Talking Earth Trust

We are a sympho-band with musicians from all over the world who live in Saarland or have a connection to it, coming from a wide variety of musical traditions. Our music moves between folklore, popular music, and Western classical music — a symphonic ethno-jazz-pop.

Within our group, we perform in often-changing combinations, and from the dynamics of these encounters, original compositions have emerged, featuring expressive vocal passages, rich rhythms, compelling melodic lines, and colorful soundscapes. Musical languages from very different regions of the world enter into a lively exchange, without losing their roots.

The result is catchy, sometimes danceable songs performed acoustically with vocals, inviting listeners to engage openly with others as well as with their own cultural heritage. Our compositions provide a shared framework for orientation, which is musically reinvented and kept alive at every performance, so that each concert can often bring surprising moments even for us.

Udo Redlich & Talking Earth Trust aim to create bridges between the most diverse musical styles, achieving a harmonious blend while preserving each style’s unique character.

The group’s songs appear in the style of Persian classical music, Turkish-Kurdish folklore, European Romanticism, African dance music, or simply in an accessible pop idiom.

The musicians come from countries including Mozambique, Nigeria, Zaire, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Greece, France, and Germany. The group is led by Udo Redlich, who sees himself not as a “boss,” but as a coordinator who brings the right people together. Many of the artists in Talking Earth Trust are successful musicians in their home countries and also perform in other bands. They have been performing together since 1995 and released their first CD, Sensible Regions, in 1997.

Ten carefully arranged tracks on that album showcase the group’s musical versatility. The pieces on the early 2015 album Spirit of Colours offer a crossover between Afro-Oriental-Latin grooves and Western classical music, resulting in a sound with a distinct, independent identity.