About
Biography
Born and raised in southern Germany, Diana Ezerex began singing and playing instruments at the age of 3, taking lessons in the recorder and saxophone and teaching herself how to play keys, guitar and songwriting. At the age of 9 she had written her first song – a children’s melody for her church.
Even though Ezerex never felt like music would be a realistic career path for her, she continued working on her musical skills, writing songs only for her own therapy.
While studying her bachelor in educational science (followed by a master’s degree in cultural mediation degree in 2023), more and more opportunities opened up for her to present her music to more people, touring solo in 2016 and 2017 and steadily putting a band together. After finishing the „Popkurs“ at Hamburg University for Music & Theatre she started working on releases, trying to find her voice & sound, always hoping that her music inspires societal change. While her debut album, produced by Thorsten Rheinschmidt, deals with topics that are linked to incarceration as she started playing concerts in prisons in 2017, her latest releases deal with more personal topics: her identity. As a German-Nigerian woman living in Germany she deals with a lot of „in betweens“, trying to find her way and place and dealing with sense of belonging, feeling of home, acceptance and racism.
Diana’s distinctive voice and style of songwriting has earned her widespread plaudits as an artist opening for Cory Wong, Fantastische Vier and performing at Das FEST Karlsruhe in 2023. Credits in Rolling Stone Germany, ZEIT, ZDF and other print and online media underline her success in approaching social issues with pop culture.
Diana Ezerex at Das Fest in Karlsruhe, Jul 2023. © Micha Roth
Offsite Melange - My Past's Gravity Pop Music & Social Critique
Since May 2017, Diana Ezerex has been playing voluntary concerts in prisons in German-speaking countries. At the Popkurs Hamburg, she was inspired to write an album about the experiences she had and the topics related to prison. Her song lyrics and also the compositions deal with topics of the past, present and future/perspective, describe societal causes and challenges that lead to children not learning to solve problems without violence. Topics such as mental health, suicide, acceptance and finding one’s way in society are also being addressed. From the examination of the prison setting, songs emerged that are not only relevant there but also and above all for society in general. The music ranges between (urban) pop, hip-hop/trap and soul.
The album is critical of both system and society. In connection with this, the musician and educator (studying B.A. Educational Science and currently M.A. Cultural Mediation at the University of Education in Karlsruhe) wants to design creative music workshops for young people that deal with violence and addiction prevention. Furthermore, music videos for each song, a play and short films will make the topics more tangible and accessible in various ways. In addition, different versions of the songs will be created in cooperation with youth orchestras from all over Germany, which on the one hand will bring the social issues directly to a young target group and on the other hand will create a connection between high culture and subculture. A remix version of the whole album will also help to support this goal. A benefit exhibition on the topic of isolation will give word and drawing artists from prison and outside a platform to share their thoughts and art. The proceeds will go towards artistic resocialisation measures.
In cooperation with filmmakers, directors, musicians, producers, authors, editors, graphic designers and educators from all over Europe, a broadly based artistic project is being created, which highlights social grievances on various levels through different media. One of the artist’s heartfelt concerns is to reach young people, to show them perspectives and thus to change society, even if only a little bit. As described above, she hopes that this will bring about lasting social change, showing that we can all do something to prevent people from „going off the rails“. That we all have something to give to a better world. Inspired by the prison, which is a very honest mirror of society (Leo Tolstoy), general social & structural issues are to be processed, illustrated and to be put in motion.
