Max Herre & Joy Denalane play Baloise Session

Max Herre and Joy Denalane work with the same excellent raw material: Soul. Herre integrated it into German rap, while Denalane gave it warmth, power and a unique language. Max Herre gained a name for himself in the 1990s with the band Freundeskreis. «Quadratur des Kreises» is one of the defining albums of German hip-hop. Herre combined rap with soul, reggae, political lyrics and a style of language that by no means can be considered a copy of US ghetto slang. His 2013 «MTV Unplugged» brought together rap, orchestra, soul, reggae and the singer-songwriter tradition. And with resounding success. Joy Denalane got to know Herre during the recording sessions for «Mit Dir». The song showcased her voice, as did her subsequent début album «Mamani». She sang in German about family, her roots, love, racism and selfassertion. The musical collaboration led to a relationship. They had two sons, separated and after a few years got back together again. On «Alles Liebe» they sing about attraction, arguments, everyday life, hurt and reconciliation. Their duets are even more credible because they steer clear of posing as a perfect couple.