Somewhere where not only fingers jump over strings but also the wood of the body sounds, Larissa Leaves combines her love of rhythms and sounds on her ukulele. She gives the small, four-stringed instrument percussive depth and underlines her pieces with various effects and the loop station, so that her instrumental live stories take you on a special kind of sound journey!
Larissa discovered the ukulele in 2018 and has since played at different festivals in colorful combinations, where she mainly came into contact with Latin American and African-inspired wild rhythms. Since then, the self-taught musician has had a great affinity and strong connection to everything to do with percussion.
Motivated by the fact that female musicians can also reach people with purely instrumental music where words become superfluous, she has made it her mission to transfer unusual rhythms on the ukulele, an instrument whose body is often considered far too small.

She is currently part of the Freiburg World Music Project, an intercultural band initiative founded under the Migrant Advisory Council, which celebrated its debut at Jazzhaus Freiburg. Together with Susana Schnell, a Chilean cuatro player, and Anna Morlion, a French electric guitarist specializing in live productions, she performs a wide range of concerts across Europe.
Larissa is engaged in many other divers projects across the globe, embracing every adventure that comes her way. Guided by the rhythm of her heart, this dedication and passion earned her a nomination at the annual public-voted Ukulele Awards, where she won the title of “International Ukulele Player of the Year 2025.”