeskreis (also known as FK or Circle of Friends). In 1999, the duet “Mit Dir” was released as a single, only to make the top ten in Germany, the top fifteen in Switzerland, and the top thirty in Austria. Afterwards she ended up joining FK, touring for more than two years, later signing a contract with Four Music. This was the start of the beginning.

Joy’s debut album, Mamani was released in 2002, taking the # 8 slot on the German Albums Chart; Max Herre, her then husband (they had 2 children and separated in 2007), produced most of the album. In 2003, she went on a solo tour, collaborating with the likes of ASD, Till Brönner, and Youssou N’Dour, and performing for the first time in New York City and Philadelphia. Mamani led to the winning of multiple national awards and nominations and the opportunity to lend her vocals to the German version of Common’s 2005 single “Go”. This story gets even better. In 2006, Joy founded Nesola Records with Max, while simultaneously preparing to release her first album in English, Born and Raised; the album debuted at # 2 on the national albums chart. The Dresden Soul Symphony, which took place in Dresden, Germany, is Joy’s most recent project. She, along with artists such as, Bilal, Tweet, Dwele, and others performed should classics as “Let's stay together,” “Natural Woman,” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”. The Dresden Soul Symphony album and DVD were released last October.

This German songstress is one to keep an eye on. With her eclectic mix of influences, her blissful, passionate voice and her sincere energy, I think the best is yet to come of Joy Denalane.

Check out Joy's sites and the playlist below:

Joy's website
Joy's Myspace

Joy Denalane