Ronja Maltzahn (born December 12, 1993, Bad Pyrmont) is a German singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

Ronja Maltzahn with a Guitalele

Ronja is a musician skilled in playing the cello, guitar, ukulele, and piano, and she is adept at writing lyrics in various languages. Her musical style combines elements of folk and pop. She leads the BlueBird Orchestra, a group consisting of 15 musicians, dancers, and visual artists who play instruments such as the Nyckelharpa, violin, saxophone, flute, piano, french horn, trumpet, drums, bass, handpan, and contribute to multi-part harmonies. Since 2018, Maltzahn has maintained an active touring schedule, performing over 400 shows in 17 countries, both nationally and internationally.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In 2018 the first album "Beautiful Mess" was released first over CD Baby and eventually with Timezone Records. In 2020 the second album Worldpop was released and on the 29th of July 2022 came Heimweh.

Debate about dreadlocks and cultural appropriation in 2022 edit

For a planned appearance at an event on March 25, 2022, in Hannover, Maltzahn received a last-minute cancellation from a local group of Fridays for Future arguing that from an anti-colonial and anti-racist perspective, it was deemed unacceptable for a white person to wear Dreadlocks on stage.[7]

This is seen as cultural appropriation of a symbol of the black civil rights movement. The incident triggered widespread media coverage and critical comments on the disinvitation[8][9][10][11][12] Maltzahn herself stated that there are currently much more socially relevant issues.[13]

Discography edit

Studio albums

  • 2018: Beautiful Mess (Timezone Records)
  • 2020: Worldpop (Timezone Records)
  • 2022: Heimweh (Timezone Records)

Awards edit

References edit

  1. ^ Christian Schröter, Christian Schröter (2022-01-05). "Im Rahmen der Bielefelder Songnächte: Ronja Maltzahn, Gütsel Online" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  2. ^ "Ronja Maltzahn – Jovel Münster". Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  3. ^ "Novemberleuchten 2021 in Lügde". Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  4. ^ "Fetziger Start in dieOpen-Air-Saison" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. ^ "So 12.09.2021 – Ronja Maltzahn Bluebird Trio – Alin Coen und Sarah Lesch Freunde aufgepasst!". Singers & Players. 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  6. ^ "Fast ein Heimspiel für die junge Pyrmonterin" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  7. ^ "German climate group uninvites white musician with dreads from demo", Deutsche Press-Agentur, 2022-03-24
  8. ^ "Fridays for Future lädt Musikerin Ronja Maltzahn wegen Dreadlocks von Demo aus", Der Spiegel, 2022-03-23, ISSN 2195-1349, retrieved 2022-03-23"NDR Info: Friday For Future lädt Sängerin Ronja Maltzahn aus | ARD Mediathek" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  9. ^ "NDR Info: Friday For Future lädt Sängerin Ronja Maltzahn aus | ARD Mediathek" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  10. ^ NDR. "Absage wegen Dreadlocks: Entschuldigung von "Fridays for Future"" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  11. ^ FOCUS Online. "Fridays for Future lädt Ronja Maltzahn aus, weil sie die falsche Frisur trägt: „Weiße Menschen sollten keine Dreadlocks tragen"" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  12. ^ "RTL hakt nach: Fridays For Future lädt Sängerin Ronja Maltzahn wegen ihrer Dreadlocks von Konzert aus" (in German). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  13. ^ "So reagiert Ronja Maltzahn auf die „Fridays For Future"-Absage". 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  14. ^ "Musik für eine friedlichere Welt: Das Abschlusskonzert des Friedenssong-Wettbewerbs 2015". Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  15. ^ Michael Krowas (2021-08-10). "Ronja Maltzahn bekommt den Panikpreis der Udo-Lindenberg-Stiftung". Deister- und Weserzeitung. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  16. ^ "Panikpreis". Udo-Lindenberg-Stiftung. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  17. ^ Isabel Küfer, M.A. (2022-11-18). "Förderpreis für junge Liedermacher" (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-18.

External links edit