The Irish multi-award-winning exceptional singer and songwriter
Kaz Hawkins and the Berlin music producer, composer and multiinstrumentalist Mathis Richter-Reichhelm - How did the liaison of these two artistic personalities come about?
The story of Mathis & Kaz begins in the summer of 2018: A friend sends Mathis Richter-Reichhelm the YouTube video of the singer Kaz Hawkins with her song Lipstick and Cocaine, which by then has over 800,000 hits. Kaz' voice and her expressiveness move Mathis very much. Half a year later Mathis' friend calls him again. In the meantime she has been to two concerts of Kaz in England and is totally enthusiastic about her. Kaz and Mathis absolutely have to get to know each other, whether they might want to give a concert together in Berlin?
In the summer of 2019 it will happen: Kaz will actually come to Berlin for a week. Right from the start, there is an extraordinary musical and human similarity between the two musicians, and during the rehearsals for their first concert together in Berlin's Sunny Side Studio, the recordings for the song On This Little Island are made. Mathis gets the idea for the song when he sees an interview with the astronaut Alexander Gerst, whose report of the clearly visible destruction of the earth - from the space station ISS - deeply touches him. Together with Kaz, the final version of the song is created, in which both musicians bring in their personality and emotions perfectly. At the final concert in Berlin On This Little Island premieres and inspires the audience.
Mathis & Kaz decide to use the song as a starting point for a joint "soulmate project". Not only have they found each other as musicians, but they have also been united by a true friendship since their time together in Berlin. They will meet again this year in Berlin in the studio to work on more songs together!
„If we believe we fell too deep we got no clue why we were born - on this little island called Earth.“
Kaz Hawkins: The story of Kaz has many wondering how she ever survived the trauma in her life but she puts it best herself saying ‘Music is the very thing that saved me, when I sing I am in the safest place on earth. It replaces all the cruelty, shame and pain in my life so all I want to do now is sing for those still fighting’. The multi award winning artist took a break from touring in 2017 after a cancer scare and after a successful operation. Kaz healed and performed in duo format until she felt strong again. A return to touring in 2019 and a move to France gave Kaz the opportunity to explore her songwriting. A fierce mental health advocate using her music to give hope, Kaz now is set on releasing two new albums alongside this special partnership with Mathis.
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Mathis Richter-Reichhelm:
Singer, composer, producer, conductor, classically trained multi-instrumentalist - Mathis Richter-Reichhelm has long been an established figure in the music scene. Already in the nineties he convinced as front man of the band Swimming The Nile, with whom he released three albums with WEA (Warner) and toured extensively through Germany and Europe. Even today - after almost thirty years - the hit "Carry On" is still frequently played live and is loved by the fans.
Since the mid-nineties Mathis has been successfully active as a composer and producer for radio, film and television with his production company Mahoni Music. Songs like "New Beginning" and "You Are The Best I Can Get", which he wrote for various television series, made it into the German charts. Meanwhile Mathis has already released two solo albums with "Inner World" and "Spirit Of Sweden", on which these songs can also be heard.
