music magazine & concert calendar number twelve february 2017 free
E D I T O R IA L It’s our birthday!
Es ist unser Geburtstag!
Happy one year anniversary to our little music rag. I remember the birth of issue #1 like it was yesterday. The doctor put her into my arms all slimy and crying and I knew my life was changed forever. The issue in your hands is a bit bigger, but it looks very much like that first baby-chop: both had an article featuring Gurr (how they’ve grown as well!!), the show-ro-scopes still rule, and it’s made with the same amount love and tenderness as numero uno. So come party with us! We’re having a birthday bash on the 25th featuring Skiing (the band) and Karaoke (the activity) at our new favorite watering hole, Tennis Bar.
Alles Gute zum einjährigen Bestehen unseres kleinen Hefts. Ich erinnere mich an die Geburt der 1. Ausgabe als wäre es gestern gewesen. Der Doktor legte sie in meine Arme, schleimig und schreiend und ich wusste, mein Leben war für immer verändert. Die Ausgabe in deiner Hand ist ein bisschen größer, aber sie sieht noch sehr wie jene BabyChop aus: Beide beinhalten einen Artikel mit Gurr (auch die sind ganz schön gewachsen!!), die show-ro-scopes sind immer noch super und es wird noch gleichviel Liebe und Zärtlichkeit hineingesteckt wie bei Numero Uno. Also feiert mit uns! Wir schmeißen eine Geburtstagsparty am 25. mit Skiing (die Band) und Karaoke (die Aktivität) an unserer neuen Lieblingswasserstelle, der Tennis Bar.
Also, thanks to all of the people who gave their free time to The Chop. In a world that’s full of some major fuckery at the moment, it’s nice to know that some people still want do some good. There’s too many of you to name, but I’d like to specially thank Amande, Yannis, Barry, Goulven, Billy, and Luise. Your dedication to the music scene and tolerance of my ineptitude is immeasurable. Long live The Chop, -Ryan
Also Danke an all die Leute, die ihre Freizeit für The Chop geopfert haben. In einer Welt, die zurzeit voller Kackscheiße ist, ist es schön zu wissen, dass manche Menschen immer noch Gutes tun wollen. Es sind zu viele, um alle aufzuzählen, aber ich möchte Amande, Yannis, Barry, Goulven, Billy und Luise besonders danken. Eure Hingabe für die Musikszene und Toleranz meiner Unbeholfenheit ist unermesslich.
The Chop Team – Amande Dagod Andreya Casablanca Jann Petersen Joe Kelly Glu Ten Liam Kelly Lulu La Certa Martin Dziallas Ryan Rosell Sören Bill Yannis Trouinard – The Chop Issue #12 February 2017 Auflage : 750 Stück Free – www.thechop.de FB : @thechopmag hello@thechop.de – Cover photo by Therese Koppe – Submit your events to shows@thechop.de – You want to contribute ? editor@thechop.de
Lang lebe The Chop, -Ryan
Get your Chop Chip !
NEGLECTED ESSENTIALS
Discounted entry to select shows by :
Some of the best cuts from bands on this month’s calendar along with some suggested songs by our featured artist Magic Island ($). Tracks followed by the * symbol come from local bands or artists.
Puschen M:Soundtrack Shameless/Limitless Paper and Iron Booking Co. Fourtrack on Stage Fête D’Adieu Cranky Booking Future Sailor Concerts Plus FREE entry to ALL Chop Events ! For more info : contact hello@thechop.de
Magic Island — Alchemy * First Hate — In My Dreams $ Tommy Cash — Leave Me Alone $ Cosmonauts — Party At Sunday Entertainment for the Braindead — One Moment * The Proper Ornaments — Who Thought Highest Sea — Hawaii * Tonstartssbandht — 5FT7 Hantrax — Double-Dealing $ Get a listen at : mixcloud.com/TheChopBerlin
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MAGIC ISLAND Interview by Sören Bill. Photo by Moritz Freudenberg
Magic Island is the alias of Emma Czerny. She’s been around for a while now and already released two EPs of her beautiful dreamy pop music. Now her first album ‘Like Water’ is ready for your full attention. I heard you named yourself after that nice little Eckkneipe on Sonnenallee „Zauberinsel“ – it just recently changed its name to “Kaktus reloaded” – what does that do to you? It’s a funny story. This place was a big part of my life when I first moved here. It was owned by two beautiful open-minded Berliners in their sixties. Real Eckkneipe feeling. One day Benedikt and I noticed they had a full PA and everything so we asked them if we could do a concert there and they were totally into that, so we started the OMG show series. Fenster played there, Jaako Eino Kalevi, Better Person… This Kneipe was so cool, such a good vibe and energy. But then they got older and asked us if we want to take over the place, but we didn’t get it from the Hausverwaltung, so now it’s owned by those new guys… We were even joking if I have to change my name now to “Kaktus reloaded”, but that doesn’t have the same charm as “Zauberinsel”, I think. And the new owners aren’t nice people… But yes, that’s an important part of Neukölln history. As a solo artist you can either create a persona you play, or you try to work ‘authentic’ with your own identity – what’s your way? I think the project is really authentic, that’s very important to me, but also lately becoming a bit stressful as things are growing, because I’m doing all the music and production myself so it’s really emotional to me and I’m very connected to it, almost in a bad way. I have trouble disconnecting my feelings from the songs with regard to what a song needs from a technical or developmental aspect. Magic Island is really who I am normally, that’s contributing to that kind of raw and sketchy image. And also when someone doesn’t like a picture or the music I take things really personally. Even though I know there’s different tastes, it can really hurt me. Also in the industry I’ve noticed that what’s marketable is your image, or ‘brand’, but I don’t think I could ever do a character that’s not true to me even if it could be more successful.
“I’m staying here forever. Forever!” After 2 EPs you’re releasing your first album ‘Like Water’ now – what is it like? The production is tighter and the arrangements are a bit more theatrical, or orchestral – slow progressions that become more intense. Also it took a long time, two years, because I try to keep other areas of my life satisfied – I still work full-time. So the material is already kind of old and I’d love to have time to re-produce some stuff but… I think it’s ok for a first album. [It is more than ok!] What’s the place or situation you would want someone to listen to your album for the very first time? There’s a couple of tracks that are higher tempo and more dance-oriented but it’s still music for the bedroom, for quiet time, whether it’s romantic time – someone told me that they once had sex to one of my songs and that’s a huge compliment, that must have been a good session
I saw you perform “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush at our last Chop karaoke night. Since that I can’t get rid of that association whenever I listen to your music. Is she an inspiration for you? Of course! I think I have a lot of ‘authentic’ similarities to her, the approach to song-writing, and also in movements and my comfort zone. When I see her moving it just seems natural to me, and when I dance on my shows people are like ‘what’s your dancing?’… But it’s just how I would dance to my music naturally. That’s maybe also making it ‘lofi’: I’m not like super mainstream, I’m not a model, I’m not a perfectly beautiful symmetrical person, and that reflects not just in my looks or style but also in my singing, my movements, my songs… – continued page 4 3
– continued from page 3 so I’ll never be able to be mainstream because of my discrepancies. People sometimes come to me and say ‘you’re stuff is so weird’, but I don’t really know what that means… The album was partly funded by Musicboard Berlin – What do you think of this funding? How did it change your work? That was nice, I mean till then we were doing everything out of pocket, very low budget, so that helped a lot. It’s always hard without budget when it comes to music videos, photos, promotion and so on. And you don’t have to do all that but I think especially nowadays it’s all very competitive, so I try to somehow ‘professionalize’ with what I’ve got – get a good package around it, with nice photos and videos, and you can’t do that without money. Thanks Musicboard!
Talking of videos – your music has a lot of potential for great imagery. Is that something you care about? Yes I’m shooting one with Kevin Klein and already made a cute one with Sean Nicholas Savage. But it’s definitely something that I wish I had more time for. But to be honest, I’ve got enough with making the music, working in a full-time job, going on tours, planning my live show... At this point I’m a bit envious of people that work in bands and have more people in their team to make creative decisions. Does it happen sometimes that you can’t make a decision because you’re lacking someone else’s feedback? Yes, sometimes it’s hard. But I have a good community of friends who are also making music and who can give some advice. And Anton [Mansions and Millions] is so helpful and supportive and a bit involved in everything besides the creative, I don’t know how I could do anything without him.
– Album ‘Like Water’ out on February 24th on Mansions and Millions. Release party the same day at West Germany. Discount entry with Chop Chip.
Cooking with #3 Charley plays in Slow Steve and has a solo project called Tetron. He’s kind of my neighbour and my friend and I like to chill at his place so I try to get invited for dinner as much as possible without making him suspicious. What I like about his cooking is that it’s always a surprise. I don’t know how these ideas come to his mind but I can always be sure that his cooking takes in consideration two major facts : it will be quick and cheap. This month he prepared frozen pizzas with a twist, i was rather sceptical when he announced the recipe but you know what, it turned out to be rather pretty tasty. And if you’re broke, this recipe is for you, you can cook for 3 people with a budget of 5€. We made two variations using 2 frozen pizza (margarita) but they usually sell them in pack of 3 so you can get creative on the last one. Start with preheating your oven at 200°C and wash your hands. – For shopping (ideally at Netto), Charley listens to Puzupuzu - FXXDWXRK.While the pizzas are in the oven, he likes to eat some peanuts, drink a glass of cola and listen to Seiho - Peach and Pomegranate. When the pizzas are ready, he puts on Jardin - Drop the Bass.
Your ‘community of friends’ is mainly around Neukölln – how important is the place for you? Everyone living so close together does not only make collaborations a lot easier but especially the time we spend together, going to see art, going to concerts or just sitting together until the morning, that’s invaluable; that’s where we build our little hearts and it ends up growing into this beautiful little world. But it’s also bittersweet. I feel like a lot of people just come to the city for a couple of months, take what they can from the scene, and then leave. There are only a few expats that are really here to stay and feel the responsibility of growing something together. And you? I’m staying here forever. Forever! – soundcloud.com/magicsparkle facebook.com/mmagicislandd
Variations on a Fro-Pi Recipe by Charley Vecten. Text by Amande Dagod
Charley’s tip : use scissors to cut your pizza, it’s way less messy!
Fro-Pi #1 Unpack frozen pizza. Cut frozen (very important, the fish and the pizzas have to be frozen) fish sticks into pieces and place on pizza. Cut brocoli into florets and add to pizza. Sprinkle basil. Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15min. Fro-Pi #2 Unpack frozen pizza. Look into your cupboards and fridge for leftover. Select 2 to 3 ingredients. Don’t go crazy, frozen pizzas aren’t that big and according to Charley, it’s very important to keep it simple. We made Helen Fry’s burrito the night before (see the Chop # 9) so we had some leftover diced tomatoes and paprika and some canned sweet corn. Add the leftovers toppings to the frozen pizza, add some grated cheese (we went for Cheddar). Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15min. 4
FEATURED SHOWS
by The Chop
February 13th - Badehaus
February 16th – Schokoladen
February 24th – Schrippe Hawaii
I saw a KEXP live session of Cymbals Eat Guitars and since then can’t wait for February 13th. I mean, they’ve done good records, some of their songs surely could file as indie rock anthems, but seeing the epic and intensity in this YouTube video really stirred up a desire for seeing them live. They perfectly control noise and silence to finally merge into catchy, Bruce Springsteenish rock ballads. Should be worth the 15 bucks.
“My teeth. I don’t need my teeth,” cries Friends of Gas singer Nina Walser on the last track of their debut album, Fatal Swatch. Later in the song she’s not sure about the necessity (or lack there of) of her teeth, but we are 100 percent sure you need to get your teeth and accompanying face blown away by these rough and tumble yahoos on thursday at Schokoladen. Plus jazzy, krauty, post-rock outta Poland from the opening act, Kristen.
Leila Zanzibar, the French singer songwriter leading this electricfolk-sensual-dark-americana trio called Highest Sea, already knows how thrilling and hopeful one feels when releasing a debut EP. You might want way more of their mystic vibes after the gig. That’s what the Späti Palace merch is for. To take the record home and haunt the shelves next to Karen Dalton and Mazzy Star. Don’t miss the opening act: Mother of the Unicorn will perform as a duet some witty pop on modern toys.
February 25th –Tennis Chop 1 Year Birthday Party Skiing and his beamer band playing tunes to make you think about life... then get really drunk and forget about life at karaoke with us as we celebrate our first anniversary!
Q&A
Q&A with Simon Wojan of Festsaal Kreuzberg and Disk Agency. By Yannis Trouinard.
Festsaal Kreuzberg is opening its doors again. Not so far from its former address, actually. Where the last location of the White Trash used to be, to be precise. We got in touch with Simon Wojan to know a little bit more about it all. After moving to Berlin in 2009, Simon Wojan quickly started the bookings for the old Festsaal Kreuzberg, with different collaborations including the Teenitus Festival and the crew from Eine Welt Aus Hack – which just gave its farewell last month. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, like how exactly are you involved in the Berlin music scene? After Festsaal ceased to exist in 2013, I started doing more bookings for Monarch, a smaller venue located on Skalitzer Street. In 2014 I joined the CTM Festival team in order to built up a booking agency branch together with them. The resulting Disk Agency is now almost 3 years old and growing very healthily. Beyond all these, I also write music for and play with a band called King Khan & The Shrines for 17 years now. Quick reminder: what happened in 2013 ? The venue burned down in 2013 due to a cable fire. It was no ones fault really but the building, which used to be a Turkish wedding hall in the beginning, was fairly old and if anything we were extremely happy that no one got hurt.
The owner of the building was approached afterwards with plans to rebuild and reopen the venue but after an initial oral agreement he then changed his mind and decided to turn the remains into an office building. What is now the situation with the White Trash Fast Food, if I may ask ? I can’t really say much about this to be honest, since I wasn’t part of the negotiations. I think that what either side had to say has been said. For me personally, I went to the White Trash for the first time when it was still at Rosa Luxemburg Platz and I loved the place ever since. I also thought that the food was great and I have always been treated with respect and friendliness. Ultimately, it didn’t work out for them economically and they went bankrupt way before Festsaal approached the venue. A lot of times these things are not just as black and white as people would like them to be and frankly, it’s a tough business to be in.
How excited should we be to see Festsaal coming back this year ? We only got the confirmation to start mid December so the booking process is still in its early phase and in the next weeks there will be announcements for a lot of exciting shows that I can’t talk about just yet. Personally I am very much looking forward to CTM Festival and the performance of Elysia Crampton. In general the old Festsaal Kreuzberg was well known for its broad programming including many genres and always trying to be open to Berlin’s many scenes and social communities. We believe that musical substance can be found in almost every type of genre. It’s exactly that ideal too with which we will approach bookings in the future. – festsaal-kreuzberg.de disk-agency.de ctm-festival.de 5
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Monday / Montag
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Tuesday / Dienstag
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01
Teenage Fanclub — Columbia Theater
Fourtrack with Entertainment for the Braindead — Schokoladen
Tegan & Sara — Huxleys Neue Welt
Wednesday / Mittwoch
Friday / Freitag
Saturday / Samstag
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02
Karl Philipp Löffel
Friends of Gas + Kristen — Schokoladen
Huey Walker* + Indian Wolf* + The Chop DJ Squad* — Madame Claude
Sum 41 — Columbia Halle
Book Launch: Zur Transformation des Alternativen II with The Transformers* feat. members of Slow Steve*, Susie Asado*, Trucks*, Tendre Biche*, Svffer* & Adriano Celentano Gebäckorchester* — Crack Bellmer
Omni + Cult Hands — Urban Spree
10
03
SOHN — Astra
Daniel Freitag* + The Tailors’s Book Club* — Madame Claude
Tycho — Astra
Bernardino Femminielli — Urban Spree
# What Difference Does It Make — Marie Antoinette
The Proper Ornaments + Beat Mark — Marie Antoinette
The Radio Department — Berghain Kantine
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04
Die Sterne — Columbia Theater
Seb & the Rhaa Dicks + Von Liz — Madame Claude
Release Show with Festland — Villa Neukölln
Silent Film Concerts : “Menschen am Sonntag” with Múm — Radialsystem V
Blurt + TT Geigenschrey Inkraut — Roter Salon
Trentemøller — Astra
27.01 > 05.02 CTM : Fear Anger Love – Various locations, more info at www.ctm-festival.de
Thursday /Donnerstag
Calendar key : * local band – # non live music event but music related (party / Dj set / market) Bolded shaows are Chop Chip Shows (discounted access for Chop Chip owners and free entry to The Chop’s events) Venues addresses and U/S-Bahn stops listed on page 11 – Send your concert listings to shows@thechop.de
FEBRUARY 2017
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05
Beach Slang — Musik & Frieden
Véronique Vincent & Aksak Maboul — Roter Salon
Lea Porcelain – Auster Club
Cosmonauts + Full Moon Fiasco* — Bassy Club
[sold out] The Notwist + 115 — Astra
Sunday / Sonntag
27
20
13
28
21
14
Great North + Will Wood — Madame Claude
The Blank Tapes — Bassy Club
Virginia Wing — ACUD
Dietze + Wayne Grajeda* — Madame Claude
Nick Waterhouse — Heimathafen Neukölln Hollis James + Rob
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15
LA Witch — Berghain Kantine
Zusatzshow with Die Höchste Eisenbahn — Astra
Frustration + Mommy Boys* + PUFF — Urban Spree
Nadia Reid — Monarch
Wolf People – Cassiopeia
Motorama — Lido
Olivier Panama Dogs/ gods Finissage with Autist* + Vordemfall* — Urban Spree
Kakkmaddafakka — Huxleys Neue Welt
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(release show) Magic Island* + World Brain* — Westgermany
Peter Doherty — Huxleys Neue Welt
Alex Zhang Hungtai (Dirty Beaches) + Ferrandini + Maranha — Urban Spree
Dear Reader — Lido
XJAZZ Live with Pascal Pinon — Grüner Salon Der Ringer — ACUD
The Chop 1 Year Birthday Party with Skiing* + karaoke – Tennis
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18
[sold out] Lambchop — Heimathafen Neukölln
Release Show Highest Sea* — Schrippe Hawaii
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream — IPA Bar
YTPO / UTRO (Motorama) — Berghain Kantine
A.D. Mana* + Till it’s a crime* — Madame Claude
Cult Values + Hyäne + Pretty Hurts — Kastanienkeller
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19
Schöne Jugend + Tôle Froide — Monarch
Release Show with LeVent* + The Underground Youth — Badehaus
Matt Elliott — Roter Salon
Max Paul Maria* — Musik & Frieden
Blind Butcher — Monarch
19.02 Blind Butcher — Monarch 21.02 Virginia Wing — ACUD 23.02 Nadia Reid — Monarch 24.02 Magic Island (Album Release) — Westgermany 25.02 The Chop’s First Birthday Party with Karaoke + Skiing* — Tennis Bar 26.02 Schöne Jugend + Tôle Froide — Monarch
– – – CHOP CHIP SHOWS – – –
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Die Wilde Jagd + Guido Moebius — Berghain Kantine
+ Luisa Babarro — NENI
03.02 The Proper Ornaments + Beat Mark — Marie Antoinette 08.02 Fourtrack with Entertainment for the Braindead — Schokoladen 09.02 Huey Walker* + Indian Wolf* + The Chop DJ Squad* — Madame Claude 14.02 Tonstartssbandht + Elliott Vincent Jones + Fenster DJs — Urban Spree 16.02 Olivier Panama Dogs/gods Finissage with Autist* + Vordemfall* — Urban Spree 16.02 Wolf People — Cassiopeia
# DIY Booking Workshop (english) — Music Pool
Kontraklang with Carol Robinson* + Cathy Milliken* + Duo Hellqvist/ Amaral* — Heimathafen Neukölln
Man Duo + Sacromonte — Badehaus
Gurr* — Lido
Experimontag with Florian T M Zeisig + ImmLau — Madame Claude
Cymbals Eat Guitars — Badehaus
Tonstartssbandht + Elliott Vincent Jones + Fenster DJs — Urban Spree
„King of Sorrow“
by Jann Petersen
- Mark Fisher (1968-2017) Im Sommer 2015 besuchte ich spontan eine Gesprächsrunde, in der es um die deutsche Berichterstattung zur Finanzkrise in Griechenland ging. Es war ein Tag, an dem das dumpfe, ungute Gefühl von Krise für einen kurzen Moment etwas Konkretem wich. Dort entstanden Anknüpfungspunkte, die es möglich machten, konkret zu erkennen, was gegenwärtig passiert - und was daran falsch läuft. Dies war der Tag, als ich das erste Mal von Mark Fisher hörte. Seit dem ist mir selten jemand begegnet, die/der in einer ähnlich klaren und verständlichen Art die Realität, die uns umgibt, deutet und beschreibt. Mark Fisher stellt Zusammenhänge her zwischen Pop, Theorie und Kapitalismus, die in dieser Form ihres gleichen suchen. Durch intensive Auseinandersetzung mit der Popkultur des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts erschließt er die Welt, in dem er die Mechanismen von Klasse und Macht anhand von den Produkten beschreibt, die auch in meiner eigenen Realität omnipräsent sind. So diagnostiziert er anhand von Drake-Tracks dem dort propagierten Hedonismus eine depressive, hoffnungslose Traurigkeit und eine manische Fixierung auf Vergnügen und Konsum, verbunden mit der Unfähigkeit sich auf etwas irgendetwas anderes konzentrieren zu können. Er beschreibt anhand von Nirvana die Vereinnahmung und den Niedergang der Rockmusik durch den Markt und zeigt daran auf, wie alternativlos der Kapitalismus heutzutage erscheint.
Oder er bezeichnet Burial als Hauntologen, der sich in seinen melancholischen Produktionen den gespenstischen Formen vergangener Zeiten widmet. Musikalische Formen, die in einer Zeit entstanden sind, in der Zukunft noch etwas positiveres war: ein Möglichkeitsraum. Die Welt, die Mark Fisher beschreibt erscheint grau - voller Shoppingmalls und leerstehender Lagerhallen, in denen vor 25 Jahren noch die größten Raves stattfanden, jetzt aber nur noch die Wassertropfen zu hören sind, die durch Risse in der Decke auf den Boden klatschen. Dort läuft Musik, die zwar immer neu ist, dabei jedoch seltsam vertraut klingt. Die Zeit ist hier zerbrochen, die Zukunft verschwunden und es spukt überall. Die Welt ist bevölkert von Gespenstern vergangener Zeiten und verlorener Zukünfte. All das klingt zutiefst pessimistisch. Daher ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass das Motiv der Depression bei Fisher dauerpräsent ist. In den frühen Nullerfahren beginnt er unter dem Alias K- Punk zu bloggen, sein Blog wird schnell zur wichtigen Adresse für Poptheorie. Das Schreiben ist für ihn ein Versuch einen Umgang mit den eigenen Problemen zu finden. Immer wieder fragt er auch nach den gesellschaftlichen, kulturellen und politischen Bedingungen für Depression und stellt dabei fest, dass das Problem keineswegs ein persönliches ist, sondern das einer ganzen Kultur. Und auch wenn das ebenso verdammt deprimierend ist, so gelingt es Mark Fisher doch darüber hinaus zu schauen.
Seine Analysen glänzen nicht nur durch die präzise Beschreibung der Wirklichkeit, ihnen liegt viel mehr eine produktive Verweigerung zugrunde. So schreibt er selbst: „Diese Weigerung verleiht der Melancholie eine politische Dimension, insofern sie es ablehnt, sich mit den begrenzten Horizont des kapitalistischen Realismus zu arrangieren.“ Am 13. Januar 2017 hat sich Mark Fisher das Leben genommen. Bis zum Schluss war er auf der Suche nach Alternativen und ist den Spuren vergangener möglicher Zukünfte nachgegangen. Ich hoffe zutiefst, dass sein Geist noch lange in vielen Köpfen herumspuken wird.
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Too left to rap J Dilla, the producer and rapper, died before his mom on February 26th, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. He died of complications due to thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura of which he had been fighting hand and wallet to keep at bay for some years. Specifically, his heart stopped in his home in L.A. three days after releasing Donuts, but even in his final years he was a champion of sound and will remain that way for a minute. And his mom? Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey still lives on McDougall and Nevada in East Detroit. It’s still an East Detroit filled with gang violence, potholes, and crack houses. When record collector Jeff Bubeck entered her home, cakes of stacked invoices, dues, over-dues, and a checkbook were on the kitchen table. Also a Detroit thing. She resembled the plight of the lowermiddle class, except the fact that her son produced albums for Slum Village, Common, Questlove, Soulquarians, Madlib, MF Doom, Dwele, Guilty Simpson, Frank n Dank, Phat Kat, Black Milk, Mos Def (!), J Rocc, Waajeed, Bilal, Busta Rhymes (!), Erykah Badu, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest (!!), and The Pharcyde (!!). In short, her son literally brought soul beats to rap, changed hip-hop in the 90s, and told Yeezy how to wipe himself. Wait, but who the fuck is Jeff Bubeck? This guy is a record collector from UHF Records in Detroit who found what Mrs. Yancey later called “The Lost Scrolls”. As far as neuroses and collections go, Jeff Bubeck used to buy abandoned warehouse plots just in case he found that last Afrika Bambaata or KRS-One mixtape or whatever. And he usually did come up with stuff, that’s how he made his living. But when he got a call from a storage unit business that would end up revealing boxes and boxes of samples, beat collections and the like, all labelled James Yancey, he was put in a bit of a bind. After a bit of research into the name and discovery of the Lost Scrolls, Bubeck put up an ad for it and began receiving calls from record labels, close friends, cousins, and anyone with any attachment to the late Dilla. Then he got in contact with Maureen Yancey and learned of the myriad complications of being a type of sick, which in the United States, not even a hip-hop monolith could recover from.
Prescriptions, emergency visits, inhouse-calls, non-emergency visits, extracurricular treatments, and experimental treatments all paid for out of pocket. Mrs. Yancey was so broke and had been so broke for so long that the first thing she said when she saw the tapes was, “That’s James’s writing”. Bubeck returned the boxes to Mrs. Yancey. She sold some of it to lighten the load and Bubeck didn’t make a dime, but that’s what rap has been doing since it started in the 70s: making broke people not broke and bringing people together.
by Liam Kelly
cut up and harvested for just the breaks (and then repeat, repeat, repeat: voila, you got a b boy stance), you’ll also find the heart of America. You’ll find the contents of a thousand history books in a writing so clear and unadulterated, that when you listen to J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar you might even enjoy what they’re talking about. What you’ll really find is uninstitutionalized, gut-bulging, weary eyed hatred spun through an artist at the height of his or her craft. But, that isn’t very lyrical, is it?
But, do you really believe that?
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Although 2016 saw the steep rise of nationalism and overt xenophobia on all continents, we also felt the release of two albums that will hopefully pave the way for rap and music in the future. The longawaited release of Frank Ocean’s sophomore album Blonde made me question my sexuality. A short time after, I was once again dabbing my eyes while listening to J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only and thinking about having my first son or daughter. Although this represents only the latter half of the year, there is something quite similar about these two albums that shouldn’t go unnoticed for those outside the world of rap music.
An unsettling feature of living in a liberal mecca like Berlin, is the undistinguishable number of indie-music echo chambers. The only real disagreements seem for the sake of conversation, so that people can convince themselves of musical diversity. Which is a bit of a shame, because, for instance, I love hip-hop. So I just sort of lay down to die in the face of charlatanism, hollow pursuits of authenticity, social justice in the most general terms, and the idea that rap these days is only about pussy popping and high-budget soft-core porn music videos. I feel pretty alone when I explain to a friend that rap is not just for (Asocial People), or a brand of music specifically meant for the uneducated. I even remember a friend of mine identifying people at a rap concert as hip hop people, but I’m still not sure if she simply couldn’t let her liberal consciousness pronounce black people. But that’s not rap; hip-hop is not the musical equivalent of Donald Trump. It is, however, an attack on the Ivory Tower, just as it was with Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash back in the day. In the 1970s, when Brooklyn was literally on fire, it brought people together and made them dance. It helped soothe Brooklynites from the smoke inhalation of their day-to-day lives which the city of New York did not plan on ventilating. And more importantly, it wasn’t disco. It did what punk and what funk did, what your least favorite gospel tunes did. If you were to follow this back far enough, before disco records were being
What’s attractive about these two artist’s most recent releases is the accessibility to the human experience. Yes, there is the patented drug culture allusions, yes there is some pussy popping and references to gang-violence, but only insofar as it is relevant to Frank and Cole’s life. They’re telling you about a real life and you believe it. They make you believe it through their strengths as musicians. Kendrick Lamar did the same kind of thing when he dropped To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015 he stuck a needle in and proceeded to spray us in the face with the deeply racist features of 21st century American life. Then, after Obama invited King Kendrick to the White House, the president asked him, “Can you believe that we’re both sitting in this Oval Office?” 9
Illustration by Anonymous
VENUE LISTING ACUD – Veteranen Straße 21 – U8 Rosenthalerplatz ASTRA – Revaler Strasse 99– S/U1 Warschauerstraße AUSTER CLUB – Pücklerstraße 34 – U1 Görlitzer Bahnhof BADEHAUS SZIMPLA – Revaler Str 99 – S/U1 Warschauerstraße BASSY CLUB – Schönhauser Allee 176A – U2 Senefelderplatz KANTINE AM BERGHAIN – Am Wriezener Bahnhof – S Ostbahnhof COLUMBIA HALLE – Columbiadamm 13-21 – U6 Platz d er Luftbrücke COLUMBIA THEATER – Columbiadamm 9-11 – U6 Platz der Luftbrücke CRACK BELLMER – Revaler Str. 99 – S/U1 Warschauerstraße GRÜNER SALON (VOLKSBÜHNE) – U2 Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz HEIMATHAFEN NEUKÖLLN – Karl-Marx Str 141 – U7 Karl-Marx Str HUXLEYS NEUE WELT – Hasenheide 107 – U7/8 Hermannplatz IPA BAR – Karl-Marx Straße 195 – S/U7 Neukölln KASTANIENKELLER – Kastanienallee 85 – U2 Eberswalder Str LIDO – Cuvry Straße 7 – U1 Schlesisches Tor MADAME CLAUDE – Lübbener Str 19 – U1 Schlesisches Tor MARIE ANTOINETTE – Holzmarkt Str 15 – S/U8 Jannowitzbrücke MONARCH – Skalitzer Straße 134 – U1/U8 Kottbusser Tor MUSIC POOL – Warschauer Str 70A – S/U1 Warschauerstraße MUSIK & FRIEDEN – Falckensteinstr 48 – U1 Schlesisches Tor ROTER SALON (VOLKSBÜHNE) – U2 Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz SCHOKOLADEN – Acker Straße 169 – U8 Rosenthalerplatz SCHRIPPE HAWAII – Ziegrastraße 11-13 – S Sonnenallee TENNIS BAR – Reuterstraße 95 – U8 Boddinstrasse URBAN SPREE – Revaler Straße 99 – S/U1 Warschauerstraße VILLA NEUKÖLLN – Hermannstraße 233 – U8 Boddinstraße WESTGERMANY – U1/U8 Kottbusser Tor
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Pee and Poo
On Tour with Gurr by Andreya Casablanca
It is a few days after Christmas, I am in a hospital in Reinickendorf in an examination room that holds three other patients waiting for a doctor we are seperated by white, dusty curtains, an old man is crying, the other one doesn’t speak German, an older polish woman cant stop coughing and I am lying on my back waiting my fourth hour. Practices aren’t open between Christmas and New Years Eve. But I see blood in the toilet when I poop. Just putting this out there now. How it happened? Thanks to making music. I have played quite a lot of shows in my life, and with every other tour or show I am questioning if my body is not actually telling me that I shouldn’t do another one. I am the Grandma of touring. I like to sleep right after the show. I am just fucking exhausted. I have to pee every 30 minutes in the car. My friend Hanno once commented: “I don’t know why, but once we get into the car you girls start sucking on your water bottles as if you just came out of a drought.” When we are super late to something important on tour, my partner in crime Laura forbids me to drink, so we don’t have to stop. She FORBIDS me to DRINK. When we stop the car and I don’t use the opportunity to go and pee, people get angry. It’s a paradox, because usually I don’t drink so much water, but something about the car ride makes me pour that shit down like an animal. And if I don’t go to release my bladder pressure, I get paranoid about bladder infections (another favourite topic of mine). Once, after a show with Häxxan in Solingen, I forced Laura to wake up early with me and secretly drive to a doctor, so the doctor can look at my pee and tell me everything is ok (that’s how you examine bladder infections). Now, at the age of 25, I am old enough to have more trouble with digestion. Everyone knows, the food on tour is just the best for your digestion - bread, sweet jam, nothing but chocolate as a pre-show snack and on top of that a little bit of vegan pasta with tofu. Anything that keeps the bowles flowing. But, thanks to little panic attacks I get before going on stage, I actually can poop really well. Sometimes I even can’t hold it in. Sorry to be so graphic. But I think everyone knows what I’m talking about. So, before Christmas, Laura and I played a show that was kind of unusual, to a crowd of people that probably didn’t give a shit about us.
But it was a well-paid gig, so we prepared a set only with the two of us and a backing track. I was nervous as fuck. I was freaking out. Before the show I ran downstairs to relieve myself. My constipation didn’t want me too, but my nervousness really did. Who won? My lil stage fright. I hurt myself badly during it. I am paraphrasing here. So, this epic fight of stage fright and constipation led me to the hospital in Reinickendorf. I’ve been hurting like shit when I shat since then, and while you guys have been indulging on your insanely delicious christmas dinner, I was looking for the softest vegetable I could snack on, after eating a mixture of water and Leinsamen. So, finally the right doctor found me in the corner of the examination room. He tells me to roll on my other side and expose my butt. Yes, he does what you all are thinking he might do.
But he’s super casual about it (duh, he’s a doctor), gives me a cream and it was all good after a week. I swore to myself, on the next tour I will bring my own oatmeal mixture with a bunch of Leinsamen, eat vegetables every day and take care of it better. I am on tour now and just ate two bread rolls with jam. – Gurr play at Lido on Febr 20th. gurrband.bandcamp.com Photo : “Me when Laura forbids me to drink in the car” by Andreya Casablanca
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Top of The Chop Weekdays
by Joe Kelly “Love is a mystery girl, Let’s get inside it, Na, na, na, na, na.” If you know where that quote comes from then you’ll probably also know that sometimes life can be a bit of a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it. You get your head in a spin, the weeks fly by and before you know it, you’ve forgotten to cancel your free trial of Amazon Prime and you’re ordering gold plated little adapter thingies on next day delivery. It’s a nightmare. Well, in the hope of bringing some stability to the universe and some certainty to your 5 day cycle, here are my top 5 weekdays… 1 Wednesday. As I’ve previously mentioned, life is confusing, full of ups and downs, loop the loops, long waits in line and ill-fitting harnesses. Wednesday however is pretty solid. It’s that mid-point slow climb before you teeter on the edge of a ridiculous descent into chaos. There’s a sense of assurance about Wednesday that makes it fairly hard to fuck up; you’re in the thick of it and you’re fully keeping it real. Also I finish my ‘real’ job on Wednesday and get to do ‘freelance’ LOLs for the rest of the week so yeah.. 5 stars for Wednesday 2 Thursday. I know what you’re thinking - ‘OMG what about Friday?!’ Here’s the thing: the best bit of being on a rollercoaster is the hanging over the edge. The actual descent is mostly terrifying and quite uncomfortable. I like Fridays a lot, but they can be a bit wild. Thursday is the quietly confident friend who knows when you’ve had too much to drink and suggests kebabs. Besides, if you’re Amazon Prime order hasn’t shown up by now then you might as well just go for it, have a big one and write Friday off anyway. 4 stars 3 Friday. Supposedly everyone’s favourite day of the week (and I get why) but I guess I’m just not that mainstream. Friday is cool and everything, I’d even say that personally I think it’s got more going for it than the so called ‘main’ weekend days. Thing is, it gets you all overexcited and
stuff and then you gotta deal with that and although it’s mostly just really, really fun it’s also exhausting. I’m just rating weekdays here so it’s not a big deal and totally depends week to week anyway. 4 stars for Friday as well because for some reason I feel bad about giving it 3 4. Monday. I can’t put Monday last because it’s Bob Geldof’s least favourite day and he doesn’t even know why. That’s just unfair. Also at least when Monday is good it’s a nice surprise. Besides, Monday is when ‘Italian B.M.T’ is ’Sub des Tages’ at Subway which is kinda gross but also definitely awesome. You know that time after you get off the rollercoaster and you’re all wound up over how crazy it was and stuff, that’s Monday. It has it’s place. 3 stars for effort 5. Tuesday. Tuesday’s only asset is that it’s not Monday anymore and that’s just weak. Of course sometimes good things can happen on a Tuesday, but they usually don’t. It’s like the bit after the bit where you’ve just got off the rollercoaster, the laughter fades and the ‘what next?’ is the realest it gets. If you went too crazy on the weekend then Tuesday is a bit of an existential minefield. Just watch Netflix or go jogging or something. 2 stars (Netflix is pretty good) PS: “Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all: Thursday for crosses, Friday for losses, Saturday no luck at all.” - Craig David
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S H OW - R O SCOPE by Lulu La Certa Illustrations by Martin Dziallas The cosmos might not always control your destiny, but when it does, The Chop has experts on hand to keep you in the celestial-know. GEMINI – I know, nobody likes The Ant and the Grasshoppertype wisdoms. But really, for the sake of future days, do not throw away your Pfand bottles. CANCER – Walking home in your tshirt in broad daylight? That morning still won’t come, but be patient. In a few months you won’t even be able to remember what “Berlin winter” means. TAURUS – Ending up on welfare isn’t reprehensible. In fact, maybe you should use it even if you like your job. The way the world goes, we might soon be back in the age of serfdom. VIRGO – Fake everything. ‘Authenticity’ sounds like it’s sizzling out and indeed there’s no such thing. You might wanna stay true, but what does being real even mean.? LIBRA – “Halleluhwah, halleluwaaah.” You’ve got such a sweet voice when you’re drunk. Don’t lower it. It’s just as real and powerful as all your sober qualities. SCORPIO – One more Saturday night and you’ll meet the love of your life. Ok, maybe it’ll be the love of the first week of February. But really, stop telling yourself that nobody’s attracted to you. A lot of people are. SAGITTARIUS – Coffee or tea that’s the only conversation you’re having in the morning? Not to judge your love life priorities but you deserve to lift your dating game up to another level. ARIES – You’ve come so far, but contentment is nothing you’re familiar with. Tell you why: You just don’t want to stay where you aim at. Reconsider your goals, maybe? CAPRICORN – No one can put sense in a crazy man. Don’t even try, it’s frustrating. Your energy is better spent when you take care of yourself and the people dear to you. AQUARIUS – Turtles Have Short Legs. Why do people still obsess over the fact that they’re slow? Not funny. Don’t even get me started on snails! Ok, I’m high. Thanks for being the sober sitter friend. PISCES – It’s hardly surprising you’re so tired lately: You’re losing your Vitamin C. Next time you go to the supermarket, please add some oranges to that frozen pizza. LEO – Aw, sometimes you’re so green. That makes it harder to pretend you’re a real city kid, but it’s actually worth appreciating. Naivety is irrecoverable.