Johanna Burnheart Returns With New Album ‘Bär’ And Shares New Single ‘Cylla Burna‘
Johanna Burnheart | Photo Credit: Cleo Valentine
“Burnheart, soothes and scratches; cavernous bass, piercing sharpness and slurred vocals subvert any linear sense. She feels primed for a breakout similar to Anna Meredith or Oliver Coates.”
- the Guardian
“Johanna’s music, comes from the heart but with a skill and knowledge that says a ‘true artist’”
- Gary Crosby
“Burnheart literally saws its own niche”
- MOJO
Today, German violinist, singer and composer Johanna Burnheart returns with details of her much-anticipated sophomore album ‘Bär’ – out 1st December. The album announcement is accompanied by a borderless new single titled ‘Cylla Burna’.
The record follows Johanna’s critically acclaimed debut album which came out in 2020 via Ropeadope Records and led to her inclusion of The Guardian’s 30 best new artists for 2021, as well as earning plaudits across the likes of MOJO, Record Collector, Jazzwise, Jazziz, Shindig!, BBC Radio 6 Music, and Worldwide FM, for its genre-melding combination of modern jazz, leftfield electronic, and contemporary classical sounds all filtered through her avant-garde violin playing style.
As well as becoming a fast-rising member of the UK jazz firmament in her own right, Johanna is a regular member of Rosie Turton’s band and frequently collaborates with the likes of Jockstrap, Maisha, Yazz Ahmed, Jazz Jamaica, The London Garage Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Tomorrow’s Warriors and more. This has seen her play across London as well as festivals such as Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Fair, Love Supreme, Jazz Re:Fest and Brainchild, both alongside her peers in these groups but also as a solo artist.
Now she is returning with an album that sees her expand on her unique sonic template – the violin remains a reasonably rare instrument in the modern jazz world, so Johanna finds herself within a niche of a niche. Her playing doesn’t reflect the traditional approach to playing violin but draws on her experiences across both the classical world and the UK jazz scene. However, having spent a good deal of time living in Berlin, her love for the Berlin clubs and the music they represent was manifested and she was absorbed by the sound of experimental electronic music, forming the foundation of her current musical style and leading to it permeating her compositions.
Dark electronic yet melodic sounds on the violin, complex metres shaping undulating grooves, as well as spine-tingling raw vocals form the sonic palette of Johanna’s compositions. This is perfectly exemplified in the new album’s lead single ‘Cylla Burna’, which sees Johanna combining rhythmic synths and subtly complex, dance-inflected beats with double bass and euphonic violin lines, before the track moves into a jazz drum breakout with mellifluous vocals and frenetic vibraphone playing.
Speaking on the track, Johanna says, “This tune was initially written in my former home in Kilburn and then developed further in Scotland. When researching my street name to find a title for the song, the Old English name for Kilburn turned out to be Cylla Burna, translating into Cylla’s (or cattle) stream. It was also noted that the area was a notorious duelling spot in the late 18th century until duelling was outlawed. To this day, some of London’s highest knife crime rates are recorded in this area which I found a fascinating link. I believe in history creating an energy - and situations forming because of an energy of a place in the first place in return. My composition has undulating polyrhythms combined with trembling lyrics and a looping backing line which to me has become a fitting representation of this buzzing area that seems to host so many clashes.”.
After studying classical violin, piano and voice during childhood, Johanna’s musical focus developed into jazz during her mid-teens. Rather than following the path expected of a classical violinist, she chose instead to pursue the music that was her passion. From early beginnings in Northern Germany touring with the local youth chamber orchestra through Eastern Europe and Italy to attending Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, UK as a Specialist Musician in her teens and graduating with Honours as the first undergraduate jazz violinist from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2017, Johanna has had a multifaceted and intensive musical journey.
This journey has led to genre-defying collaborations and connections. Notable past performances were the Women’s Day concert with Tomorrow’s Warriors ‘Nu Civilisation Orchestra’ debuting Yazz Ahmed’s Polyhymnia suite at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2015, playing support for Pharaoh Sanders at Ronnie Scott’s with Rosie Turton in 2018, a tribute show to the Blue Note Label at Queen Elizabeth Hall for the EFG London Jazz Festival 2019 in collaboration with Total Refreshment Centre and a sold out show with Christian Löffler at the Berliner Philharmonie in 2022 as the first violinist in the Detect Ensemble. Since 2021 she has also been a member of the German crossover project Detect Ensemble who toured Europe’s biggest venues and Philharmonics extensively with German DJ Christian Löffler in 2022.
Since forming her own band end of 2018, Johanna has released her debut album ‘Burnheart’ and in 2021 she released a remix EP called ‘Burnheart Remixed’ with remixes from Acid Pauli, Beth Lydi, Nesa Azadikhah and Pilo Adami as an homage to her love for techno and how it influenced her debut record.
Johanna was picked for the Take Five talent programme 2023, curated by Serious and sponsored by the PRS Foundation, Arts Council England and the Serious Trust. Her upcoming second album ‘Baer’ is supported by the PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music grant.
Speaking on the new album she continues to say, “All of the compositions are named after places I’ve lived or spent some significant time in and at. The root of my belonging and identity lies in Berlin. The bear is the sign of Berlin and I have therefore chosen Bär to be the name that ties all these places together. On a personal note - after deciding on the album title, I came across 6 wild bears in 2 weeks during my travels which seemed like a strong sign that I had chosen the right name. The album only came together for me after placing each composition with the right name and finding that red thread that connects them all. I have challenged myself and my band tremendously with these pieces and am thrilled to share them with the world finally.”.
‘Bär’ is out 1st December 2023 - pre-order here
Johanna Burnheart
‘Bär’
1st December 2023
Trackslisting:
1. Rix
2. Falke
3. Botlierskop
4. above The World’s End
5. Ems
6. Something Cool
7. Cylla Burna
8. Clemen
9. Fossa Offekonis
Credits:
Johanna Burnheart - violin, voice, composer, producer
Al MacSween - keys, synths
David Swan - synths
Jonny Mansfield - vibraphone
Jonny Wickham - double bass
Twm Dylan - electric bass
Ben Brown - drums, percussion
Featuring Noel Langley - producer, Flugelhorn, conch --> on above The World's End
David Holmes - sound engineer, mixing, mastering
Sorcha Kennedy - artwork, visuals
Cleo Valentine - photography
