Sonja Kandels

Sonja Kandels spent her childhood in West-Africa. African music, dance and rhythm have from the beginning exerted a powerful influence on her life and music. Following education in both Africa and in Germany, she graduated on 1995 with a degree in art from the art school in Bonn. From there she went on to study jazz-singing at the Hanns-Eisler Music Academy in Berlin.Sonja Kandels sings with equal facility in english, kisuaheli, ewe, baka and woloff and when these tongues are inadequate to express her feelings, she sings in her own fantasy language. She uses her voice as an instrument which spans the whole ethno-sound in a natural way.Receiving several scolarships from the german state she repeated visits to Africa, especially in order to work with the baka-pygmies in the south-east of Cameroon.Sonja Kandels recorded two CDs: “God Of Laughter” (2003), “Fortunes Arrive” (2004) on minor music records, featuring African musicians, such as Felix Sabal-Lecco, Samba Sock, Aly Keita, Baba Galé Kante etc..Sonja Kandels musical concept is a vibrant symbiosis of traditional African sounds combined with modern jazz elements.Visit her webside: www.sonjakandels.de