Musician, DJ and remix-König Boris Brejcha leads the field in high-tech minimalism. Now he’s finally playing in Berlin, on the tour for his third album My Name Is.
by Karen Howley (1 Comments)
Lots of people will have already gotten themselves a pirate copy of Arcade Fire’s latest album, The Suburbs, as is the condition of our buzz hungry generation. How and ever, why not celebrate its official Berlin premiere anyways with a record release party? Playing on the night are Michael Mac & Fake Lashes and some of Karrera Klub’s DJs. One for the hardcore fans...
by Karen Howley
It’s 2010 and this New York duo still insist on sporting very tight glam-rock outfits, so don't be too surprised if they’ve sewed up another deadly spandex creation for the occasion of this DJ set. Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner’s electroclash tracks came to a notable peak in the past few years with their releases under the French label Kitsuné, but they’ve been opting to tour with a DJ set instead of live material this year - you can be sure there’ll be plenty of Kraftwerk inspired tracks tonigh. Berlin’s Jack Tennis also plays ("N I C E", that spells nice).
by Karen Howley
Saturday night breathes techno into the lungs of party-goers in the form of a special audio/visual live performance by the legendary Cristian Vogel. It’s a first for the influential producer, which makes it all the more mouthwatering - just what is he going to come out with? Electro mastermind Radioactive Man also plays a live set indoors, while outside there will be an infusion of dubstep from various DJs and a special lights display by videographer Lasal.
by Karen Howley
Every Tuesday, a group of people yearning to sing at the top of their voices meet up in Berlin’s capital of Karoke - Monster Ronson's. The pop choir sings, avails itself of the two-for-one drinks on offer, and comes up with some unique renditions of your favourite tunes. So why not 'pop’ along and join the fun!
by Karen Howley
Lots of electric guitar strumming, warm synths, lo-fi beats, hand claps, and hazy lyrics. Wild Nothing’s debut album, Gemini, released at the end of May exuberates with that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you’re just hanging out in one of Berlin’s parks on a sunny day. Virginia’s Jack Tutham [formerly of Jack and the Whale] and three other band members are the force behind such a beautiful collection of songs. It is well worth checking them out to see how one of this year’s best albums to be released sounds live.
by Karen Howley
Austrian DJ and musician Electric Idigo has rocked clubs, raves, and festivals since the 1990s and as a lot of great DJs have done, she too has spent some years in Berlin where she worked on perfecting her Detroit inspired techno sound. This year she has been busying herself with composing six pieces for the Austrian Pavilion in collaboration with Viennese composer Alexander Wagendristel. She also released a remix of “12:34 PM” in May this year. Busy lady.
by Karen Howley
Making a Swedish mark on Berlin, Niva is representing the electro produce of his country as part of the 11th instalment of ‘Sweeden, Sweeden’. With hazily themed songs about ghosts in his head, dizzy eyes, and a boy from the sun, the music sounds every bit as out of reach with plenty of reverb treatment on the vocals. The beats are steady but never over-impose themselves on this Viking’s soft vocals.
by Karen Howley
Dream Berlin 2010 is hosting two of the greatest DJ's in the world: Tiësto and David Guetta on one stage! Tiësto is probably the most successful DJ in the world, and is currently on the World Tour of his fifth album Kaleidoscope. French house producer David Guetta also plays as part of his own World Tour with last year’s album release One Love. Apart from the world class DJs and sound system in place, visually the multimedia nerds have been nerding away to create a 360° digital visual setup of the event. Underground sounds will also be present from Claude VonStroke, Paco Osuna, Clint Lee, Wimpy Yanuka amongst others.
by Karen Howley
Experimental rock band Sheerwater have left their hometown Texas once again, this time with their latest album The Golden Archipelago. Jonathan Meiburg fronts the trio with tremulous vocals that often verge into into massive crescendos: there are many moments of peace and tranquility in the new album, but it becomes a noisy affair equally quickly, with percussion a-plenty.
by Karen Howley
This arthouse American film from Noah Baumbach’s follows one New Yorker’s midlife-crisis as he moves to Los Angeles to figure out his life. As he house-sits for his brother, sparks soon fly between him and his brother’s assistance. While the film stars Hollywood hotshot Ben Stiller, it’s more interesting to note that the music score was done by James Murphy – who goes under the moniker of LCD Soundsystem.
by Karen Howley
While Robert Zimmerman prefers "Bob Dylan", folk musician Kristian Matsson is better known as The Tallest Man on Earth. TTMOE frantically strums his guitar as if there’s no tomorrow, whilst singing poetic ballads: many picked up on this infectiousness when Matsson opened for Bon Iver on tour back in 2008, and he’s been gigging and writing more and more ever since.
by Karen Howley (1 Comments)
German singer-songwriter Johanna Zeul has been defying the laws of pop since studied Pop Music Design. Including her rock and folk influences in her work, Zeul manages to have a little bit of an angry or bitter energy about what she sings. The rawness of a plucked acoustic guitar also adds to this feeling that a revolution is about to begin under her instruction. Time to punk out.
by Karen Howley
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that frontman Shane McGowan is still slurring out words between douses of whiskey. The Pogues haven’t come out with any new material since 1993 and yet still manage to make a return into the charts every Christmas. They may not be a recording band anymore but they do meet live expectations coming out in force with a rake of traditional Irish instruments that give them that rebel sound, along with all the other usual instruments a punk band might sport, and five out of the eight members sing!
by Karen Howley (1 Comments)
This Icelandic band have been making waves in their own country for long enough that it’s nice to see them on tour elsewhere. Amongst the heavy drums and speedy guitar riffs singer Kata has a very pop female voice. Her vocals make the band sound altogether more commercial and the combination works both on the more rock driven tracks like Svefnfekt and lighter ones like Geimthra. Worth checking out for a meer €3.
by Karen Howley
For the second time this summer Oberbaumbrücke is being invaded by lots of artists selling and showing off their creations – from painters to sculptures to photography. The road is shut down for the day and transformed into an open air gallery in one of the most picturesque places in Berlin. And you can join in the fun…a massive canvas is rolled out in the centre of the road travelling all the way across the bridge. Pots of paint and brushes are laid down for everyone to contribute to what will be a massive strip of art by the end of the day. Fun for everyone!
by Karen Howley
If you’re looking for a decent night of techno and house, this line-up includes a few DJs worth checking out. Afrilounge is made up of German producers/DJs Eduard Hartter, Liefko and Richard Liapin. Last year they finally dropped a lot of releases (including a whole range of remixes) packed with trance-inspiring deep grooves and house sounds. Beloved Brazilian duo Flo & Zeo will also be playing, as will Australia’s Mike Callander and Berlin’s DJ Argon.
by Karen Howley
Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss is the third part of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s trilogy dedicated to the 1950s. Rosel Zech embodies an aging actress being ruined by drugs. The cool and elegant interiors built by Bavaria's head architect, Rolf Zehetbauer, imitate the typical Ufa melodrama in terms of style. It’s being shown as part of Kino Arsenal’s special programme dedicated to the eye of the production designer.
by Karen Howley
Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss is the third part of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s trilogy dedicated to the 1950s. Rosel Zech embodies an aging actress being ruined by drugs. The cool and elegant interiors built by Bavaria's head architect, Rolf Zehetbauer, imitate the typical Ufa melodrama in terms of style. It’s being shown as part of Kino Arsenal’s special programme dedicated to the eye of the production designer.
by Karen Howley
Kino Arsenal has a special programme for the month of August that focuses on the wonders of production design – showcasing some of the best production design the big screen has ever known. Amongst their special programme is Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Edith Whatron’s Age of Innocence. Set in the New York upper class of the 1870s, it was production designer Dante Ferretti’s first leap into American film.
by Karen Howley
Kino Arsenal has a special programme for the month of August that focuses on the wonders of production design – showcasing some of the best production design the big screen has ever known. Amongst their special programme is Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Edith Whatron’s Age of Innocence. Set in the New York upper class of the 1870s, it was production designer Dante Ferretti’s first leap into American film.
by Karen Howley
Kino Arsenal is shifting its focus to some of the best production design the big screen has ever known. Amongst their special programme is Jean Renoir’s 1954 musical French Cancan. Décor and costumes are integral elements of the plot and are shown off though a revival of the cancan dance in the film in the illustrious Moulin Rough. Expect a whirl of dance and technicolour to emblaze your eyes!
by Karen Howley
Twenty-five acts are lined up to pump out the tunes all throughout Berlin’s favourite clubs by the water - Badeschiff, Arena and Glashaus meld into one (entry fee-wise) for the night. The list includes adored local hip-hop group K.IZ. Soundsystem, with its smart rhymes, deep bass and piano-driven melodies, as well as Seeed DJ Team, Ear, reggae artist Plattendreher Ganjaman and Easy Skank Soundsytem.
by Karen Howley
Austrian-born Gustav glides effortlessly into electro pop with her English-German-French compositions. The tone of her voice is similar to Lykke Li's, but the music is slightly more abstract – with chirpy-sounding keys and re-sampled vocals. And, judging by her profile picture on Facebook, you can expect a megaphone, too. This is also the last gig Gustav’s playing before she locks herself away to complete an ambient album she’s been slogging away on.
by Karen Howley
The Black Seeds are not to be confused with Nick Cave’s bad ones. These seeds of a darker variation are led by the vocals of Barnaby Weir and Daniel Weetman and like to keep things mixed up with a fusion of reggae, funk, and dubstep. Hailing from New Zealand the full bodied band of eight have five studio albums to date – plenty of material to keep the mood at its summery best.
by Karen Howley
