Joy Denalane

With »Let Yourself Be Loved« in 2020, Joy Denalane became the first German artist to release an album on Motown – the legendary label of soul greats like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. On the one hand, the album is a great homage to the soul of the 60s/70s, whose socio-political and musical awakening continues to have an impact today. Denalane translates the typical rhythms and harmonies of soul into the present with such passion as hardly any other musician »has managed to do with such convincing power« (Der Standard). On the other hand, »Let Yourself Be Loved« tells the personal story of the self-emergence of a Black artist in and from Germany, for whom identity has been a theme on five studio albums so far, and for whom soul is always also a form of artistic empowerment. To coincide with Joy Denalane’s debut at the Elbphilharmonie, for three weeks the Kampnagel Summer Festival also presents the German Museum for Black History and Black Music – a major exhibition project on the visibility of BIPoC.