Erik Leuthäuser - BEACHFINDS (2022)

Erik Leuthäuser is an award-winning young German singer using his native language and electronics to create his own concept of music somewhere between modern jazz and experimental pop. Based on his experiences as a young gay man in a big city such as Berlin the only way to be is honest and dedicated: In life and in music. Press describes Leuthäuser as »THE upcoming voice in German jazz.« (Mannheimer Morgen)

In May 2018 he released his second studio record Wünschen on the prestigious record label MPS (Edel) which led to a two-year residency at reknown Berlin theater „Bar jeder Vernunft“ 2020-2022 with his own show of the same name. Produced by American bass player Greg Cohen featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar) and Joey Baron (drums). Followed by a series of records in duo with pianist Wolfgang Köhler and the repertoire of Irene Kral & Alan Broadbent, the songbook of american composer Kent Carlson and the music of New York singer & composer Ronny Whyte. (Mons Records)

Erik lives in Berlin where he studied vocal jazz e.g. with Judy Niemack. The singer released his debut album In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee on Mons Records in November 2015. It includes bebop with German vocalese lyrics and was nominated for a critics prize of the German record industry called Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Erik won several prizes at international vocal jazz competitions: First prizes at Riga Jazz Stage 2016, Big Sky 2016 in Moskau and the Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Jazz Competition 2018 in Washington DC. 2nd prizes at the world renowned and prestigious Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition 2016 (as well as audience prize) and at the Voicingers 2017 Contest for Singing Musicians in Poland. Furthermore Erik was one of the Top 5 vocalists at the international Made in NY Jazz Competition. He sang background for Quincy Jones, George Benson, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jacob Collier and recorded albums with Jazz legends such as Alan Broadbent and Ken Peplowski. The young musician was also a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Germany (BuJazzO) between 2014-2016. He has been part of an a capella group called Wortart Ensemble (Unit Records), which set modern German poetry to music. And he has been the singer of the Philipp Rumsch Ensemble (Denovali Records), which mixes minimal music, electronic music, pop and classical music and combines it with improvisation. Since 2017 Erik improvises with New York based Latvian singer Arta Jēkabsone (Unit Records).

Erik was born in a little town near Dresden in Germany in 1996. Erik came in contact with jazz music at a very young age through his father who studied jazz guitar and works as a guitar teacher. Early on, he started singing in a pop/rock band and took piano lessons. He won a few local talent competitions and became the singer of the „Dresden Big Band“ and the Youth Jazz Orchestra of Saxony. Erik went to a musical high school and after his a-levels in 2014 he started studying vocal jazz in Weimar with the jazz singer Michael Schiefel. After studying abroad at the Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki in 2017 Erik finished his studies at the Jazz Institute Berlin. Erik has toured with various ensembles to over 25 different countries and is appearing regularly with well known German and international musicians in clubs and festivals in Germany.