Magdalena Ganter

“Out of decency!” Marlene Dietrich once replied when asked why she was an anti-fascist. The legendary film diva and queer style icon worked tirelessly for freedom, democracy, and self-determination during and after the Nazi dictatorship.
The year 2027 marks the 35th anniversary of her death.
Inspired by Dietrich’s stance and commitment, artist Magdalena Ganter is creating a tribute to mark this anniversary and, for her third studio album, *MARLENE* (release date: February 26, 2027), is setting largely unknown poems by the resistance activist to music.
In doing so, Ganter explores what this trailblazer of the independence movement—who has been such an inspiration to her—means for her own identity and for emancipation today. Building on this, she has created original songs that also address her personal reality as an independent artist and mother of two children. She advocates for equal opportunity and moral courage, and through her music, she stands as a symbol of diversity and peaceful coexistence.
Incidentally, the album—and her live performances—conclude with the anti-war anthem “Sag mir wo die Blumen sind” (“Tell Me Where the Flowers Are”), presented in a previously unheard jazzy, bluesy version.
It is undoubtedly a program of startling relevance.
Musically, Magdalena Ganter moves with her usual playfulness between chanson, pop, and jazz, accompanied by pulsating drum-and-bass-style beats. With her warm, soulful voice, she invites us on a groovy journey to a seedy jazz club after midnight. The question of what stance art can take today
has long since ceased to be an issue here.
You simply have to experience Magdalena Ganter live! This boundary-crosser loves to play with contrasts and extremes. Her live performances are brimming with unbridled energy. Radically honest and sensitive, always balancing between silence and spectacle, the artist surrenders herself completely to the music and the moment on stage. It’s hard to resist this power—and why should you? After all, she’s balm for the soul in a world that’s increasingly falling apart. “The fact is, she has an impressive stage presence!” said Arte Concert.
The album MARLENE will be released on February 26, 2027, on the artist’s own label, NEO NOIR
RECORDS.
Starting in April 2027, the artist will embark on a major MARLENE album release tour across Germany with her trio (Simon Steger on keys and Sebastian König on drums).
“My goal with this album is to bring something beautifully stirring to a world that is increasingly falling apart,” says Ganter herself about MARLENE.
The artist has received numerous awards for her work. She is the grand prize winner of the Baden-Württemberg Cabaret Award (2020), a fellow of the Baden-Württemberg Art Foundation (2019), a recipient of the Encouragement Award from the Troubadour Song & Chanson Competition in Stuttgart (2018), and has received support from the State of Baden-Württemberg (Popländ 2.0), the Initiative Musik, the German Music Council, and the Berlin Senate—Culture in Europe. For her two albums, *NEO NOIR* (2021) and *TRANSIT* (2024), Ganter received, among other honors, the prestigious German Record Critics’ Award, while her performances have featured on TV programs such as *Concerts* (arte), *Kulturzeit* (3Sat), Morgenmagazin (ZDF), Szene (ZDF), Hauptquartier (TV-Noir), Kunscht (SWR), and Kultur (SWR).