There have already been a few of these special concerts, but Stefanie Heinzmann herself is still surprised by the magic: “Even if it sounds cheesy: I am enchanted every evening.” There are these moments in their performances Miki’s Takeover Ensemble; The Swiss soul sensation almost forgets that she is actually the voice and face of this tour. She is so hypnotized by her own song in her new dress that she becomes a listener to her own creation.
However, one of these moments was planned for some of the performances. Program item: “Hidden Banana”. Anyone who found a banana previously hidden under their seat had to swap places with Heinzmann. So the guest is on stage, she is in the audience. From there she sang herself: “Do Your Thing”.
But for example with the new version of their “A Little Universe”. This was one of the numbers that she found in the shared dropbox with Miki Kenkenj, listened to it and “did a somersault inside.” She did this with many of the arrangements that the Braunschweig violinist and concertmaster had tailored to her favorite pieces. This “Universe” made her cry, she says. And also later on stage, when Rachmaninoff’s piano trio introduces the song, rewritten for the six-piece ensemble without a pianist. Stefanie Heinzmann – who likes to play classical music playlists at home because it “gives her peace” – always gets lost for a moment: “I forget that I should start singing.” What Kenkenj confirmed in a joint telephone interview with the two of them: “This is the place where I always look at you uneasily…”
“She is a ray of sunshine,” says Miki Kenkenj about Stefanie Heinzmann.
(Photo: Maximilian König)
The two harmonize well. A year ago they didn’t even know each other personally, just their legends. Mikis Kekenj had two lives as a 15-year-old. One as a violin prodigy, in which he later became concertmaster of the Bergische Symphoniker. And the other as a hip-hop musician, with whom he rebelled against his parents in an age-appropriate manner. Something in the teenager resisted the combination of styles: the violin was sacred, but on the other hand it was “not cool enough” for hip-hop. It wasn’t until he was in his early 20s that he combined his talents – and soon achieved great success.
For one of his first classical-pop concerts he boldly asked Aloe Blacc (“I need a Dollar”); The US star agreed and they played in front of 200 guests – including Max Herre and Xavier Naidoo. So the word got around, collaborations followed from the Frankfurt Opera to the Elbphilharmonie with neo-soul diva Erykah Badou, with rappers like Curse and Megaloh, electro grandees like Marc Romboy and Moonbootica and the German soul nobility from Max Herre to Joy Denalane to Max Mutzke.
Then he looked at the ever-welcome former Stefan Raab casting show winner Stefanie Heinzmann because: “She’s a ray of sunshine.” She listened to some of his work, including “Free” by Mutzke and the Takeover Ensemble. She “shattered into a thousand pieces.” That made her more than curious. The project and tour were agreed upon before the first meeting.
Magical moments: Miki Kenkenj, Stefanie Heinzmann and singing partner Leslie Jost (from left) on stage.
(Photo: Miki’s Takeover)
Mikis Kekenj’s takeover is a friendly takeover. “I don’t want to improve the songs, just transform them,” he says. Sometimes he goes very far. For example with “Best Life”. He felt into it and, above all, found an “incredible energy” that he wanted to resonate, knowing full well the strengths and limitations of his chamber ensemble. They only play classical instruments like violin, cello, viola, clarinet and dulcimer, no rock equipment: “We’re not a band, it would be silly if the strings tried to play groovy.” He doesn’t fall into typical classic rock sugar traps. And he helps himself to the best: the frenetic “Best Life” reminded him of Beethoven, so he starts it carefully with his first symphony, then the ensemble accelerates. Speaking of which: Heinzmann’s younger song “Labyrinth” starts off quickly with a car series hit, the “Knight Rider Melodie”.
That was one of the moments that didn’t make the singer daydream the first time she heard it, but instead made her burst into excitement: “I had to laugh so much, I didn’t even know where to put my voice.” In the meantime, she has internalized everything, loves being completely absorbed in the ensemble, and also giving her singing partner Leslie Jost space, to immerse herself in her voice “like in a warm bathtub.” Sometimes she has to grin so much on stage that it confuses Kenkenj and, as he admitted on stage, he almost forgot what he had to play.
Stefanie Heinzmann and Mikis Takeover Ensemble, Friday, March 22nd, Munich, Prinzregententheater