NEO-SOUL / UK GARAGE / DUB __________________________VOCALIST, PRODUCER

ABOUT

Berlin-based singer-songwriter Aka Kelzz has always loved making music. Growing up in UK, coming from a musical family and heavily influenced by Neo- Soul artists such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and India Arie, Kelzz took music as a natural surrounding and wished to create their own.

Whilst growing up and working to find their own voice, Kelzz faced several difficulties being told their voice was not at the same standards as others. Also being a fat dark-skinned teen with limited representation in the media, Kelzz unable to see where they would fit and be visible.

To have somewhat dealt with these difficulties, Kelzz started journaling as a form of empowerment to write their feelings and emotions in a safe space, which would then help create songs in the future.

Then finding Rafa Mura, a producer and close friend was the shining light moment when Kelzz started to sink into their own sound: Caressing vibe that is smooth and confronting, that lets people feel what I feel with my creations. Basslines and percussion which give you a hug, dominating voice from the words, that makes you listen. When you look at me, remove any assumptions that you may have and enjoy the simplicity and creativity of the music while the words do the work.

A gently-powerful rising vocal talent, debuting at XJazz 2023, filling the clubs while supporting acts like Madison McFerrin and Pip Millet

JAZZ / RNB / SOUL _________________________________SINGER / PIANIST / VIOLIST

ABOUT

“Allysa Grace's music is an intriguing blend of jazz, soul and prog-rock, with songs that often descend into what feel like free-form jams. Grace's stage presence is strong, and she addresses the crowd with an affable ease that belies the complexity of her music... Grace's keyboard is the centerpiece instrument, with bassist Ben Bradshaw often taking lead excursions on his five-string bass.”
- Ethan Ames of The Deli Magazine

Allysa Grace has had the opportunity to be a part of many amazing musical projects thanks to her upbringing in Austin, Texas. The music community raised her through the orchestras as a violist; in RnB groups as a vocalist; and with her favorite local artists as a keyboardist. These different musical experiences have inspired her to front her own group.

Her band is reminiscent of your favorite soul artists, but her experience draws you to her worldly roots. This beautiful combination of neo soul, jazz, and raw talent will blow you away.

​Now based in Berlin, Germany, she plays shows with her band and other projects in Germany. Allysa also participates/organizes in community groups across the globe. She currently teaches piano, when she isn't on tour with chicano rock group Tito and Tarantula.

A multi talent arranging orchestras for Berlin’s new A Song For You gospel choir, touring the EU and opening for Stevie Wonder and Nik Hakim

CLASSICAL ARAB / JAZZ / BALKAN FOLK ___________ ACCORDIANIST / SINGER

ABOUT

Samah Boulmona is a self-taught accordion player, composer, and singer hailing from Chanay, Lebanon. Inspired by his father playing the Oud, he imitated traditional rhythms and Maqams (Classical Arabic music scales) at an early age using toy keyboards and fake plastic percussion. At the age of 20, Samah custom tuned his first accordion to access a wider range of scales and Maqams. In 2012, he ended up in Hamra, Beirut, where he would spend 8 years playing, singing, acting and composing songs for live cabaret shows, and collaborating with the country’s most renowned musicians. As an educator, Samah has led workshops for a number of non-profit organizations in Lebanon including Al Jana, Action For Hope, and other NGOs that engage with Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities. After OneBeat 2018, Samah directed the OneBeat Lebanon residency, recorded his first single, and composed a soundtrack for the documentary Kash Kash. Now living between Beirut and Rome, Samah now performs in a variety of bands and projects.

One of Beirut’s most important musicians of the broadway-style theater, Metro Al Madina and composer of the recent award winning film, Kash Kash (Berlinale, NYC DOC, Cophenhagen DOX)

INSTRUMENTAL HIP HOP / JAZZ _____________ PIANIST / SAXOPHNIST / PRODCUER

ABOUT

Pachakuti (Matthias Hinkelmann) is a Colombian-German multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer with a focus on organic grooves, rhythm and melodies inspired by the diverse cultural traditions of Colombia, sonically as much as spiritually, with productions around the themes of mythology and the cosmos, emotion and self inquiry in a space of sound somewhere between Jazz, Latin, Hip Hop and Soul. While drawing from sponteneity and improvisation, his ear is influenced from a wide scope of styles, ranging from European classical music to Jazz, Salsa and Afrobeat, with inspirations such as Ahmad Jamal, Tigran Hamasyan, Yussef Lateef, Fela Kuti, the Grupo Bahia and Robert Glasper.

He has released two Albums and counts over 18 million streams since 2020, with new releases dropping continously. His song "Bajrangbali" with young.vishnu from his latest work "Dédalo" became part of the "Best Songs of Jazz 2022" on Spotify.

As a member of Berlin’s Sonic Interventions, performing at XJazz and Jazz Montez, with over 18 million streams since 2020, Pachakuti is becoming globally established as a multi talent