Jalen Ngonda

Jalen Ngonda brings his modern soul craft to Köln on 5 October 2026 at Carlswerk Victoria. American‑born and long based between the US and the UK, he blends the grain of 60s soul with concise, contemporary songwriting. After years moving from small clubs to festival stages, he arrives with his second album, Doctrine Of Love.

Doctrine Of Love looks to the lineage while opening new ground. The title track sets the emotional and musical frame: written, he says, when he was trying to get out of the studio, with James Brown on repeat. “Doctrine” became a playful stand‑in for a certificate of love — “maybe I meant doctorate,” he notes — and a broader idea: a code, a philosophy, words to live by or write by. He writes the songs; the listener chooses the meaning.

On stage, Ngonda keeps arrangements spare and the rhythm section tight, leaving space for his voice. Slow burners sit next to more danceable cuts, echoing his work with Daptone without sliding into pastiche. Songs from Come Around and Love Me fold into the new set, carried by crisp guitar, basslines that lock, and clear, direct melodies. A show focused on feel, economy, and the kind of groove that lets the vocals lead.