FRANZ POP COLLECTIVE - SLOWDANCE

FRANZ Pop Collective. The name already suggests that we are in for a concentrated load of interdisciplinary artists. Permanent members of the collective are the actress Julia Franz Richter, the musician Clemens Wenger and the director Felix Hafner. In collaboration with video artists, stage designers and choreographers, the Popkollektiv is continuously growing and working on narrative and scenic realizations of the songs in extended, performative contexts. At the center is the unmistakable voice of Julia Franz Richter.

DON'T WORRY is the third single of the FRANZ Pop Collective and the last harbinger of the programmatic EP WUMAN ON A SOFA, which deals with voluntary isolation.

In times of doom-scrolling and climate crisis, the view of the future for many people is no longer as optimistic as it might once have been. Young people in particular are demanding that the disasters of our time are recognized as such. At the same time, the optimism of purpose is needed to continue fighting for a future worth living. "Don't worry, it's gonna get worse. Even if the clouds are opened, you're bound to get hurt." Thus DON'T WORRY oscillates between escapism and confrontation, acceptance and dystopia.

These opposites are also reflected in the sound of the song: the gloomy synthesizer atmospheres brighten up again and again and are driven by a powerful beat. As the track progresses, the discord becomes more and more acute, culminating in a powerful finale. In this, Julia Franz Richter is a nonchalant prophet of the future. Her cool, unagitated vocal performance carries through the song.

WUMAN ON A SOFA is a pop performance that will premiere at the imagetanz Festival in Vienna on March 22, 2023. Further performances will follow on 23, 24 and 25/03 at studio brut. Shortly before, the music of the performance will be released as an EP of the same name (release date: 17/03/2023).

Julia Franz Richter, born in 1991, studied Comparative Literature at the University of Vienna and later Performing Arts at the University of Art in Graz. After her studies, she was an ensemble member at the Volkstheater in Munich, the Schauspielhaus in Graz and most recently at the Volkstheater in Vienna. Richter is also active in film and television. For example, she has appeared in front of the camera for Marie Kreutzer, Katharina Mückstein, Christian Petzold and Magdalena Lauritsch. For the role of Lena in the feature film "The Diver" she received the Diagonal Acting Award and a nomination for best female lead at the Austrian Film Awards. 

Felix Hafner, born in 1992, studied acting direction at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and has since worked as a freelance director and actor. He directs at the Volkstheater Vienna, the Landestheater Niederösterreich, the Tiroler Landestheater, steirischer herbst and the Munich Volkstheater (most recently HERKUNFT after Sasa Stanisić). Together with the collective "Institut für Medien, Politik und Theater" (Institute for Media, Politics and Theater), interdisciplinary works between theater and journalism are created (www.institut-theater.at). In 2017, Hafner received the Nestroy Theater Prize as best young male actor for his production of "Der Menschenfeind" at the Vienna Volkstheater. 

Clemens Wenger, born 1982, lives and works in Vienna as a musician and composer for contemporary jazz, pop & electronic music.  He initiated the JazzWerkstatt Wien, has been leading this music collective for 18 years and is the head of the successful Viennese soul band 5/8erl in Ehr'n. Most recently, Wenger released "Physics of Beauty," a collection of 32 pieces, as an interactive digital artwork. Together with Mira Lu Kovacs, Wenger published "The Urge of Night." Wenger composed theater music for the Volkstheater Wien, Münchner Volkstheater, Landestheater Tirol, netzzeit, when the time comes, and many more. Winner of six Amadeus Austrian Music Awards.