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Ronja Maltzahn: "Music is a higher language"
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Ronja Maltzahn makes German-language music somewhere between folk and pop. Together with her band, the BlueBird Orchestra, Ronja has been performing regularly nationwide and internationally since 2018. She has already played several hundred concerts and has also been on stage with Udo Lindenberg. Most recently, with a debate about her dreadlocks, and the cancelled appearance at "Fridays For Future" by the organizers, most people should have heard of her.
Our author Magdalena spoke to Ronja and learned more about her background, values, challenges and dreams.
Hi Ronja, I'm excited to interview you and learn a little more about you as an artist. If you're up for it, let's jump right into the first question: When you think about your career as a musician so far—how would you describe it in three words and why?
"Between wanderlust and homesickness, music sounds" is a phrase with three important focus words that describe the last four years of my, or rather our, musical journey. Four years ago I followed my wanderlust into the wide world and there I met my Argentinian partner and bass player Fede. We were united by music. Together we were on the road for two years in numerous countries and had many inspiring encounters. Then came the silence, the pandemic, two years back home, to my German-speaking roots, to lyricism and text poetry.
How did you actually get into music and how did your band form?
Music has always been part of my life. Ever since I can remember, it has accompanied me everywhere. Humming, warbling, whistling, later on the guitar, the cello, the piano, the ukulele... In my school days I had my first rock band with good friends, on my first trip to New Zealand, Australia, California and India it was just me and my guitar. Over time, musicians joined in, coming and going. Here a cellist, there a cellist, here a percussionist, there a pianist. During my studies in Münster, I loved to drum up people to make music, at open stages, around campfires, for festivities and living room concerts.
And then I met Fede in Italy 2018 and the two of us have become the solid core of this band, around which people come and go. And many of these musical encounters have remained. Wonderful strings and winds, singers, drummers and guitarists. They form the BlueBird Orchestra.
And what functions does making music fulfill for you?
For me, music is freedom and security. A space of togetherness and a space of being quietly content alone. A space of emotion, where feelings become colors and sounds, get caught in melodies and rise in harmonies. Music is a higher language.
What values play a role in this? What drives you?
It fascinates me how music brings people together. People coming from different directions, different life experiences, cultures, languages and ages, coming together in one room and sitting peacefully together. Listening. Singing. Dancing. Music carries peace.
I am driven to write lyrics and compose by a creative hunger that is like one of my basic needs, like eating and sleeping. When something inspires me, for example places, people, encounters, moments, something in me wants to capture this inspiration. In words, in melodies, in musical structures. To frame the beauty of this world, the sadness and the joy.
Did you dream of playing on big stages as a child? And if so, have your dreams already come true?
My first stage experience as a child was choirs and children's musicals in church. Or performing arts classes at school. There was certainly a fascination for the physical and mental focus in a stage performance, but actually that was just one of many fascinations.
My childhood consisted mainly of sporting hobbies, of many hobbies in general. And books—I read an insane amount as a child. One of my early dreams was to become an author. And indirectly, this dream has now come true with “Heimweh.” I'm holding my first book in my hands. Later came the dream of traveling the world. Besides music, that's my second greatest passion, and I can't get enough of it. Traveling.
What were the factors that helped you realize your dream or get closer to it?
"Va dove ti porta il cuore" (Go where your heart takes you), is the title of one of my favorite books by Susanna Tamaro. I have courageously followed this moral, over many years and on the most diverse journeys and chapters of life, through the most diverse encounters and experiences, all the way to Fede and the music at the center of my, or rather our, lives.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and what have you learned for yourself from it?
The path of music, the path of self-realization, is for me a path full of challenges, where I am always allowed to learn. To be curious. To let go. To put my whole heart into the artistic work. To not take things personally. To move on. To make decisions. To be clear. Changing roles from artist, performer, and organizer. Finding a focus in the sea of possibilities.
What advice would you give to other musicians who also have the desire to reach a large number of people with their music to get their message across?
Find people with whom you harmonize, who make you shine, with whom you can share your music and with whom you enjoy playing. Build a team. "It takes teamwork to do dreamwork."
You were awarded the Panik Prize by the Udo Lindenberg Foundation and have also performed on stage together with Udo Lindenberg. How was this experience for you?
On the one hand, it was of course a fantastic experience for us musicians to be allowed to play in front of almost 3,000 people in the large line-up with 13 musicians and dancers—in the birthplace of my favorite poet, Hermann Hesse, of all places. And secondly, it was a great honor to meet Udo Lindenberg in person, a music legend who plays on stage at 76 and does his thing as if he is ageless and timeless—super approachable and friendly, truly inspiring for young artists like us who are just at the beginning of our journey.
Can you tell us anything else about your next projects?
After the two albums on Fernweh (Worldpop) and Heimweh as opposites, I would like to dedicate myself next to the theme of “Butterfly and Wolf,” which is the motto of this project. The wolf stands for the pack animal, the togetherness, the loud and powerful in music. The butterfly for everything dreamy, multilingual, changeable, and delicate. I would like to connect the wolf project with the young Ukrainian artist Tanya, who animated our last music video. I could imagine that an EP or album in the direction of the song "Like a Wolf" could come out of it. After the busy summer of touring, we plan to sink back into creative work towards fall and winter.
That sounds exciting! Thank you for the nice interview, dear Ronja!
Those were lovely questions, thank you for the interview!
If you want to experience Ronja and the BlueBird Orchestra live now, you have the chance to see them on tour in Germany until the end of the year. You can find a current overview of their tour dates here. You can find Ronja on Spotify here:
Would you like to discover more articles about exciting artists from all over the world? Then take a look at our Features section. You can also find more exciting articles about other well-known musicians in the Books & Movies section. If you are a musician, you also have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other musicians in our mukken network. Take advantage of this opportunity and make new contacts for your next music project.
Originally published on February 7, 2023, updated on February 7, 2023
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