LNADJTML tells the story of California-born songstress Lori Glori as a fantastical, larger-than-life musical memoir: from her earliest performances with the gospel band HAM sisters, through her appearance with Bill Summers & Summers Heat on the American TV show Soul Train, up to her time as a background and lead vocalist for numerous Eurodance productions in Germany.

But why does she remain largely unknown?

For many Black singers, the practice of lip-syncing on stage meant they would be confined to recording studios, where they churned out the backing vocals of countless Eurodance hits for relatively meagre compensation. Meanwhile, their part on stage during live performances would be played by white singers. The real singers didn’t appear as contributing artists, nor did they have any share in the songs’ financial success. (1)
This exploitative model of collaboration has a long tradition. It’s always the same old song: even though Black music and aesthetics had a decisive impact on Eurodance, the contributions of Black artists are rarely recognized, nor have they been sufficiently compensated to this day.

LNADJTML feels out the cracks in pop music’s polished surface for the industry’s ongoing reproduction of violence while giving Lori Glori an audience, attention, and recognition.

STAGING & CHOREOGRAPHY Joana Tischkau SET Carlo Siegfried COSTUME Nadine Bakota SOUND & COMPOSITION Frieder Blume SONGWRITING & SCRIPT Fatima Moumouni, Fehler Kuti, Joana Tischkau, Ensemble VIDEO Sondi LIGHT Markus Keusch OUTSIDE EYE Ellias Hampe DRAMATURGY Laura Paetau AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Laura Rivas Kaufmann TOURING & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Sonja Hildebrandt ARTISTIC MEDIATION AND THEATER & SCHOOL Manuela Runge FEATURING Yèinou Avognon, Vincent Basse, Emeka* Ene, Lori Glori, Sasha Melroch, Lukas Vögler, Sophie Yukiko PHOTOS Zoé Aubry