AFRODEUTSCHE (Henrietta Smith-Rolla), is a British born Ghanaian/Russian/German artist, composer, producer, and DJ based in Manchester. Her polyrhythmic compositions integrate a wide array of musical genres, including Afrofuturistic electro and techno, classical solo piano, and Detroit legacy house. AFRODEUTSCHE’S DJ style is a synthesis of Drexciyan and Underground Resistance-inspired selections, intercut with a variety of forward-thinking UK techno such as Bola and Lego Feet.
AFRODEUTSCHE’S written score, by contrast, sits in a much more organic space – in 2019 she wrote a piano-led minimalist soundtrack to Sasha Rainbow’s Bafta nominated and Oscar longlisted documentary Kamali. In 2020, she composed the score for Poppy de Villeneuve’s new feature ‘Destiny On The Main Stage’, and was commissioned by the UN to compose their ‘Force to Flee’ series alongside Max Richter. In 2021, AFRODEUTSCHE was commissioned alongside Daniel Avery and Aïsha Devi, by the BBC Concert Orchestra, André de Ridder and the Southbank Centre as part of their concert series ‘Unclassified Live’, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Praised by the Guardian for enacting a new wave of club music, named by Dummy Mag as one of 2019’s most exciting artists, AFRODEUTSCHE’s spectacular debut album ‘Break before Make’ was released on the legendary Skam label in 2018. Her remix of Montreal producer Marie Davidson’s ‘Day Dreaming’ was released in 2020 on Ninja Tune.
Hosting a regular radio show on the renowned NTS, AFRODEUTSCHE entrances listeners with her idiosyncratic combinations of dark electro, breaks, footwork, ghetto tech and jacking house. Forever evolving a fully live hardware show, AFRODEUTSCHE has already appeared alongside celebrated producers Dopplereffekt and Carl Craig, with many more to come.
AFRODEUTSCHE has been featured in numerous well-known publications, including Italian Vogue, Der Tagesspiegel, Pitchfork & many others. She is fast becoming a voice of the people, replacing Iggy Pop as host of the ‘People’s Party’ weekly show on BBC Radio 6. She will also be curating stages at multiple 2022 festivals, including All Points East, and is a regular support act for Aphex Twin.