After listening to Janis Volic’s voice it’s easy to understand how music transcends language. Every note she sings, brings you deeper in to a world of soul. The German born singer, along with her band M-12, is part of a growing community of underground non-English soul artists in the UK.
With a voice that is reminiscent of India.Arie and a style that screams early Erika Badu, Volic weaves tales of early love and life’s ups and downs. “The scene is becoming much more alive these days,” Volic says, “People are beginning to come down and just vibe to the music. Never mind that they don’t know the words, they just vibe.”
The “scene” that Volic lives in is the south west part of London known as Brixton. Here, German artists are undergoing a rebirth of their own culture and language. Influenced by the hip hop culture of UK artist like Jamelia and the Streets, the Brixton community comes together each week through ciphers and performances at local pubs like the Berlin Café and DE.
“Its like a family here and it keeps growing. It used to be just a few guys and two girls who liked to sing,” says Volic who captivates crowds every Thursday night at the Berlin Café, “now people have heard there is some quality music going on down here and they are coming from all over London.”
Berlin Café owner, and DJ, Eko says he is not surprised by the weekly turnout. Eko blames M-12 for his decision to extend his pub to fit more customers. “People will know a good sound when they hear it. Whether it’s German, French, or Japanese, if it is truly music from your soul they will always come and tell other to come as well.”
However while they do come, Volic does not expect to emerge from the underground anytime soon. “To make it big in Europe you have to sing in English, I DON’T.” she says in a defiant tone, “I write my music in German, and when it is translated it looses its feel and its essence. For now we are perfect here.”
Brixton continues to keep its bit of perfection to itself for now, steadily grooving to a musical language of its own. As for the rest of the world Volic says they will just have to wait.
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