IZZY
After studies in veterinary medicine (Freie Universität Berlin) and music education (Universität der Künste) in Berlin, Izzy (Isabel) Ment started writing and producing songs for their EP „As The Words Come Through“ (Unicorn, 2018) together with Jesse Barnes and Yvonne Ambrée (Panteon) while commuting between Berlin and New York City. Within a two-week time frame, this EP was then recorded and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Jeremy Loucas at Sear Sound Studios, NYC and features Nate Werth (Snarky Puppy) on percussion.
During the following years, the multi-instrumentalist performing under the artist name Ment toured throughout Europe and supported multiple international acts (e.g. Rostam (Vampire Weekend)).
The German-American artist has recently been writing new music and co-creating interdisciplinary works with dancers and visual artists in their studio in Kreuzberg.
Izzy Ment is frequently seen performing on guitar, synthesizers, vocals, and laptop (Ableton, Pro Tools) as well as doing the occasional (voice-over) acting, engineering and sound designing.
They are currently working on an album and finished their first single along with a music video, aiming to create a queerer, softer, intersectional-eco-feminist future.
ALBERTINE
The universality of pop music can mean different things to different people. For Albertine Sarges – Berlin-born musician and producer – it’s a vessel that she uses for self-exploration and growth. With her debut album “The Sticky Fingers”, Albertine Sarges presented her take on feminist theory, musings on bisexuality, and mental health. In her new EP “Family Of Things”, her musical endeavours plumbs new depths of unadorned and often self-confessional emotion. While she rounds off the story with a refreshing comedic edge, her music is also a platform to explore the self and contribute to the broader societal discourse. „Through her perky lyrics and parading basslines, Sarges filters out the salt from tears and washes her music in a powerful tide of self-acceptance. Social commentary just got fun.”(The Line Of Best Fit). It is all about the mundane explored, the distant brought closer, and the universal contained in the particular. It’s a project that yearns simply for genuine emotion, wherever that may be found. On stage, Albertine and her band take the audience through a surprising journey with twists and turns, displaying an insatiable mix of avant-garde pop, weird folk and impeccably groovy bass. She has deployed her spellbinding energy through numerous performances, headlining her own tours in the UK and Germany and opening for the likes of Jane Weaver, Current Joys, Cassandra Jenkins, Metronomy or Stella Donnelly.
OSTIA
Die Alpen türmen sich auf vor dem winzigen Fiat Panda. Europop lärmt aus dem Autoradio. Lo Selbo wirft der Fahrerin Ossi Viola aka Albertine Sarges einen Blick zu, dessen Übermut seine Zweifel nicht ganz kaschieren kann. Sie haben die letzten 10 Jahre in Italien verbracht, in besetzten Häusern gesungen, in Indie Clubs und – ja – nach einer Einladung zu X-Factor Italia auch in einem Sportstadion. Sie sangen vom weißen Fiat Panda, der sie über die Alpen trug. Aber das war nur eine Metapher: folge einem unmöglichen Traum, Max Webers dicke Bretter bohrend, solche Dinge, keine Realität. Ein Virus und ein Anruf aus London änderte das schlagartig. In Guastalla kauften sie einen Panda von einem Fan. Jetzt sind sie umgeben von Bergen, und fragen sich, wie man den Allradantrieb aktiviert.
Nach zwei Alben der Berliner Grenzgänger Itaca ist Ostia die neue Band in der Emo-Prinz Lo Selbo träumt. Es begleiten ihn Rave Diva Ossi Viola aka Albertine Sarges, Berlins sicherster Skoda Fahrer Garagen-Uwe an den Drums und Oskar Militia an der Bar. Wenn Synthwave Funk hätte, Wave Wärme ausstrahlte, Europop gefährlich sein könnte. Die Inspirationen kommen von SURVIVE, A-ha, The Knife oder Bladee. An schlechteren Tagen von Schubert und Team Scheisse. Im Panda liegen Kassetten von Battiato, Battisti, ZU und, sie geben es zu, auch von Calcutta.