Soundcheck Blog

 

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Just a block behind our hotel, near Checkpoint Charlie, stood the Berlin Wall. The stretch above is located in a fascinating outdoor museum called the Topography of Terror. This was the site of buildings which were once the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS during the Nazi era. The Berlin Wall ran along the south side of that area from 1961 to 1989. The wall itself — which is remarkably thin, and not particularly tall — was never removed from the site, and it now is the second-longest segment still in place.

It’s hard to underestimate the significance of the Wall on musicians who grew up in Berlin during the Cold War. Alec Empire, a techno DJ we met with today, recalled growing up in the West during the 70s and 80s and walking by the Wall every day on his way to school. The sight of patrol guards with guns later inspired many of his darker, more politically-charged songs (a certain dark intensity is often characteristic of today’s music from Berlin). In contrast, Kay Meseberg, a journalist, DJ and TV producer who grew up in East Berlin, remembers with some amusement how his grandmother would smuggle cassette tapes of Western pop music across the border for him (apparently, innocent-looking grandmothers were frequently called upon for such tasks). And in the late 80s, when Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd staged large outdoor concerts near the Reichstag in West Berlin, Kay was one of the many East Berliners who gathered near the Wall to listen in until the police chased them away. — Brian Wise

 
Originally uploaded by wnyc

Some of the gold records made at Hansa Studios include albums by Depeche Mode and Falco.

Built in a converted 1910 ballroom, “Hansa at the wall” stood 50 meters from Hitler’s bunker and was badly damaged during World War II. When Bowie moved to Berlin in October 1976 he spent three years in and out of the studio, working on his Berlin trilogy - the albums “Low,” “Lodger,” and “Heroes.” The latter album is peppered with references to the districts in Berlin and its title song — a love story about two people trying to escape over the Berlin Wall — became an anthem when the Wall collapsed in 1989.

U2 soaked up the studio’s inspiration for their 1990 album “Achtung Baby.” While the band did not ultimately finish the album here, they drew much inspiration from the city at the time, and images of the studio appear prominently in the CD cover art.

Slideshow: Hansa Studios: Then & Now

Originally uploaded by wnyc

Cloudy but warmer. Our hotel, as mentioned earlier, is right by the old Checkpoint Charlie, and with the fall of the wall a lot of modern new buildings have gone up to make full use of some prime real estate. So it’s nice to get on the terrific subways and go to Prenzlauer-Berg, one of the uber-hip neighborhoods in this uber-hip city. 

Daniel Best (above, left) welcomes us to the offices of Best Works, where he runs a mini-empire of DJs, including David Canisius (middle), who does the Yellow Lounge, which is a classical music DJ-with-live-performance event. Also joining in is Sadiq Bey (right), ex-New Yorker, poet, and jazz vocalist/composer. We are getting the impression that Berlin is a sleepy town by day, probably because everyone, no matter what genre of music they like, is heading out to the clubs at night. Daniel tells us he’s spinning at a new, as-yet-unnamed club behind an unmarked door under a bridge over the River Spree, which wanders through central Berlin. Now THIS sounds like real Berlin, at least in the early 21st century.

Dinner is a fine German meal of beers and chicken. Mainly because the pub only serves beer and chicken. (Except for producer/ contrarian Brian Wise, who goes for the currywurst (above, right). It’s a regional specialty, but I’m holding out for the real thing - bought from a street vendor.)

Gisele is game to go, and it takes a few minutes to find the door. A knock reveals a polite, tall young man who clearly intends to keep riffraff like me out. Fortunately, the combination of Daniel’s name, the right German words for “we were invited,” and an atrocious American accent move him to such depths of pity that he waves us in. For free. It’s after midnight, and packed. Daniel is there spinning classic American soul, and when I ask if he is familiar with Sharon Jones (Brooklyn’s amazing prison-guard-turned-soul-singer), he says she’s playing at one of his clubs next week.

It’s almost 2am when we leave, and now there is a line of people waiting to get in. To a club with no name, no identifying marks of any kind, no street flyers, nothing. – John Schaefer

 

Originally uploaded by wnyc

Deep in Berlin’s Scheunenviertel, a trendy neighborhood of galleries and shops, there was the site of a poster for violinist Joshua Bell. It’s not uncommon to find ads for classical concerts in Berlin plastered next to posters for techno DJ’s or the latest play or musical. The city is home to no fewer than three opera houses, seven orchestras and several chamber music series.

 

Originally uploaded by wnyc

France isn’t the only European country that has tried to encourage native-language music on the radio. For the past five years, Germany has been considering a radio quota for German-language music and music produced in Germany. If turned into law, this would be similar to France’s policy, wherein native-language music must constitute at least 40 percent of programming.

A bit of background: In December 2004, the Lower House of the German Parliament passed a resolution calling for a voluntary self-regulation by radio broadcasters: roughly 35 percent of the pop or rock music broadcast should be either German-language or Germany-made. About 500 German musicians lobbied for this bill, arguing that it would serve to stimulate the German music industry and generally provide greater variety on the radio (not surprisingly, English-language pop music is everywhere here). The bill’s opponents felt it was an excessive regulatory restriction and some voiced concerns about its nationalistic overtones.

At least a couple of musicians we’ve spoken with have another beef with this: if the current practice becomes mandatory it may hurt German musicians who wish to tour abroad more. After all, as CD sales decline, touring is becoming a much larger revenue source for musicians. And given that English is spoken throughout the West, a band would be limiting its potential audience by writing lyrics only in German, even if it does help them get more radio play at home. Then again, maybe there is an interest in German lyrics internationally: there was a brief time in the mid-80s when Americans were busy grooving to the German version of Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” and the latest songs by Falco. – Brian Wise