Hungarian-born, Berlin-based producer and musician Àbáse is part of a new wave redefining the city’s live music scene blending Afrobeat, Brazilian rhythms, and electronic textures into something entirely his own. Anna Grubauer caught up with him ahead of his XJAZZ! performance to talk collaboration, evolution, and the ever-shifting notion of jazz.
What is considered classical music? And who gets to decide? The Toronto-based Colombian artist, Lido Pimienta, has recently released her first fully orchestral album "La Belleza". On it, she uses the tools of western classical music but reinterprets them through her own lens celebrating her roots and the "Caribbean sublime".
D.$AHIN is a Berlin-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose music reflects a life lived between cultures. Ahead of her performance at XJAZZ! Festival, OFFKEY author Alice Vyvyan-Jones sat down with her to talk about what it means to create from a place of uprootedness.
OFFKEY reports back from the heart of Kreuzberg, where jazz wasn’t just played—it was lived, stretched, bent, and reimagined at XJAZZ! 2025. Over five days, the festival transformed Berlin into a humming epicenter of improvisation, resistance, and radical joy. From breakout debuts to soul-igniting jam sessions, we witnessed a city vibrating in rhythm with a global community of artists and listeners.
South African R&B artist lordkez recently dropped her latest album "You, Me & The 90’s". On the record, she explores themes of identity, care and spirituality. We caught up with the singer to talk about the creative process behind the project, her musical roots in the church, and why self-love remains a central theme in her creative and personal journey.
With her upcoming debut solo EP "BiiLINGUAL" German-Iranian singer MADANii turns inward to unpack what it means to reclaim the parts of herself she once tried to hide. It is sung in Farsi and English, emotionally layered, and unapologetically honest. We spoke to the artist about the fire that fuels her, the burden of being misread, and why joy and community are essential to her sound.
It's been less than two years since we last spoke to Enkhjargal Erkhembayar, known as Enji, about her career-defining album "Ulaan". Now, the artist released her fourth album, "Sonor", a beautiful tale of existing between two worlds. Anna Grubauer caught up with Enji to discuss the new record, concepts of home, and living in and embracing the in-between.
The Iranian singer Faravaz will release her debut, "Azadi" (meaning "Freedom" in Farsi), on May 11th. The record recounts the story of her life in exile in Germany because the Iranian government sentenced her to one year in prison for the act of singing as a woman. Choosing to not return to her homeland, Faravaz fights for women’s rights from abroad. Her music is driven by the yearning and fight for liberation from patriarchal oppression.
