»We must take a stance and identify the hidden discriminatory factors that might play a role in each society, and we absolutely must take a stance in the struggle, in which we are all bound together.« Mary Ocher, The West Against The People, 2016

It’s pretty abnormal for a songwriter to supplement an album of music with a sociopolitical essay. Then again, it’s pretty, well, normal to use the name Mary Ocher and the word “abnormal” in the same sentence. What this Israeli-Russian artist has been building for almost ten years in Berlin’s underground goes above and beyond her profession’s standard territories. Ocher fashions her seemingly otherwordly DIY cosmos out of private discoveries and societal concerns and interweaves her biography with geopolitical events, thereby achieving an equilibrium between complexity, emotion, and relevance that only very few in pop music are capable of. On her fifth album, The West Against The People, forecasted by Fact Magazine as “One of the Best Albums of 2017,” Ocher zeroes in on the themes of authority, identity, and conflict more than she ever has before. Produced with Hans Joachim Irmler (Faust) and graced with guest appearances by Die Tödliche Doris, Felix Kubin, and her band Your Government, there’s no doubt the release counts among Ocher’s most important works. As we approach the next edition of the festival, we’re especially pumped for a rare appearance on solo piano—after all, if anyone among us feels the itch, it’s definitely Mary Ocher!

–