Lucy Kruger: On music, memory and making magic in Berlin

So many phenomenal South African artists are making waves overseas, crafting new sounds in cities around the world. Earlier this year, I wrote about the magical Anna Wolf, and I’ve also mentioned Josie Field and Sannie Fox, brilliant talents finding their voices on international stages. Today, I want to shine a light on another incredible name, Lucy Kruger.

Born in Durban and raised in Johannesburg, Lucy is a singer-songwriter known for her haunting, atmospheric sound and powerful presence. After studying Music and Drama at Rhodes University, she made a name for herself in Cape Town’s indie and alternative scenes, forming her band Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys in 2015. Their debut album, Summer’s Not That Simple, introduced a voice that is both raw and exquisite.

In 2018, Lucy relocated to bustling Berlin and began a bold new chapter, releasing a mesmerising trilogy of albums including Sleeping Tapes for Some Girls, Transit Tapes and Teen Tapes. Her most recent release, A Human Home, marked yet another evolution in her sound and earned her the Europavox Spotlight Prize in 2023.

Lucy’s voice is fearless and full of range, shaped by the influence of icons like Sinéad O’Connor, Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. Her latest single Anchor is a beautiful reflection of memory and longing. Built on the familiar rhythms of childhood songs, it unfolds into something intimate and powerful. “Anchor speaks to the eternal frustration of wanting to be both moored and meandering, to be known, yet able to create yourself anew,” Lucy explains. “The song longs for home, but also for a love like the one you might feel before the imagined fall from grace that comes with leaving childhood.” The accompanying visual, created with long-time collaborators DTAN, is as poetic as the song itself, a delicate and symbolic act of undoing and reassembly.

Her upcoming album Pale Bloom, out through Unique Records in February 2026, is her most introspective yet. Unlike the band’s earlier albums, which were rooted in specific moments, this one formed slowly, almost like a suspended creation myth. Drawing on childhood memories, religious symbolism and forgotten nursery rhymes, it explores how inherited sounds can be reshaped into deeply personal truths. Lucy’s vocals are both thunderous and euphoric, layered with longing and reflection. The strings carry a solemn, grounded beauty, the grooves are expressive and steady, and the guitars drift between gentle and intense. Recorded across multiple Berlin studios with her bandmates and close collaborator André Leo, the album was mixed by Simon Ratcliffe. The players on the record include Lucy Kruger, vocals and guitar, Liú Mottes, guitar, Jean-Louise Parker, viola, Gidon Carmel, drums and Reuben Kemp, bass.

I caught up with Lucy to talk about her creative journey, her new music and the places that continue to shape her.

It must be incredible moving to a new city on the other side of the world and still being able to make music with your band and friends like the wonderful Jean-Louise Parker. What are the pros and cons of being a musician in Berlin compared to Johannesburg?

“It is a wonderful adventure and I try not to take it for granted. The biggest difference between being based in South Africa and Europe is the opportunity to tour more often and more easily. The European Union makes it simple to move between countries and there is a circuit and a culture built around that. There are even funding options. Of course, this also means that a lot of people are doing it so it can get saturated.

I would love to tour South Africa more often but it is not always financially simple. We played in Joburg for the first time in years this past February and I loved it. I am really glad to be on this journey with Jean-Louise, who not only shares a South African background but is also an exceptional musician and person.”

Have you discovered any cool bands lately that we should be listening to? And for those who haven’t heard Jean-Louise and Cherilyn’s project Crow Baby, how would you describe their sound?

EERA and Tara Nome Doyle are two Berlin-based artists whose work I have loved for a while. I have also started listening to Derya Yildirim & Grup Şimşek, who are amazing. Hayden Pedigo, the instrumental guitarist, has also caught my ear recently. Nilüfer Yanya, Perfume Genius and FKA Twigs are always on my playlists too.

And then of course there is Crow Baby. They are bright and brilliant. Their music feels like cleverly crafted chaos, uplifting and subversive. The sound is full of unexpected clashes that slip into something catchy and emotional. It is beautiful to listen to and impossible not to move to.

You have a new record coming out in February which is very exciting. What inspired this new material and do you have plans to tour it around Europe and South Africa next year?

This album has taken the longest to form and I think that is because it reaches furthest back into my own story. It looks at how the creation story I was told as a child shaped who I became. It moves between my own myths and others that are more widely known. It feels like a kind of portal into the past, a way of seeing what can be changed through recognition and reflection.

We will definitely be touring the album around Europe and I am hoping we will make it back to South Africa too.

In the seven years since relocating to Germany, what are the three things you miss most about South Africa? And what are your three favourite things about living in Germany?

I love riding my bicycle everywhere. I love going to random concerts during the week and seeing something surprising. There is a beautiful normality around niche music here, and I get to hear stories from people from all over the world.

But I miss the warmth and humour of South Africans. I miss the sounds and that real sense of home. Most of all, I miss my family and friends, and the feeling of deeply understanding the shared story of where I come from, even when it is complicated.

From her roots in South Africa to her ever-evolving journey in Berlin, Lucy Kruger continues to create music that is emotionally rich, musically daring and unapologetically honest. With Pale Bloom on the horizon, there is no doubt her voice will only continue to grow louder, softer and even more spellbinding.