I met Toti Liedermachens from Braunschweig years ago at the adriAkustik. Back then we took over the hammock stage together with Mengede and from then on we met every year for a beer, a song or a chat somewhere at the festival.
Now Toti recently wrote to me – with a soundtrack attached – and the request to “play something to it”. So I did, played several ideas with piano and Wurlitzer on it and sent it all to him. With the addition of a bass track by Philip Omlor, the song Flaschenpfand was rounded off. And because every good song needs a good video, we shot a few takes in Dresden and Toti in Braunschweig. This is how the following video came into being, in full compliance with the corona ordinance, and will now remain forever in the collective memory of posterity.
With the Ensemble MeinKlang we have developed a brilliant suitcase programme:
»Wir haben alle unser Päckchen zu tragen.«
»We all have our baggage to bear.«Interactive music theatre? No, we’re not doing anything digital. It will be an acoustically analogue musical experience in which the audience decides which topics will be worked on. And so that it doesn’t get boring between the choice of topics, you can guess, vote and – of course – sing along.
This was recorded as part of the Aussitzen Extended project. I would like to share these recordings with you here:
Clicking on the play button will load the video from YouTube. Data (e.g. your IP address) is transmitted to YouTube and other third-party providers. By playing the video you agree to this.
From 2017 to 2020, I took part in the basic training on non-violent communication offered by echtjetzt. There, on the one hand, successful communication as an attitude was taught in theory and in exercises, and on the other hand, an approach to oneself was shown and laid, which helped me to work on and heal many old wounds. Sören Bendler and Sören Heise – founders and developers of the concept – published a book in 2018: Gewaltfreie Kommunikation in der Sozialen Arbeit (Nonviolent Communication in Social Work). Together with Martha Laux, the two Sörens and two actresses, we developed a musical-scenic reading, the songs of which were included on the CD accompanying the book.
In addition to the reading, there was also a musical workshop programme, from which a trailer was created:
By clicking the play button, you agree that a connection to YouTube is established in order to play the content. Personal data (e.g. your IP address) may be transmitted to YouTube in the process.
Mit unternahm ich über anderthalb Jahre eine kleine Reise und begleitete sie wortwörtlich in ihrer musikalischen Welt. Am Ende standen 10 Songs, vonen denen ein und ein Liederbuch zeugen. Die Band-Biographie daraus sowie das Liederbuch selbst möchte ich euch nicht vorenthalten.
I went on a little journey with Martha Laux over a year and a half and literally accompanied her in her musical world. In the end, there were 10 songs, of which a Soundcloud profile and a songbook bear witness. I don’t want to deprive you of the band biography and the songbook itself.
Martha Laux has been performing as a solo artist for several years, most recently with her programme “Laux und Leise”. She combined her texts with voice, piano and loop station to create an exciting story for the audience.
Jan Kosyk has been playing the piano in various jazz and folk formations for over 15 years and has acquired a wide range of improvisation possibilities and accompaniment techniques.
The duo came together in March 2017 for their first rehearsals in the project “Martha Laux und der bunte Hund” (Martha Laux and the Colourful Dog) and recorded their first CD “Wer will sagen, sie sei von Anfang an gewesen” (Who wants to say she was there from the beginning) just two months later. The two filled the summer with street music, festivals and a first tour through Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony. Already at the end of October they started their second tour “Auf die gemütliche Tour” through the living rooms and cafés of Berlin, Magdeburg, Leipzig and Erfurt.
By November 2017, Martha Laux and the colourful dog had shared their view of the world with audiences at a dozen street music performances and twenty concerts and developed their ninety-minute programme “Zwischen Kopf und Bauch” (Between Head and Tummy).
In April 2018, the two decided to go their separate ways musically and stopped actively working on the project. Nevertheless, several performances followed in the summer in Haldensleben, Leipzig, Bad Belzig, at the adriAkustik and in Ústí nad Labem for the Czech-German Culture Days.
Jan Kosyk developed his own solo programme “Utopien eines Realisten” (Utopias of a Realist) in the summer of 2018, linking musically to his political work. Martha Laux is currently in the process of writing a new solo programme. Despite or perhaps because of their own paths, they continue to keep in touch and always find each other on stage.
Since 2018, I have been on stage alone with piano and voice. With almost forgotten cover songs and a constantly growing repertoire of my own compositions, I tell you what will make the world a better place.
