Ray Lozano

With her current second album »SILK&SORROW«, Ray Lozano reflects the hot-and-cold shocks that shape modern life far beyond social media alone. This constant interplay between lightness and brutal confrontation with reality also defines the working reality of the recipient of the Holger Czukay Future Prize of the City of Cologne 2023.

For Lozano, music is about creating spaces that invite reflection. For her personally, it also functions as a shield – at least for the most part. But she, too, experiences moments when the weight of the world becomes overwhelming. In those moments, it helps that she has organised herself collectively. Lozano releases on Melting Pot Music, a label that has managed to organically embed many German artists within an international roster. A role model for Lozano is the British collective SAULT, which releases its music without excessive promotional machinery while maintaining a powerful visual identity. She is also currently part of the NICA artist development programme, alongside a handful of other musicians – a support platform for outstanding jazz and contemporary artists from North Rhine-Westphalia, based at Cologne’s Stadtgarten.

We are delighted that Ray Lozano will officially open this year’s Pop-Kultur Festival – and that she will be performing for this special occasion with a full band line-up.