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NNOA © Hannah Bechmann

Popakademie Sessions Season 7 - With loud surprises

04. July 2023

The Popakademie Sessions are going into the seventh round. The successful format presents a selection of talented artists from the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mannheim talent factory, you can also look forward to performances by former performances by former students. The main sponsor of the video format of the academy's video format is YouTube.

Kiki Ganzemüller, Manager, EMEA Music Partnerships at Google: "We are very happy to support the seventh season of the Popakademie Sessions with expertise and funding. We are always particularly excited about the diversity of genres and the countless ideas of the up-and-coming talents. The YouTube community feels the same way, as more than 800,000 views show so far."

Alex Wolf, Head of Institute Music and Creative Industries Practice & Corporate Communications Popakademie Baden-Württemberg: "The Popakademie Sessions
have become an integral part of the university institution. The business students benefit from the cooperation with YouTube, as they can learn the tools of live production within the project workshop. The sessions offer the musicians a great platform to present themselves and their art to a broad audience on the official YouTube channel of the Popakademie. Since 25 June, the successful "Popakademie Sessions" can be watched in a new edition.

The exclusive music sessions in video format are now presenting up-and-coming talents from the Popakademie for the seventh time. With over 800,000 views so far, the sessions have managed to establish themselves as a live video format for the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg with the help of YouTube's professional expertise and financial support. The new season was filmed in an empty bar in the Q6/Q7 district in the heart of Mannheim's city centre. The modern gastronomy facility with a living room flair serves as the backdrop for the performances of Austrian R&B newcomer Nnoa, exceptional pop-rock talent Jesse Tellem and Mannheim political pop icon David Julian Kirchner.

The alternative RnB/pop artist Nnoa convinces with her dynamic songs and invites you to dance with influences from reggaeton and dancehall. Self-reflection, feelings and inner dialogues are central elements in the music of the Austrian newcomer, who is currently studying at the Popakademie. Topics such as the truth behind a supposed best friendship ("BFF (Best Fake Friend)") or the longing for the lightness of childhood ("littlemorelikelittleme") are processed by Nnoa into close listening experiences.

David Julian Kirchner is a critically ingenious musician and author who has become an integral part of Mannheim's cultural scene. With his current project "IG POP", he and his band act as a mouthpiece for the precariat of "pop workers" in the style of a demonstrating industrial union. Modern new settings of Bertolt Brecht ("Einheitsfrontlied") and Erich Weinert ("Die Schlesischen Weber") as well as his own workers' songs call for class struggle in the creative industry. For the 20th anniversary of the Popakademie, where he spent part of his artistic career, he honours us in the seventh season with a highly dynamic performance.

Popakademie alumnus Jesse Tellem embodies energy, emotion and a whole lot of positivity. At the end of his time as a student, he made a rocket launch into the German pop universe with his debut single "Heart Shaped Hole". Taking in pain and negativity, growing from it and moving on even stronger is what drives Jesse Tellem and leaves a lasting mark on the character of his music. He presents his energetic Jesse Tellem show in the anniversary season of the Popakademie Sessions.

The sessions are conceived and produced by students of the Popakademie's music business course as part of the project workshop: the seventh season by Teo Uhrig, Pia Schmoll and Sebastian Reimann. The project is also supported by Velvont, a boutique agency for content strategies in Berlin. Dominik Thumfart, graduate of the Master's programme Music & Creative Industries at the Popakademie and Managing Director at Velvont, is acting as project manager for the sessions.

Since 25 June on the YouTube channel of the Popakademie:

https://www.youtube.com/@PopakademieBadenWurttemberg.