Kulturarena Jena | Tanita Tikaram

In the organizer's words:

Twist In My Sobriety - what a board! A song that becomes a worldwide hit, touches many people and survives the decades seemingly effortlessly. It needs little and gives a lot: the deep, haunting vocal sound of a young woman searching for her feeling for the world and the balanced playing of an oboe. The song hits home, but the heavy feeling doesn't necessarily get any lighter at first. Tanita Tikaram, 19 years old at the time, became a star virtually overnight. The famous song from her first album reached the top of the charts in numerous countries, followed by comparisons with great singers, a record deal, awards and countless performances.

When a single song goes through the roof like that, it is often both a curse and a blessing - or at least one of the two. For the British singer-songwriter, it's neither one nor the other. The song simply marks a beginning. After her breakthrough in 1988, she can now look back on ten studio albums and is happy with her path, with her life: without the burden of a megastar, but with an independent artistic attitude and plenty of variation. Her musical range of pop, jazz, blues, R'n'B and classical folk brings together fans from a wide variety of genres, and her engagement with the world has a lasting effect.

Tanita Tikaram could actually have quit in the 90s - at least to lead a "good life" without financial worries. Fortunately, she is interested in more. Her latest album, Liar, is basically in the same vein as her first: it's about the world and what's happening in it - now with a more mature, nuanced view and perhaps also with a little more anger in her belly. The songs on her protest album deal with misinformation, polarization, racism, alienation and loneliness and take a clear stance against them. And although these topics feel as heavy as lead, the music is hauntingly beautiful.

Despite all the painful thoughts about the developments of our time, the singer speaks of a conciliatory hope in an interview: "I believe that music has the power to bring people together." Let's believe it too: music is language of us all!

Price information:

Advance booking: € 25.00 Box Office: € 30.00