Biography

Musician, composer and producer Johanna Burnheart (/ˈjɒhʌnnʌ/ pron. yo-HUN-na) has found her creativity at the point where modal jazz and techno meet. Much of her life has been spent absorbed in the Berlin sound of the techno & house scene resulting in this certain influence permeating her work.

Dark electronic yet melodic sounds on the violin, complex metres shaping undulating grooves, as well as spine-tingling raw vocals form the sonic world of Johanna’s compositions.

After studying classical violin, piano and voice during childhood, Johanna’s musical focus developed into jazz during her mid-teens. Rather than following the path expected of a classical violinist, she chose instead to pursue the music that was her passion.

From early beginnings in Northern Germany touring with the local youth chamber orchestra through Eastern Europe and Italy to attending Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, UK as a Specialist Musician in her teens and graduating with Honours as the first undergraduate jazz violinist from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2017, Johanna has had a multifaceted and intensive musical journey.

This journey has led to genre-defying collaborations and connections.

In 2021 she released a remix EP called “Burnheart Remixed” with remixes from Acid Pauli, Beth Lydi, Nesa Azadikhah and Pilo Adami as an homage to her love for techno and how it influenced her debut record.

Johanna was picked for the Take Five talent programme 2023, curated by Serious and sponsored by the PRS Foundation, Arts Council England and the Serious Trust. Her upcoming second album “Bär” is supported by the PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music grant.

Notable past performances were the Women’s Day concert with Tomorrow’s Warriors “Nu Civilisation Orchestra” debuting Yazz Ahmed’s Polyhymnia suite at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2015, playing support for Pharaoh Sanders at Ronnie Scott’s with Rosie Turton in 2018, a tribute show to the Blue Note Label at Queen Elizabeth Hall for the EFG London Jazz Festival 2019 in collaboration with Total Refreshment Centre and a sold out show with Christian Löffler at the Berliner Philharmonie in 2022 as the first violinist in the Detect Ensemble.

Maisha, Yazz Ahmed, Jazz Jamaica, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Kinkajous, Susheela Raman and Jockstrap are only some of the past collaborations Johanna has been a part of to this date.

As well as being a regular member of Rosie Turton’s band, Johanna joined the up and coming London Garage Orchestra in 2019 and toured UK festivals with both projects that year including Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Fair, Love Supreme, Jazz Re:Fest and Brainchild. Since 2021 she has been a member of the German crossover project Detect Ensemble who toured Europe’s biggest venues and Philharmonics extensively with German DJ Christian Löffler in 2022.

Since forming her own band end of 2018, Johanna released her debut album called “Burnheart” with Ropeadope Records on October 30th 2020. Besides the positive reviews in Jazzwise Magazine, MOJO and Backseatmafia among others, Johanna was chosen as one of 30 best new artists for 2021 by the Guardian following this release.