Frankfurt (Oder) and Berlin

Back from a couple of days Berlin!

Thursday, November 21st, I travelled together with Peter Dekker to Germany to perform at the "Flux & Pulse 3" mini-festival. The first night we stayed in Gosen-Neu Zittau. The next morning we drove to the Magistrale Kunsthalle in Frankfurt (Oder) - one hour driving to the east, and just a couple of hundred meters from the Polish border - for this wonderful event, initiated and hosted by Wolfram Spyra and Roksana Vikaluk (who also gave acte de présence on stage). Thanks so much for these wonderful human beings for the organization, their hospitality, and the wonderful and precious time spent together!

It also was a pleasure to meet with Bernhard Wöstheinrich (we spoke to each other quite some times, but never met in person - although we must have seen each other at the Ricochet Gathering in Berlin, back in 2010), Leander Reininghaus and Andreas von Garnier, and seeing and hearing them performing as TaboTago.

During the day we had all the time to set up our equipment and fine-tune everything.

Soundcheck.

The audience got in from around 20:00. Spyra and Vikaluk's short but heavenly 20 minutes performance started slightly past 20:30, directly followed by 35 minutes subtile improvised ambient Berlin-school by TaboTago. Then a short break followed after Peter and I set off our unprepared / improvised REMY & Däcker performance, which was finished before we realized, just within the hour. It was a real blast!

DJ's Addi Attension and Supervisor continued the evening, transforming the venue in a kind of night club. Where the audience were bravely sitting to enjoy the three electronic music performances, the remaining people now entered the center of the room to move on the rhythm of the beats.

Somewhere 2:30 a.m., at the point there was already involved some alcohol, Wolfram, Peter and I once again took place behind the keys, and we started to noodle around, in the end getting together into a mesmerizing 15-minute oriental ambient piece. The DJ's continued, and it must have been around 6 a.m. before the last visitors left the building. Time to sleep and get a couple of hours rest before heading to Berlin the next morning.

With Peter at the Brandenburger Tor.

Saturday we went to our hotel in the center of Berlin, where we refreshed and had a short nap first. Hereafter we met with Bernhard and Leander again in the afternoon to have dinner and some good conversations together. Followed by a guided tour by Bernhard through the part of Berlin where he lives, including a wonderful rooftop-view over the city.

It was already Sunday that we got the opportunity for some sight-seeing ourselves. First, we visited the building where the Zodiak Free Arts Lab was once situated. Actually nothing to see nowadays, but nevertheless an historic place regarding the origins of the Kraut Rock movement and Berlin School music.

Hereafter we wandered along the Brandenburger Tor, the Holocaust monument, Potzdamer Platz (including the Sony Center), Gedächtniskirche, Unter der Linden, the Reichstag, and saw Checkpoint Charlie, the Fernsehturm and Siegessäule from a distance.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius at Colosseum Berlin.

The late afternoon we met good friend Niek, and went to the Colosseum to see Hans-Joachim Roedelius live on stage. This actually was the main reason we travelled to Berlin. Fully enjoyed the intimate (piano with some subtle backround electronics) performance from a legend (and co-founder of the previously mentioned Zodiak Free Arts Lab) who still is in great condition at the respectable age of 90. An honour to get to speak to "Achim" and shake hands after his concert.

After a short afterparty at a pub nearby, an end came to our short trip, and - this time Peter, Niek and myself - travelled back home to the Netherlands the next day.

It was good to be back in Berlin after 14 years, accompanied with wonderful people, and leaving us with wonderful memories!
Hopefully "Flux & Pulse 3" set a trend for the continuation of this initiative in near future.

Here is an excerpt (reel by Victoria Papizh) from the intro of the concert Peter and I did on last Friday:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3446759042287761